Indie Interviews
Can you tell us more about yourself and what led you to become an indie maker
I'm Matthias Neumayer, a curious individual with a background in law & film directing. My journey into the indie maker space commenced alongside my amazing co-founder Dima Rubanov. Dima and I have been best friends for over 20 years, during COVID we joined forces and fulfilled our dream, to start a business together. We both left our 9-5 one year ago and started with our project.
How did you come up with the idea? How do you generate ideas for your apps or projects, and how do you identify the problems or needs your app can address?
Actually we have more ideas than time unfortunately :) The idea for Oscar was quite organic. It came from observing a need - in this case, Oscar's love for fresh, engaging stories. Generally, idea generation for our projects stems from real-world observations, discussions, and a desire to solve problems or fulfill unmet needs. We engage in brainstorming sessions and always keep an open dialogue with our target audience to understand their needs better.
How is your day-to-day app development workflow look like?
Our day-to-day app development workflow is quite structured. We always kick off the day with a daily standup and discuss goals. Sometimes it is hard to wear so many hats, Trello is a life safer.
How do you launch and market your app?
We had some success with PR work and got a lot of free coverage, just by manually reaching out to news outlets. We also launched on Product Hunt and made #1, which was surprising and really amazing. We are right now exploring different social media channels and also were on two offline events to present our product there.
What are the future plans for your app?
Oscar bedtime stories is just the beginning in the kids storytelling space for us. We want to become the best interactive storytelling experience for kids and have a huge pipeline in front of us.
Do you have any interesting lessons learned or tips for other indie makers?
The journey has been a learning curve. One major takeaway is the importance of user feedback from the early stages. It's invaluable for refining the product. To other indie makers, I'd say: Stay curious, value feedback, and don't fear iteration.
Also: Launch as early as possible!
Looking back, are there any decisions or actions you regret not taking before or during the development and launch of your apps? Is there anything you would have done differently?
Maybe talk even more to potential users and also get live feedback in the offline world. You learn so much by really seeing how somebody uses the app. Still way better than any analytics tool.
Are there any indie makers or creators whose work you admire and follow closely?
In the indie maker space, I admire creators who are passionate, persistent, and community-oriented. Their journeys are a source of motivation and learning. Well of course Dima Rubanov (@Dima_heyqq) my co-founder :)
And I recommend Dan Mindru @d4m1n, who is also the funniest guy on twitter, Dmytro Krasun @DmytroKrasun, Sandra Dajic @TakoTreba, Tobias Arweiler @icebearlabs (also has a great podcast), Florian Vates @florianvates, Stefan Meyer @Stefcodes, Jason Leow @jasonleowsg, Carl Poppa @poppacalypse, Phil Keller @philkellr , Joe @mistermeenr and many others!
Thanks for reading til the end. Hope you enjoy the interview as much as we did.
Indie Interviews by Indie Goodies is all about discovering and showcasing indie makers. We firmly believe that behind every app, there's an inspiring tale of passion, creativity, and perseverance. We're always on the lookout for aspiring indie makers to feature in our series, and if you have any suggestions or recommendations, we'd love to hear from you.
Once again, thank you for joining us on this journey. Your support means the world to us. Until next time, keep supporting indie makers, keep exploring innovative apps, and subscribe to Indie Goodies interviews for more.