From Google to Indie Dev: Mac Apps, Subscriptions, AI Coding – Daniel Gräfe

Daniel Gräfe, founder of Timing and Cotypist, joins Marco to talk about the realities of indie software development after leaving Big Tech. They discuss turning side projects into a real business, risky rewrites, subscription pricing, and how AI fits into day-to-day coding and support. Daniel shares lessons from more than a decade of building and maintaining Mac apps, including what worked, what didn’t, and why sustainability matters more than quick wins. A grounded conversation for developers thinking about indie SaaS, side projects, or life beyond a full-time engineering role. 💡 Topics in this episode: Leaving Google to go indie Side projects vs running a business Rewriting a product from scratch Subscription pricing decisions B2B vs B2C tradeoffs Using AI in everyday development Long-term maintenance and sustainability 🕑 Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (04:08) Timing, CoTypist, and Daniel’s background (05:30) Early side projects and first Mac apps (13:16) Getting into Google (20:02) Promotion, performance, Big Tech reality (27:33) Quitting Google and going indie (28:27) Rewriting Timing from scratch (37:52) Launch day, sales, and burnout (46:37) Subscriptions and pricing decisions (54:13) Using AI for coding and support (01:03:34) Advice for aspiring indie developers (01:12:10) Agency vs intelligence (01:13:22) Giveaway + outro New episodes every other Wednesday. Subscribe for more developer-focused conversations. 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/t4DkaadHLnI