Engineering challenges: sandboxing and obscure problems

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.

👋 LinkedIn 

🌐 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