diff ~/p/pat-walls ~/p/patrick-mckenzie

Pat Walls vs Patrick McKenzie

Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.

Pat Walls

Founder of Starter Story, the founder case-study brand acquired by HubSpot in 2026

@thepatwalls United States

Patrick McKenzie

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

@patio11 United States

Pat Walls vs Patrick McKenzie at a glance

Both Pat Walls and Patrick McKenzie are bootstrapped, build in public and have sold at least one product. They overlap in Creators & Writers and Educators & Course Creators. Pat is based in United States, Patrick in Chicago, United States. Pat started in 2017 and Patrick in 2006. Pat Walls has 2 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Patrick McKenzie's 5. Pat has sold 1 product and Patrick 2. On revenue, Pat self-reports $1M/yr (as of 2023) and Patrick ~$275K/yr sales, ~$200K profit (excl. Appointment Reminder) (as of 2012). They share 1 tool in their stacks: Ruby on Rails. On X, Pat has about 143K followers and Patrick about 201K.

Side-by-side comparison

Based in: Pat Walls: United States; Patrick McKenzie: Chicago, United States
Started: Pat Walls: 2017 (9 yrs indie); Patrick McKenzie: 2006 (20 yrs indie)
Revenue (self-reported): Pat Walls: $1M/yrself-reported, as of 2023 · source for Pat Walls'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: Pat Walls: 2; Patrick McKenzie: 5
Product status: Pat Walls: 1 active · 1 acquired; Patrick McKenzie: 2 active · 2 acquired · 1 shut down
X followers: Pat Walls: 143K; Patrick McKenzie: 201K
Categories: Pat Walls: Creators & Writers Educators & Course Creators Directory Makers; Patrick McKenzie: SaaS Founders Creators & Writers Fintech & Payments Educators & Course Creators
Style: Pat Walls: bootstrappedbuilds in publicexited; Patrick McKenzie: solobootstrappedbuilds in publicexited
Courses & resources: Pat Walls: 4; 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 ★: Ruby on Rails. See the indie maker tech stack.

Pat Walls

Ruby on Rails

Patrick McKenzie

Ruby on RailsTwilioStripe

How they build

Pat Walls

Distribution matters more than the product — find one channel that works, then find the next one as you grow.
Consistent daily deep work over a long period beats bursts of hustle.
Eventually you have to pick one idea and go all-in instead of juggling many projects.
Be radically transparent about numbers — real revenue makes content stand out.
Build a business to change your life, not to become your life; rest to stay in the game.

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 Pat and Patrick

Pat Walls

[youtube] Starter Story on YouTube
[newsletter] Starter Story Newsletter
[community] Starter Story Premium
[course] Starter Story Build Accelerator · $395

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

Pat Walls vs Patrick McKenzie FAQ

Who makes more money, Pat Walls or Patrick McKenzie?

Pat Walls self-reports $1M/yr (as of 2023) and Patrick McKenzie self-reports ~$275K/yr sales, ~$200K profit (excl. Appointment Reminder) (as of 2012). By these self-reported figures, Pat Walls' 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, Pat Walls or Patrick McKenzie?

Pat Walls has 2 products listed (Starter Story and Starter Story Build); Patrick McKenzie has 5 products listed (including Bingo Card Creator, Appointment Reminder and Starfighter).