Publer
publer.com
Social media management platform to plan, schedule, collaborate, analyse and report across networks.
~$3M ARR
diff ~/p/ervin-kalemi ~/p/justin-duke
Ervin Kalemi vs Justin Duke
Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.
Founder of Buttondown, the bootstrapped newsletter platform he started at Stripe
@jmduke United States
Ervin Kalemi vs Justin Duke at a glance
Both Ervin Kalemi and Justin Duke are bootstrapped. They overlap in SaaS Founders and Marketing & SEO Tools. Ervin is based in Tirana, Albania, Justin in Richmond, United States. Ervin started in 2012 and Justin in 2016. Ervin Kalemi has 3 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Justin Duke's 2. On revenue, Ervin self-reports ~$3M ARR (as of 2025) and Justin ~$15K MRR (as of 2022-12). On X, Ervin has about 6K followers and Justin about 5.6K.
Side-by-side comparison
- Based in
- Ervin Kalemi: Tirana, Albania
- Justin Duke: Richmond, United States
- Started
- Ervin Kalemi: 2012 (14 yrs indie)
- Justin Duke: 2016 (10 yrs indie)
- Revenue (self-reported)
- Ervin Kalemi: ~$3M ARRself-reported, as of 2025 · source for Ervin Kalemi's revenue
- Justin Duke: ~$15K MRRself-reported, as of 2022-12 · source for Justin Duke's revenue
- Products listed
- Ervin Kalemi: 3
- Justin Duke: 2
- Product status
- Ervin Kalemi: 3 active
- Justin Duke: 1 active · 1 shut down
- X followers
- Ervin Kalemi: 6K
- Justin Duke: 5.6K
- Categories
- Ervin Kalemi: SaaS FoundersMarketing & SEO Tools
- Justin Duke: SaaS FoundersMarketing & SEO ToolsCreators & Writers
- Style
- Ervin Kalemi: bootstrapped
- Justin Duke: bootstrappedbuilds in public
- Courses & resources
- Ervin Kalemi: —
- Justin Duke: —
Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.
Top products
Buttondown
buttondown.com
Simple, developer-friendly email newsletter platform for writers and publishers.
~$15K MRR
Service that tracked changes people made to their social media profiles and bios.
Tech stack
No tools in common in their publicly listed stacks. See the indie maker tech stack.
No stack shared publicly.
DjangoPythonVueHerokuPostmarkStripe
How they build
- Start from a real problem close to home.
- Bootstrap through the hard years instead of raising.
- Build a family of tools around one core audience.
- Pick boring, familiar technology so you can focus on the product.
- A side project can compound for years before it needs to become a full-time job.
- Stay profitable and self-funded rather than relying on outside capital.
- Publish openly about how the business is going, including annual reviews.
Ervin Kalemi vs Justin Duke FAQ
Who makes more money, Ervin Kalemi or Justin Duke?
Ervin Kalemi self-reports ~$3M ARR (as of 2025) and Justin Duke self-reports ~$15K MRR (as of 2022-12). By these self-reported figures, Ervin Kalemi's 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, Ervin Kalemi or Justin Duke?
Ervin Kalemi has 3 products listed (Publer, Linkie and Kibo); Justin Duke has 2 products listed (Buttondown and Spoonbill).
What tech stack do Ervin Kalemi and Justin Duke use?
Ervin Kalemi hasn't shared a stack. Justin Duke uses Django, Python, Vue, Heroku, Postmark and Stripe. They don't list any tools in common.
Where are Ervin Kalemi and Justin Duke based?
Ervin Kalemi: Tirana, Albania. Justin Duke: Richmond, United States.
Who has been an indie maker longer, Ervin Kalemi or Justin Duke?
Ervin Kalemi started in 2012 (14 years indie); Justin Duke started in 2016 (10 years indie).
Are Ervin Kalemi and Justin Duke bootstrapped?
Yes, both are listed as bootstrapped founders on IndieMakerList.
Full profiles
Read the full story, timeline and links on Ervin Kalemi's profile and Justin Duke's profile.
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