How Abhishek Built an $11K/Month SaaS by Copying a Big Competitor

Executive overview

Most indie hackers waste time chasing novel ideas. Abhishek (Abhi Shake) took the opposite route: he identified a gap left by an established tool, built a stripped-down alternative in two weeks, and grew it to $11K MRR with 500 paying customers. The strategy is systematic, repeatable, and requires no original idea. The core insight: validate demand by finding an existing market, then win on the gaps the incumbent ignores.

The "find the gap" framework

• Look for a popular tool with a large, vocal user base
• Search Twitter, Reddit, and the competitor's own forum for complaints using queries like "X alternative"
• Identify gaps — missing features or pricing that has gone too high
• Pricing alone is rarely enough; look for feature gaps too
• Reach out to frustrated users with a landing page before writing any product code

Building the MVP

• Abhishek built the first version of UForm (a Typeform alternative) in two weeks
• Initial feature set: collect name, email, and star-rating fields, export data as CSV — nothing else
• No integrations, no logo, no polished landing page at launch
• A one-click migration tool lets prospects paste a Typeform URL and instantly preview their form in UForm — removes friction from switching

Current business metrics

• $11K MRR, ~35,000 registered users, ~500 paying customers
• Freemium model: 90%+ of features free; conversion rate 1.5–2%
• ~35,000 unique visitors per month; 4 million form submissions processed
• Total monthly infrastructure and tooling costs: under $1,200

Tech stack and tools

• Laravel on AWS (chosen for familiarity, not novelty)
• Cloudflare for security and storage; Stripe for payments
• OpenAI for fraud detection on the free tier
• Simple Analytics, Lemon (Gany) for feedback, Mailgun for email

Opportunities Abhishek flagged but hasn't pursued

• A simpler, cheaper alternative to Canva — Canva is moving upmarket and leaving small teams behind
• An alternative to the Forest habit-tracking app — recent reviews are overwhelmingly negative
• Avoid marketplaces and social platforms; stick to focused productivity or data tools

Key lessons from the journey

• Messaging matters most early on — the landing page copy must mirror exactly what the target user is searching for
• Product quality and customer support drive referrals and retention, not just acquisition
• Take risks early when personal responsibilities are low
• Never build because you can; build only what people are already looking for