Draft.dev
draft.dev
Technical content agency that writes developer-focused articles for software and devtools companies.
$2.5M+ in 2022
diff ~/p/karl-hughes ~/p/kevin-sahin
Karl Hughes vs Kevin Sahin
Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.
Karl Hughes vs Kevin Sahin at a glance
Both Karl Hughes and Kevin Sahin are bootstrapped. They overlap in Acquirers & Indie Investors and Developer Tools. Karl is based in Chicago, United States, Kevin in Paris, France. Karl started in 2020 and Kevin in 2019. Karl Hughes has 3 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Kevin Sahin's 1. Kevin has sold 1 product. On revenue, Karl self-reports $2.5M/yr (Draft.dev, 2022) and Kevin $5M+ ARR (at exit) (as of 2025). On X, Karl has about 3.8K followers and Kevin about 3.4K.
Side-by-side comparison
- Based in
- Karl Hughes: Chicago, United States
- Kevin Sahin: Paris, France
- Started
- Karl Hughes: 2020 (6 yrs indie)
- Kevin Sahin: 2019 (7 yrs indie)
- Revenue (self-reported)
- Karl Hughes: $2.5M/yr (Draft.dev, 2022)self-reported, as of 2022 · source for Karl Hughes's revenue
- Kevin Sahin: $5M+ ARR (at exit)self-reported, as of 2025 · source for Kevin Sahin's revenue
- Products listed
- Karl Hughes: 3
- Kevin Sahin: 1
- Product status
- Karl Hughes: 3 active
- Kevin Sahin: 0 active · 1 acquired
- X followers
- Karl Hughes: 3.8K
- Kevin Sahin: 3.4K
- Categories
- Karl Hughes: Productized ServicesAcquirers & Indie InvestorsDeveloper Tools
- Kevin Sahin: Developer ToolsSaaS FoundersAcquirers & Indie Investors
- Style
- Karl Hughes: bootstrappedserial maker
- Kevin Sahin: duobootstrappedexited
- Courses & resources
- Karl Hughes: 3
- Kevin Sahin: 1
Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.
Top products
The Podcast Consultant
thepodcastconsultant.com
Podcast editing and production service for financial and business podcasts, acquired in 2023.
Rise25
rise25.com
Done-for-you B2B podcast service that helps founders use podcasts for growth and networking.
Web scraping API that handles headless browsers, proxies and anti-bot measures.
Tech stack
No tools in common in their publicly listed stacks. See the indie maker tech stack.
No stack shared publicly.
No stack shared publicly.
How they build
- Productized services can scale into substantial businesses without venture capital.
- Buying an existing service business gives you a running company on day one.
- Protect margins through disciplined service fulfillment.
- Build a business you can sustain to avoid founder burnout.
- Content and SEO can be a durable acquisition engine for developer tools.
- Interview users constantly in the early days.
- Bootstrap to keep control of the company.
Learn from Karl and Kevin
- [podcast] Retained Trust
- [newsletter] Karl Hughes newsletter
- [book] The Agency Valuation Handbook · Free
Karl Hughes vs Kevin Sahin FAQ
Who makes more money, Karl Hughes or Kevin Sahin?
Karl Hughes self-reports $2.5M/yr (Draft.dev, 2022) and Kevin Sahin self-reports $5M+ ARR (at exit) (as of 2025). By these self-reported figures, Kevin Sahin'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, Karl Hughes or Kevin Sahin?
Karl Hughes has 3 products listed (Draft.dev, The Podcast Consultant and Rise25); Kevin Sahin has 1 product listed (ScrapingBee).
Where are Karl Hughes and Kevin Sahin based?
Karl Hughes: Chicago, United States. Kevin Sahin: Paris, France.
Who has been an indie maker longer, Karl Hughes or Kevin Sahin?
Karl Hughes started in 2020 (6 years indie); Kevin Sahin started in 2019 (7 years indie).
Are Karl Hughes and Kevin Sahin bootstrapped?
Yes, both are listed as bootstrapped founders on IndieMakerList.
Full profiles
Read the full story, timeline and links on Karl Hughes's profile and Kevin Sahin's profile.
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