How Deven Built Supergrow to ~$230K ARR as an Indie Hacker

Business Overview of Supergrow

What problem does Supergrow solve?

Deven noticed that founders and creators struggled to stay consistent on LinkedIn and Twitter because writing engaging posts took too much time and effort. Seeing a growing demand for personal branding tools and the rise of GPT-3, he built Supergrow — an AI tool that turns simple ideas into polished LinkedIn posts. Instead of trying to do everything, Supergrow focused on one thing: making content creation effortless.

Unlike other founders who ship an MVP, he wanted to build an MLP (Minimum Lovable Product) a product that users would love. The early version had only one core flow: input a lesson / insight → generate a polished post → publish or copy. 

In his words:

“Instead of an MVP that just works, I wanted an MLP — something people love using.”

Who is the target audience of Supergrow?

• Founders & Indie Hackers: People building in public who want to amplify their voice and content reach.
• Content Creators / Professionals: Individuals who know they should post but struggle with consistency or crafting good posts.
• Aspiring Personal Brands: People transitioning to thought leadership or looking to build influence via social media.
  
  

Pricing Strategy of Supergrow

• Lifetime deals (initial launch phase): Deven used LTDs to get early paying users and generate runway. One campaign via Rockethub brought in ~$65K. 
• Subscription model: Over time, Supergrow shifted toward recurring pricing, as the product matured and retention improved.
• Tiered access / AI credits / credit based pricing: Apart from LTD’s and Subscriptions, SuperGrow also offered credit based pricing where users can purchase additional credits to use SuperGrow based on their requirement. 
  
  

Value Proposition

• Speed & ease of content creation: Users can generate polished, post-worthy content in just a few clicks from simple prompts.
• AI-enhanced writing quality: Better content with less effort.
• Authenticity: Because Deven shared many behind-the-scenes, users felt a human connection to the tool.
• Low upfront friction: The MLP is simple to onboard and immediately useful, reducing barriers to adoption.
  
  

Marketing & Growth Strategy

Validation Strategy

• Instead of inventing a new market category, Deven focused on a validated market — personal branding and content creation tools.
• He studied existing products like Taplio and AuthoredUp, identified their shortcomings, and improved upon them by at least 1–2% in user experience and content quality.
• This approach minimized risk and ensured that the product had an existing, paying customer base from day one.
  
  

Pre-Launch & Audience Warm-Up

• Prior to any major launch, Deven leveraged social channels to build anticipation — sharing behind-the-scenes development, UI previews, and “something’s coming” posts.
• He built a small but highly engaged email list and waitlist of early supporters.
• This meant that when Supergrow launched, it already had a ready audience that converted quickly.
  
  

Public Building & Content Marketing

• Deven and his cofounder consistently shared their journey — decisions, challenges, and milestones — on LinkedIn and Twitter. This “building in public” approach built trust, transparency, and relatability. Many users mentioned they bought Supergrow simply because they “felt like they knew the founder.”
• These regular posts acted as organic marketing funnels. They not only brought in early users but also caught the attention of potential partners, newsletters, and LTD (lifetime deal) platforms, many of whom reached out proactively to collaborate.
• Deven created a continuous feedback loop that doubled as marketing content — every small update or insight became shareable material that drove attention back to Supergrow.
  
  

Lifetime Deal (LTD)

• The LTD launch became the backbone of Supergrow’s early growth. Platforms like RocketHub provided distribution through email marketing, Facebook ads, and community promotion, allowing Supergrow to tap into a pre-existing customer base.
• The launch generated $65K in just 3 days, validating the product and providing immediate cash flow for further development.
• They let the ltd platform to handle marketing for the launch, so that their team can handle customer support
• Multiple pricing tiers — such as $79, $199, and $299 — offered varying levels of value and created a sense of exclusivity. The higher tiers appealed to serious creators, while the lower ones drove volume.
• The LTD launch was limited to a 3-day window with a cap on the number of seats, creating urgency and preventing customer support overload.
• The LTD event itself became content. Deven documented the journey publicly:
  • Day 1: $15K
  • Day 2: $40K
  • Day 3: $65K
• This transparency created FOMO and momentum — many people bought purely to be part of a viral story.
• Testimonials and positive user reviews were displayed across social channels, building the trust loop.
  
  

Customer Support During Launch

• Deven personally handled customer support during the LTD phase, ensuring every buyer received quick, personalized responses.
• Early users’ feedback directly shaped the roadmap — each feature request or bug report was treated as high-priority.
• This obsessive focus on customers turned buyers into advocates who later promoted the tool across social media.
  
  

Data-Driven Product Improvement

• Tools like Mixpanel and Microsoft Clarity were used to track how users interacted with Supergrow — which features they loved, ignored, or struggled with.
• This helped Deven identify what drove retention and prioritize improvements that truly mattered to users.
  
  

Transition from LTD to Subscription Model

• After the LTD phase, the focus shifted to building sustainable recurring revenue.
• The team began upselling LTD customers to new plans or features — for example, advanced analytics or premium AI templates.
• New features were gated behind subscription tiers, allowing Supergrow to grow beyond the one-time LTD revenue.
  
  

Community Building & Evangelism

• Satisfied LTD customers became Supergrow’s strongest advocates. Many shared their experiences on LinkedIn, Twitter, Product Hunt, and even WhatsApp groups.
• Deven encouraged this by reposting user stories, engaging in comments, and building relationships that extended beyond transactions.
  
  

Product Launch on Marketplaces

• Following the LTD success, Supergrow launched on Product Hunt to capture a wider audience and increase visibility.
• The goal was to be featured as Product of the Week, which would add credibility and bring recurring signups.
• This created an opportunity to gather testimonials and build social proof for future campaigns.
  
  

Influencer & Partnership Distribution

Instead of relying only on ads, Deven reinvested LTD profits into influencer partnerships, focusing on LinkedIn creators with relevant audiences. Each influencer was vetted for engagement quality and authenticity (to avoid botted or fake accounts).

He structured deals as:

• Free product access + affiliate share (up to 50%)
• Performance-tied flat fees ($300–$500 per post)
• Or a hybrid of both

By targeting mid-tier influencers (20–50k followers) and tracking affiliate-driven conversions, Supergrow achieved up to 10x ROI on influencer marketing.

Paid Retargeting & Efficient Marketing Spend

• While most traction was organic, small paid campaigns were used to retarget landing page visitors and waitlist subscribers.
• This capitalized on existing warm audiences instead of broad cold traffic, resulting in high ROI at minimal spend.
  
  

Iteration, Feedback, and Continuous Growth

• LTD customers effectively acted as a free product testing army — they actively suggested improvements and identified bugs.
• Deven’s responsiveness built goodwill and kept the community active long after launch.
• Rapid iteration cycles helped the product evolve faster than competitors, maintaining user satisfaction and retention.
  
  

How to Replicate Supergrow’s Success Strategy

Product Strategy

1. Pick a proven market and a clear pain point. Supergrow didn’t invent a new category—it entered a known space (LinkedIn growth tools) with clear user demand but improved execution.
2. Solve one critical problem really well. Instead of building an all-in-one platform, they focused on helping users grow faster on LinkedIn with automation and analytics.
3. Build a Minimum Lovable Product (MLP). The team launched early but made sure the core experience felt smooth, simple, and delightful enough to earn word-of-mouth traction.
   
   

Marketing & Traction

1. Build in public with radical transparency. Deven shared numbers, milestones, and failures on Twitter and Indie Hackers, which helped establish trust and attract early adopters.
2. Leverage viral loops inside the product. Users who shared their growth results on LinkedIn indirectly promoted the product to their own followers.
3. Create an audience-first strategy. Before big launches, Deven engaged with the LinkedIn and Indie Hacker communities, answering questions, helping others, and positioning himself as an expert in growth.
4. Run a strategic lifetime deal launch. The early LTD offer generated buzz, attracted the first 300 paying users, and provided enough revenue to reinvest into development.
5. Capitalize on momentum with fast iteration. Whenever a post or story went viral, the team followed up quickly—adding requested features, onboarding new users, and sharing updates that kept the momentum alive.
   
   
   

Growth & Monetization

1. Start small, but charge early. Even the first 50 users paid—helping validate product-market fit fast.
2. Use community feedback loops. Supergrow constantly engaged early users through feedback forms and live chats to improve retention and usability.
3. Transition from lifetime deals to recurring revenue. Once demand and trust were proven, Supergrow switched to subscriptions to sustain long-term growth.
4. Focus on retention, not vanity metrics. Deven emphasized long-term active users and referrals instead of pure signup volume.
5. Turn customers into promoters. By delivering visible results, users became evangelists—fueling word-of-mouth growth without heavy ad spend.