diff ~/p/brett-williams ~/p/patrick-mckenzie

Brett Williams vs Patrick McKenzie

Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.

Brett Williams

Solo designer running Designjoy, a $1M+/yr one-person design subscription

@BrettFromDJ United States

Patrick McKenzie

patio11: Bingo Card Creator, Appointment Reminder, Stripe Atlas and Bits about Money

@patio11 United States

Brett Williams vs Patrick McKenzie at a glance

Both Brett Williams and Patrick McKenzie are bootstrapped solo founders and build in public. They overlap in Educators & Course Creators. Brett is based in Phoenix, United States, Patrick in Chicago, United States. Brett started in 2017 and Patrick in 2006. Brett Williams has 4 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Patrick McKenzie's 5. Patrick has sold 2 products. On revenue, Brett self-reports $100K MRR (Designjoy) + $12K MRR (Productize Yourself) (as of 2026) and Patrick ~$275K/yr sales, ~$200K profit (excl. Appointment Reminder) (as of 2012). They share 1 tool in their stacks: Stripe. On X, Brett has about 171K followers and Patrick about 201K.

Side-by-side comparison

Based in: Brett Williams: Phoenix, United States; Patrick McKenzie: Chicago, United States
Started: Brett Williams: 2017 (9 yrs indie); Patrick McKenzie: 2006 (20 yrs indie)
Revenue (self-reported): Brett Williams: $100K MRR (Designjoy) + $12K MRR (Productize Yourself)self-reported, as of 2026 · source for Brett Williams's revenue; Patrick McKenzie: ~$275K/yr sales, ~$200K profit (excl. Appointment Reminder)self-reported, as of 2012 · source for Patrick McKenzie's revenue
Products listed: Brett Williams: 4; Patrick McKenzie: 5
Product status: Brett Williams: 4 active; Patrick McKenzie: 2 active · 2 acquired · 1 shut down
X followers: Brett Williams: 171K; Patrick McKenzie: 201K
Categories: Brett Williams: Productized Services Design Tools Educators & Course Creators; Patrick McKenzie: SaaS Founders Creators & Writers Fintech & Payments Educators & Course Creators
Style: Brett Williams: solobootstrappedbuilds in public; Patrick McKenzie: solobootstrappedbuilds in publicexited
Courses & resources: Brett Williams: 1; Patrick McKenzie: 5

Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.

Tech stack

1 shared tool, marked with ★: Stripe. See the indie maker tech stack.

Brett Williams

TrelloWebflow Stripe

Patrick McKenzie

Ruby on RailsTwilio Stripe

How they build

Brett Williams

Productize a service with a flat monthly price instead of quoting projects.
When demand outgrows capacity, raise prices rather than hire.
Stay small and keep the margins.

Patrick McKenzie

Charge more — most software businesses dramatically underprice.
SaaS is the best business model ever invented for software.
Being a better marketer than most engineers (and vice versa) is a superpower.
Write prolifically and in public; generous writing compounds into opportunity.
Keep a low personal burn rate so a small business can sustain you indefinitely.

Learn from Brett and Patrick

Brett Williams

[course] Productize Yourself

Patrick McKenzie

[newsletter] Bits about Money
[podcast] Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie
[template] Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued
[course] Lifecycle Emails course
[template] Start here if you're new

Brett Williams vs Patrick McKenzie FAQ

Who makes more money, Brett Williams or Patrick McKenzie?

Brett Williams self-reports $100K MRR (Designjoy) + $12K MRR (Productize Yourself) (as of 2026) and Patrick McKenzie self-reports ~$275K/yr sales, ~$200K profit (excl. Appointment Reminder) (as of 2012). By these self-reported figures, Brett Williams' reported monthly revenue is higher. Figures are unaudited and may cover different periods or businesses, so treat them as rough indicators.

Who has built more products, Brett Williams or Patrick McKenzie?

Brett Williams has 4 products listed (including Designjoy, Productize Yourself and GatherOS); Patrick McKenzie has 5 products listed (including Bingo Card Creator, Appointment Reminder and Starfighter).