You'd be working directly with me on a large Vue 3 + TypeScript codebase, shipping features used by thousands of households.
This is hard work with a high quality bar. But also the most fun I've ever had building software :)
ProjectionLab is bootstrapped, profitable, and hiring!
We're looking for a Senior Full-Stack Engineer to join the team as our second dev.
Full story + how to apply: projectionlab.com/blog/hiring-...
24 hrs on the front-page of hacker news?!
Replying to comments till 2am was not on the agenda this week 😂
Glad the HN hug of death is no problem for @firebase.com hosting!
Here's a peak at the analytics:
Well that's more real-time visitors than usual!
Cool to see this story picked up on HN: bsky.app/profile/kyle...
The chart may look smooth, but the journey to $1M ARR had ups, downs, and moments I wanted to quit.
Here's the full story: projectionlab.com/blog/we-reac...
#buildinpublic
When I started ProjectionLab as a side project in 2021, I was just a normal engineer working solo on nights & weekends after my day job.
I couldn't imagine my little app ever making 5 figures... let alone 7!
But today, we're a 3 FTE team helping 100k+ households plan for a better financial future.
We did it!! $1,000,000 in annual recurring revenue. With zero funding. 🥹
And I'm still processing that this is real.
No AI hype. No VC money. Just 4 years of hard work building good software to solve a real problem we had ourselves.
And never giving up.
As always, Grant's writing is grounded, thoughtful, and accessible.
If you haven't checked out Inner Entrepreneur, it's worth a read.
His original book Financial Freedom helped spark my FI journey, and played a big role in why I started building PL in the first place.
I never expect an email reply, let alone a future shoutout in a book!
Weeknights from 8pm to midnight.
20+ hrs every weekend.
14 months to 500 customers.
That's what it took to bootstrap projectionlab.com from a side project into a real business.
Grateful to see the story get a small mention in Grant Sabatier's new book Inner Entrepreneur this year.
In the long run, that's where our staying power will come from.
If you try out the new version of projectionlab.com, let us know what you think!
#buildinpublic
This is exactly the kind of flexibility we WOULD NOT have if we had taken outside funding.
Staying lean and bootstrapped means we get to prioritize product quality, technical clarity, and long-term sustainability. Not just chasing growth at all costs.
This release clocks in around 80,000 lines of code and 3 months of sustained effort.
But more importantly: it puts us in a much better position to build that next wave of features we strategized about in February.
⌛ Monthly precision inputs
✂️ Better US state & local tax modeling
🧑💻 Technical debt reduction
📆 Calendar year alignment
🏦 Inherited IRAs (Traditional & Roth)
⚙️ Advanced RMD controls
🏡 More property tax & assessed value modeling options
💻 UX improvements across event forms
➡️ And a lot more!
Back in February, we mapped out which ambitious new features could accelerate growth.
But what did we do next? Something completely different! 🙈
We realized that to build those ambitious features sustainably, we needed to upgrade the foundation.
So by popular request, we focused on:
Code is stable.
Tests are passing.
Confidence is high.
Let’s ship 80,000 lines to prod this morning and find out which of those was... optimistic 😅
#buildinpublic
No hacks or secrets. We're just staying focused on our strengths, and trusting each other with theirs.
Hiring the wrong person can kill your business.
But hiring the RIGHT person?
That's how you keep coding and 10x TTM search impressions at the same time.
#buildinpublic
Just hit 4M search impressions this year! 🔥
Want to know the secret to how I did it?
...
I didn't!
Last year I brought on Jon Kuipers to lead growth & marketing for ProjectionLab.
And he's been crushing it.
I'm focused on building. He's focused on growth.
Google Cloud engineers right now:
In the next 3-5 years, will we see any platforms start to optimize for authenticity, not just engagement?
Or is the endgame engaging AI slop flooding all channels everywhere?
But we've come a long way since then.
And it's time to focus on what really matters -- building in a way that's calm and sustainable, and being a good steward for this product and the 9,000+ customers using PL to plan their financial futures.
#buildinpublic
I finally turned off subscription notifications!
For 4 years, I watched every subscription created/cancelled like a hawk.
Spike in cancellations? Spike in anxiety 😅
I started projectionlab.com from zero, and worried I could end up back there in an instant...
thanks Nick! never would have believed it 3 years ago, but hard work, consistency, and some luck, can really compound over time.
Showing up every day was not always easy. And $1M in 4 years may not be rocketship numbers.
But creating a bootstrapped business that's profitable, efficient, and fully aligned with our customers is more than enough for me 😊
#buildinpublic
We hit $1M in total revenue and closed out January at $70k MRR! 🔥
In the early days, I never imagined projectionlab.com would help 100,000+ people plan for a better life.
There were lean months, late nights, and moments of doubt.
You can see in the revenue chart: it's been a roller coaster.
went from 1 to 5 this year!
12.7k visitors in the past 7-days with 11m59s avg visit duration
Kind of wild people spent 2,500+ hours this week in projectionlab.com! That's like two weeks of time every single day 🤯
Back when I was working alone, I'd scramble to get the new tax/finance updates added before Jan 1.
But thanks to the team, everything went smoothly this year! 😊
#buildinpublic
yup I'm the only engineer still.
hope to expand the team this year though!
🔧 Under the Hood: Streamlined simulation engine results data structures, improved drawdown system modularity, more progress on TypeScript and Vue 3 Composition API migration, etc.
➕ And more! (projectionlab.com/changelog)
🆕 Other New Features: Explore new milestone criteria types and aesthetic customization for bar charts, improvements to Fund with Account and Route to Accounts features, and more.
