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Antoine van der Lee

Dutch indie iOS developer behind SwiftLee, RocketSim and the Going Indie course

@twannl NetherlandsDeveloper ToolsEducators & Course CreatorsMac & Desktop App Makers

About Antoine van der Lee

Antoine van der Lee is a Dutch iOS developer who runs SwiftLee, one of the most widely read blogs and newsletters for Swift developers, and RocketSim, a Mac developer tool that adds extra capabilities to Apple's iOS Simulator such as recording, network monitoring and design comparison overlays.

He spent seven and a half years as a staff iOS engineer at WeTransfer in Amsterdam, building SwiftLee and RocketSim on the side. In March 2024 he decided to leave to work on his own products full time, funded by RocketSim team licenses, SwiftLee sponsorships and courses, and he officially left at the end of July 2024. He has since published courses including a Swift Concurrency course and From Side Project to Going Indie, and hosts the Going Indie podcast.

He says his blog and newsletter reach more than 150,000 developers.

Products by Antoine van der Lee

RocketSim logo

RocketSim

rocketsim.app

Mac app that extends the iOS Simulator with recordings, network monitoring and design overlays.

SwiftLee logo

SwiftLee

avanderlee.com

Weekly blog and newsletter on Swift and iOS development.

Videos with Antoine van der Lee

Interviews & press

Timeline

  1. 2024 — Left WeTransfer after 7.5 years to work full time on SwiftLee, RocketSim and courses.
  2. 2025 — First full year focused only on indie projects.

How Antoine builds

  • Grow a side project until its income can replace a job.
  • Combine content, a product and courses into one indie business.

Learn from Antoine van der Lee

Antoine van der Lee FAQ

What is RocketSim?

RocketSim is Antoine van der Lee's Mac app that adds features such as recordings, network monitoring and design overlays to the iOS Simulator.

When did Antoine van der Lee go indie?

He decided in March 2024 to leave WeTransfer and officially left at the end of July 2024 to focus on SwiftLee, RocketSim and courses.

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