Buttondown
buttondown.com
Simple, developer-friendly email newsletter platform for writers and publishers.
~$15K MRR
diff ~/p/justin-duke ~/p/nick-velkovski
Justin Duke vs Nick Velkovski
Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.
Founder of Buttondown, the bootstrapped newsletter platform he started at Stripe
@jmduke United States
Co-founder and CEO of HeyReach, bootstrapped past $19M ARR, and co-founder of Loopster
@nikolak47 United States
Justin Duke vs Nick Velkovski at a glance
Both Justin Duke and Nick Velkovski are bootstrapped. They overlap in SaaS Founders and Marketing & SEO Tools. Justin is based in Richmond, United States, Nick in San Francisco, United States. Justin started in 2016 and Nick in 2021. Justin Duke has 2 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Nick Velkovski's 3. On revenue, Justin self-reports ~$15K MRR (as of 2022-12) and Nick $19M+ ARR (as of 2026-10). On X, Justin has about 5.6K followers and Nick about 3K.
Side-by-side comparison
- Based in
- Justin Duke: Richmond, United States
- Nick Velkovski: San Francisco, United States
- Started
- Justin Duke: 2016 (10 yrs indie)
- Nick Velkovski: 2021 (5 yrs indie)
- Revenue (self-reported)
- Justin Duke: ~$15K MRRself-reported, as of 2022-12 · source for Justin Duke's revenue
- Nick Velkovski: $19M+ ARRself-reported, as of 2026-10 · source for Nick Velkovski's revenue
- Products listed
- Justin Duke: 2
- Nick Velkovski: 3
- Product status
- Justin Duke: 1 active · 1 shut down
- Nick Velkovski: 2 active · 1 shut down
- X followers
- Justin Duke: 5.6K
- Nick Velkovski: 3K
- Categories
- Justin Duke: SaaS FoundersMarketing & SEO ToolsCreators & Writers
- Nick Velkovski: SaaS FoundersMarketing & SEO Tools
- Style
- Justin Duke: bootstrappedbuilds in public
- Nick Velkovski: bootstrapped
- Courses & resources
- Justin Duke: —
- Nick Velkovski: —
Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.
Top products
Service that tracked changes people made to their social media profiles and bios.
HeyReach
heyreach.io
LinkedIn outreach automation for agencies, sales teams and GTM engineers, with unlimited sender accounts for one fixed cost.
$19M+ ARR
Loopster
loopster.ai
GTM orchestration platform built by HeyReach: build lists, enrich contacts and launch outreach plays for one flat fee.
Reddit direct-message outreach tool, Velkovski's first startup; shut down before the pivot to HeyReach.
Tech stack
No tools in common in their publicly listed stacks. See the indie maker tech stack.
DjangoPythonVueHerokuPostmarkStripe
No stack shared publicly.
How they build
- 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.
- Narrow your ideal customer profile to grow faster.
- Bootstrapping can reach eight-figure ARR without outside capital.
- Price on a flat fee instead of per seat or per credit.
- Treat platform risk as a reason to build a more resilient company.
Justin Duke vs Nick Velkovski FAQ
Who makes more money, Justin Duke or Nick Velkovski?
Justin Duke self-reports ~$15K MRR (as of 2022-12) and Nick Velkovski self-reports $19M+ ARR (as of 2026-10). By these self-reported figures, Nick Velkovski'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, Justin Duke or Nick Velkovski?
Justin Duke has 2 products listed (Buttondown and Spoonbill); Nick Velkovski has 3 products listed (HeyReach, Loopster and Howitzer).
What tech stack do Justin Duke and Nick Velkovski use?
Justin Duke uses Django, Python, Vue, Heroku, Postmark and Stripe. Nick Velkovski hasn't shared a stack. They don't list any tools in common.
Where are Justin Duke and Nick Velkovski based?
Justin Duke: Richmond, United States. Nick Velkovski: San Francisco, United States.
Who has been an indie maker longer, Justin Duke or Nick Velkovski?
Justin Duke started in 2016 (10 years indie); Nick Velkovski started in 2021 (5 years indie).
Are Justin Duke and Nick Velkovski bootstrapped?
Yes, both are listed as bootstrapped founders on IndieMakerList.
Full profiles
Read the full story, timeline and links on Justin Duke's profile and Nick Velkovski's profile.
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