Founder stories
$100K ARRin 2 years
4 milestones
8 databases to 800 in 3 days after accidental Hacker News launch
Founder
Paul Copplestone
Co-Founders•Technical•USA
Commitment
Full-timeExperience
ExperiencedProduct
Open source Firebase alternative with PostgreSQL database.
Type
SaaSIndustry
Developer ToolsModel
SubscriptionMarketing Strategy
How Paul acquired customers
Primary Channel
Communities
Also Used
Twitter / XProduct Hunt
Tech Stack
Tools used to build Supabase
PostgreSQLElixirReactStripe
The Full Story
We launched accidentally on Hacker News and went from 8 hosted databases to 800 in 3 days. The "Open Source Firebase Alternative" positioning resonated.
Counter-Positioning
Firebase was the giant. We positioned as the open source alternative. Developers who wanted control flocked to us.
Accidental HN Launch
Someone posted us on Hacker News before we were ready. But it turned out better than any planned Product Hunt launch.
Open Source Trust
Being open source built instant trust with developers. They could see the code and contribute.
- Pre-HN: 8 databases
- 3 days post-HN: 800 databases
- GitHub stars: 46K+
- Growth: Exponential from HN moment
Key Takeaways
1
Counter-positioning against giants works
2
Accidental HN launch can beat planned PH
3
Open source builds developer trust
4
Right positioning is everything
Originally published onBasedash Blog
Inspired by Paul's journey? Generate a business idea in the Developer Tools space using AI and real founder data.
Milestone Journey
Paul achieved 4 milestones on the path to $100K ARR
First Customer
2 months
38% faster
vs avg 3 months+4 months to next milestone
$1K MRR
$1,000
6 months
46% faster
vs avg 11 months+6 months to next milestone
$10K MRR
$100,000
1 year
43% faster
vs avg 1 year+1 year to next milestone
$100K ARR
$100,000
2 years
38% faster
vs avg 3 years2 years
Total journey time
4
Milestones achieved
Paul's Path to $100K ARRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
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