88: SwiftLee – Antoine van der Lee
Launched by RevenueCat
Why Antoine started writing and speaking
Antoine describes writing weekly articles to get conference talks and how consistency grew his audience rapidly.
On the podcast: Antoine shares how he built RocketSim from an internal tool into a thriving business, the challenges of scaling as an indie developer, and the key marketing insights that drove growth—without relying on traditional ads or influencer campaigns.
Top Takeaways:
⏱️ Solve time, and they will pay you
There are countless solved problems in the world, but if your tool gives developers back their most limited resource—time—the sales pitch writes itself.
🧱 Build what your users ask for, and the trials will follow
Releasing the number-one voted feature on a public roadmap is the most reliable way to turn dormant users into active trials.
🐢 Some problems take years to solve
Not every technical hurdle can be Googled; sometimes you have to sit on an open issue for two years until your skills grow enough to crack it.
🤝 Embrace your competitors
Cross-promoting with competing apps and newsletters actually grows your audience faster than trying to dominate a niche alone.
⛓️ Constraints are a feature, not a bug
Going full-time indie can actually hurt productivity if you lose the strict prioritization habits that made you effective when time was scarce.
About Antoine van der Lee:
🚀 Indie Developer and Creator of SwiftLee, a platform for iOS developers, and RocketSim, a tool that streamlines testing and simulating apps in Xcode.
🌐 Learn more about RocketSim
🎧Learn more about the Going Indie Podcast
📖 Read Antoine’s developer blog at SwiftLee
Follow us on X:
- Charlie Chapman - @_chuckyc
- RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
Launched - @LaunchedFM
Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Antoine van der Lee and the story behind RocketSim
[2:15] How Antoine started in iOS development and his early career journey
[5:05] The creation of Swiftly: Antoine's approach to writing and sharing knowledge
[7:40] The launch of RocketSim: From an internal tool to a public product
[10:12] The challenges of developing a useful Xcode simulator tool
[12:31] Antoine's approach to growing RocketSim without focusing on traditional marketing
[15:22] The evolution of RocketSim: Expanding features and listening to users
[18:05] How Antoine used his blog and newsletter to support RocketSim's growth
[21:40] The balance between RocketSim as a product and maintaining a sustainable indie business
[24:25] The impact of the App Store: Sales model and challenges
[27:11] RocketSim’s transition into enterprise sales and selling to teams
[30:03] Hiring for RocketSim: Bringing in the right people to scale without losing focus
[33:20] The evolution of the RocketSim website and customer experience improvements
[36:05] Antoine's experience with creating a full-time indie business alongside a family
[39:00] Dealing with the growth of RocketSim and managing multiple projects at once
[42:10] Insights into Antoine’s shift from a full-time job to an indie developer
[45:35] The role of personal branding and community connections in RocketSim's success
[48:10] The value of networking and connecting with others in the iOS community
[51:05] Moving from product development to managing a business
[54:01] Reflection on growth, work-life balance, and achieving indie success
[56:22] Key takeaways for indie founders and AI product builders today
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