How One Solo Dev Uses Public Roadmaps to Grow ARR

In this episode of The Indie Hacker Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into the strategy of building in public with a twist—using a public product roadmap to drive user engagement and revenue growth. They examine a solo developer, let's call him Mark, who runs a niche SaaS tool for freelance writers called Draftwell. Mark doubled his ARR from $60,000 to $120,000 in just eight months by publishing a transparent roadmap and letting users vote on features. Lucas breaks down the exact process: how Mark used a simple tool like Trello to show what's planned, what's in progress, and what's shipped—plus how he gave paying customers extra votes. Luna challenges whether this works for every niche and shares a counterexample of a solo dev who tried it and saw no change. They discuss the psychology of ownership, the importance of community buy-in, and when a public roadmap might backfire. This episode is packed with tactical advice for any solo developer or indie hacker looking to turn transparency into traction. #SaaS #SoloDeveloper #IndieHacker #BuildInPublic #ProductRoadmap #ARRGrowth #Draftwell #UserFeedback #CustomerDevelopment #Bootstrapping #SideProject #NicheMarket #FunnelOptimization #CommunityBuilding #Marketing #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo