If you’ve been keeping up with tech Twitter lately, you’ve probably heard of Marc Lou. He’s the founder of ShipFast and was named Maker of the Year on ProductHunt in 2024. Marc’s story is pretty inspiring—he went from living with his parents and having no income to making $100,000 a month with 20 different products he created.
In this article, we’ll dive into Marc’s journey, the challenges he faced, the lessons he learned, and the strategies he used to achieve such impressive success. By looking at his story, we hope to give aspiring entrepreneurs and makers some valuable insights and inspiration.
The turning point:
In 2021, Marc found himself in a tough spot. He was living with his parents, dealing with depression, and had no money coming in. But then he saw a tweet from Pieter Levels, a successful entrepreneur who had built startups using just a laptop and without any employees. This tweet sparked something in Marc. He felt inspired by the idea of having the freedom to create something on his own. Motivated by this, Marc made the decision to take a chance. He moved to Bali and started churning out new products at an amazing speed.
The power of consistency:
A big reason for Marc's success was his unwavering commitment to showing up and putting in the work every single day, even when he didn't feel like it. Over the course of two years, he managed to ship an impressive 16 products, covering everything from AI tools to SaaS offerings. This incredible consistency allowed him to really develop his skills, learn from his mistakes, and keep improving his products over time.
Identifying a need:
As Marc continued to create new products over time, he started to notice some recurring patterns in his workflow. He found that he was constantly having to do the same repetitive tasks for each new project he worked on. Things like setting up domain name (DNS) records, integrating with payment processors like Stripe, and designing pricing sections for his products were all tasks he found himself repeating over and over again.
Recognizing this as an opportunity to make his process more efficient, Marc decided to do something about it. He took some time, about a week, to go back and gather up all the code he had been using over the past couple years for these common tasks. He then compiled it all together into a reusable boilerplate that he named "ShipFast."
By creating this ShipFast boilerplate, Marc was able to streamline a lot of the repetitive work he had been doing for each new product launch. Instead of having to recreate all those basic setup and integration tasks from scratch every time, he could now just plug in the pre-built code from ShipFast. This allowed him to save a significant amount of time and focus more of his energy on the core development and features of his new products.
Launching ShipFast:
When Marc had finished putting together his ShipFast boilerplate, he decided to launch it on the popular product discovery platform, Product Hunt. He timed the launch to happen just hours before he was set to embark on a trip to Hong Kong.
Despite being on a plane and traveling, Marc continued to work on adding new features and improvements to ShipFast. This showed just how dedicated and focused he was on making the product as good as it could be.
The launch on Product Hunt ended up being a big success. The Product Hunt newsletter drove around 3,000 visitors to the ShipFast listing. And within just 48 hours of launching, Marc had already made $6,000 in revenue from people purchasing and using his new boilerplate product.
The rapid growth and initial sales validated that Marc had identified a real need that other developers and entrepreneurs were eager to take advantage of. ShipFast's successful launch gave Marc a major boost as he continued building out his suite of products.
Leveraging multiple platforms:
In addition to launching ShipFast on Product Hunt, Marc also made sure to list his new startup on other popular platforms like Reddit and Hacker News. He knew that by diversifying his launch strategy across these different channels, he could reach a much wider audience and generate initial traction for his product.
ShipFast announcement on Hackernews
ShipFast announcement on X-twitter
The strategy paid off. These other platforms like Reddit and Hacker News helped bring in the first visitors and customers for ShipFast, as long as the product itself was appealing and compelling. By not relying solely on just one platform, but instead leveraging multiple channels, Marc was able to gain more visibility and drive more early adoption for his new boilerplate product.
ShipFast launch on product hunt
Spreading out the launch across these various online communities allowed Marc to cast a wider net and maximize the exposure for ShipFast. This multi-pronged approach helped fuel the rapid early growth and sales that Marc experienced right out of the gate with his new offering.
Impressive numbers:
Even though ShipFast is a one-time payment product, Marc has found that it continues to generate reliable recurring revenue for his business. The product consistently brings in between $500 to $5,000 per day in sales, which is an incredibly impressive feat.
What's even more remarkable is the stellar 91% profit margin that ShipFast maintains, and all of this with zero employees required to run the product. Marc has been able to create this highly profitable, self-sustaining revenue stream entirely on his own.
Since launching ShipFast back in September, the product has already generated close to $250,000 in total revenue. This shows just how quickly the product took off and started bringing in substantial income for Marc's startup.
The combination of the consistent daily revenue, the extremely high profit margins, and the rapid growth in total sales are all extremely impressive numbers that demonstrate the immense success Marc has achieved with ShipFast in a relatively short period of time. It's a true testament to his hard work, focus, and ability to identify and deliver a product that resonates with his target market.
Growth hacks and tactics:
Marc attributes much of his success to his presence on Twitter. He emphasizes the importance of having a catchy headline that challenges the status quo and creating a killer demo video. Marc's unique approach of embedding himself in popular movies has proven to be an effective way to grab attention and engage his audience, even when he had a relatively small following.
The importance of headlines:
One of the biggest lessons Marc has learned is the crucial role headlines play in marketing. In a world where people are constantly bombarded with information, the first impression matters. Marc stresses that if a headline is short, useful, and triggers an emotion, it will capture the attention of most visitors. He advises focusing on crafting compelling headlines rather than solely emphasizing features or website sections.
Essential tools:
Marc shares his top five tools that have been instrumental in his success:
- Screen Studio: For creating engaging product demo videos
- CleanShotX: For capturing high-quality screenshots
- Paste: For efficient clipboard management on Mac
- Magnet: For seamless window management on Mac
Advice for aspiring founders:
Marc's advice for aspiring founders in the SaaS industry is simple yet powerful: start with anything. He encourages entrepreneurs to take any product idea they have in mind, skim the features to the bare minimum, and focus on building and launching it everywhere. While there may only be a 10% chance of success, the learning experience gained from each attempt will increase the chances of success for subsequent products.
Marc also emphasizes the importance of documenting the journey on social media platforms, not just Twitter. By sharing experiences and insights, founders can gradually grow an audience and learn how to effectively communicate their message.
When asked about a book he would recommend to fellow founders, Marc highlights "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker. He credits the book with helping him realize the importance of sleep and how fixing his sleep patterns unlocked improvements in motivation, productivity, and overall happiness.
Conclusion:
Marc Lou's journey from zero to over $100,000 per month is a remarkable testament to the power of perseverance, strategic thinking, and the willingness to learn from experience. His story serves as an inspiration to aspiring founders, demonstrating that success is attainable with the right mindset, tools, and strategies.
As we reflect on Marc's journey, it becomes clear that the path to success in the SaaS industry is not a straight line. It requires a willingness to take risks, learn from failures, and continuously adapt to the ever-changing landscape. By following Marc's advice and embracing the mindset of starting with anything, aspiring founders can embark on their own journeys, armed with the knowledge and inspiration gained from Marc's remarkable story.
