Interview with Andy Cloke, founder of DataFetcher — How a $23K/month micro‑SaaS was built without VC noise

Table of Contents

• 🔎 Why this conversation matters
• 🧾 Quick overview — who is Andy and what is DataFetcher?
• 🛠 The core problem DataFetcher solves
• 📈 The platform strategy that made growth possible
• 🧭 Andy’s six‑step framework for finding $20K/month ideas
• 🧪 Where to build right now (platforms to target)
• 🚀 Growth breakdown: how DataFetcher scaled to $23K/month
• 🧩 The stack — what Andy actually built
• 💸 Costs, margins, and what to expect financially
• 🧠 The behavioral secret: focus, not shiny objects
• 🔍 User testing — the revenue multiplier
• 🧭 Tactical blueprint: launch a platform add‑on this weekend
• ❗ The real talk — what Andy would tell his younger self
• 🧾 FAQ — common questions about the playbook
• 🧾 Bonus: a Claude prompt to simulate a cofounder
• 🔚 Final words — what to take away and what to test next

🔎 Why this conversation matters

Starter Story brought Andy Cloke on camera to unpack a simple truth: you don't need to build the next unicorn to build something that funds your life. In this piece, Roger Mendoza distills that conversation into a toolkit for solo builders who want real, repeatable moves — not hype. The primary hook here is an “AI-powered launch system for creators,” but the real lesson is platform strategy: build on growing platforms, borrow proven patterns, and make something people actually use.

This article covers Andy’s origin story, what DataFetcher actually does, the six‑step framework he uses to find platform plays, growth tactics that took him from zero to $23K/month, the tech and cost breakdown, and the blunt lessons that matter if you're shipping something as a solo founder. Expect practical next steps, example ideas you can test tonight, and a few prompts to cheat the accountability problem (Claude will feature as a cofounder impersonator).

🧾 Quick overview — who is Andy and what is DataFetcher?

Pat Walls invited Andy Cloke to Starter Story to walk through how DataFetcher — an Airtable extension that pulls data from arbitrary APIs into Airtable on a schedule — became a $23,000/month micro‑SaaS with about 600 paying customers. Andy is a London‑based solo founder. He taught himself to code, freelanced in React, and launched a TikTok influencer directory as his first win. He sold that product, bought a few months of runway, and then pursued a problem he’d run into personally: syncing external data into Airtable in a repeatable, scheduled way.

🛠 The core problem DataFetcher solves

Andy saw a pattern: spreadsheets had API connector add‑ons. For Google Sheets there were mature tools that made it trivial to pull APIs into cells. Airtable, growing fast and launching a marketplace, lacked a polished, native-feeling connector that could fetch and schedule data into bases for both technical and non‑technical users.

DataFetcher fills that gap. It sits in Airtable as an extension (built using Airtable’s SDK) and allows users to:

• Connect to virtually any platform via APIs
• Schedule automated imports into Airtable tables
• Create no‑code integrations for common endpoints so non‑technical users can benefit

Use cases Andy mentions range from marketing dashboards (Facebook Ads, Google Analytics) to operations workflows. Because Airtable is a flexible database, the range of applications continues to surprise him even five years in.

📈 The platform strategy that made growth possible

There are two simple rules in Andy’s approach that are worth stealing:

1. Find a growing platform with a marketplace and early traction.
2. Build something that feels native and borrows a proven UX from a more mature ecosystem.

Why this works: being early in a platform’s marketplace provides a steady stream of qualified, trusting users. It’s distribution without paid ads. The sweet spot is a platform big enough to change your life — but not so big that VC‑backed competitors swarm it.

🧭 Andy’s six‑step framework for finding $20K/month ideas

Andy gave a practical, repeatable framework that maps perfectly to the “platform add‑on” playbook. Roger reframes it into a checklist you can run tonight.

• Step 1 — Spot the right platform. Use trend tools (Andy likes Exploding Topics) to spot platforms gaining momentum.
• Step 2 — Find a pain point. Scour forums, Reddit, Twitter, and platform community boards. When a use case repeats, you’ve found a seed.
• Step 3 — Borrow a proven pattern. Look at what worked on older platforms (Google Sheets → Airtable, for example). Copy UX patterns and feature sets, but make them feel native.
• Step 4 — Ensure integration is feasible. Check for public APIs, an extension SDK, a marketplace, or any way to embed your product inside the platform.
• Step 5 — Do the napkin arithmetic. Estimate users, conversion rates, and sustainable pricing. Use comparable products on the established platforms to triangulate price points.
• Step 6 — Assess platform risk. Are they likely to build your feature natively? Read roadmaps, support threads, and noise from the platform’s team. Gauge how "native" the feature would have to be to be absorbed.

Andy’s final note: you can’t predict the future, but you can gather enough signals to make a confident bet. Then ship.

🧪 Where to build right now (platforms to target)

Andy suggests three main platforms that are ripe for add‑on plays right now:

• Notion — API is new-ish, still growing fast. Opportunities in automation, reporting, and reliable two‑way syncs.
• Figma — Designers want export pipelines (Figma → Webflow/Framer/CMS). Small, focused integrations that export components or automate tokens sell well.
• Not ChatGPT/Claude as a primary platform — Andy advises against building exclusively for ChatGPT/Claude because everyone’s building there and the competitive noise is brutal. Instead, use these LLMs as accelerants inside your product where they add real value (e.g., automating templates, writing data transformation rules).

🚀 Growth breakdown: how DataFetcher scaled to $23K/month

Growth wasn’t a single coup—Andy followed layers of tactical moves:

1. First customer in days — because he launched early in Airtable’s marketplace.
2. Mapped repeating use cases — watched support requests and forums to see which APIs people needed most.
3. Content marketing — created targeted blog posts and YouTube videos for the most popular integrations. That got him to ~$1K MRR after a few months and ~$3K after a year.
4. No‑code integrations — to get non‑technical users on board, Andy added prebuilt integrations and UX flows. That move pushed growth to ~$10K MRR in the first year.
5. Rinse and repeat — build features, talk to customers, publish content about the new use cases, and repeat. Over three years this cadence grew revenue to ~$20K and kept climbing to ~$23K.

Notice the pattern: distribution + targeted content + productizing common flows for non‑technical users. No cold growth hacks, just reliable repetition.

🧩 The stack — what Andy actually built

Andy kept it straightforward and practical:

• Extension frontend: TypeScript + React + Airtable extension SDK
• Backend: TypeScript, Node, Postgres, GraphQL
• Marketing/web: Next.js + Tailwind + ShadCN
• Hosting: API & DB on Heroku; scheduled workers on Hetzner for cost efficiency
• Tools: HelpScout (support), Fastmail (email), Plausible (analytics), MailerLite (newsletter), ChartMogul (revenue analytics)
• Internal org: Airtable (product roadmap, content pipeline)

Andy’s approach shows a balance: pick modern tools, but optimize host costs on infrastructure that’s cheap for background workers (Hetzner) while keeping the app simple on Heroku for reliable ops.

💸 Costs, margins, and what to expect financially

At $23K/month, DataFetcher runs with a top margin of about 85%. The main costs Andy calls out:

• Hosting: approximately $2,500/month (largest single cost)
• SaaS tooling: about $1,000/month
• Co‑working: $150/month

High gross margins are standard in SaaS if you keep headcount low and optimize infrastructure. But hosting for data‑heavy apps or scheduled workers can bite — so always model hosting costs early.

🧠 The behavioral secret: focus, not shiny objects

Andy stresses that the hardest thing to maintain is attention. He estimates he wasted six months across several side projects because growth slowed and he got bored. His trick? He uses Claude (an LLM) as a stand‑in business coach. He prompts Claude to act as a cofounder who pushes him to stay on the winning product and talk him out of chasing new shiny ideas.

This is blunt, but useful: if you are a solo operator, you need artificial accountability systems. Claude, scheduled standup emails, a weekly Zapier check, or a simple calendar reminder that forces you to analyze metrics can keep you focused.

🔍 User testing — the revenue multiplier

The single most actionable tactical upgrade Andy recommends: talk to users, proper user testing, early and often. He admits he wasted nearly a year without speaking to customers. One afternoon of user interviews revealed UX issues that, when fixed, increased revenue and usage almost overnight.

What to ask in user interviews (short checklist):

• What job are you trying to get done with this product?
• Which part of setup or daily use feels like work?
• Which alternative did you try before this and why did you prefer it?
• What would make you pay more or refer a colleague?

Do this before building features. Do it before pricing experiments. Do it forever.

🧭 Tactical blueprint: launch a platform add‑on this weekend

Here’s a hands‑on checklist Roger distilled from Andy's playbook. This is the “doable tonight” plan.

1. Pick a platform. Use Exploding Topics or simply monitor Product Hunt/TechCrunch for platform launches. Choose one with a public API or extension SDK (Notion, Figma, Airtable were Andy's picks).
2. Hunt for pain. Spend 2 hours in the platform’s community, support forums, Reddit, or Twitter threads. Clip recurring complaints or "anyone built X?" posts.
3. Borrow a pattern. Find a similar product in a mature ecosystem and map its features. Copy the UX mindset, not the UI pixel for pixel.
4. Validate in public. Draft a one‑page landing (or an embedded README) that promises the core outcome. Share it in the community and watch for signups. If you get 20+ genuine signups with clear use cases, build the MVP.
5. Ship an MVP. Get the core integration working for 1–3 popular APIs. Offer a manual import first if scheduled jobs are heavy; automate after demand confirms it.
6. Make it native. Use the platform’s extension SDK or embed points to make onboarding trivial. The less friction, the higher conversion.
7. Content verticals. Write one deep how‑to and one short video for each top integration. SEO + platform marketplace listing = free, qualified traffic.
8. Productize repeat flows. Turn common API calls into no‑code templates for non‑technical users.
9. Measure and iterate. Short cycles: talk to customers weekly, ship small fixes, publish content on the new use cases.

If you follow these steps and the market signal is positive, expect the first paying customers within days if you launch in the platform marketplace early. The conversion velocity Andy saw is real: marketplace exposure is underrated as a growth lever.

❗ The real talk — what Andy would tell his younger self

Two clear pieces of advice came up in Andy's answers:

• Do user testing early and often. It’s the fastest way to uncover UX blockers and monetization paths.
• Focus on one thing. Chasing new ideas when growth slows is usually a dopamine problem, not a market problem.

Andy’s pragmatic twist: if you can, simulate a cofounder with an LLM to maintain discipline. It sounds odd, but it helped him stay focused during long ramps.

🧾 FAQ — common questions about the playbook

How much time did Andy spend on DataFetcher as a side project before it became his main gig?

Andy turned DataFetcher into a money‑making side project quickly: the first customer arrived within days after launching on the Airtable marketplace. Growth to $1K MRR took a few months, and $10K MRR pushed in the first year after productizing no‑code templates. The point: marketplace distribution accelerates discovery, but converting that attention to revenue still requires targeted content and product polish.

Won’t the platform steal the idea and bury you?

Platform risk is real. Andy evaluates this by studying platform roadmaps and community noise. If a feature would need to be deeply native (UI embedded, same UX philosophy), there’s a higher takeover risk. If your value sits between the platform’s scripting power and their native no-code import features — like DataFetcher did — the platform is less likely to replicate it fully. Always assume some risk and be ready to pivot to adjacent platforms or become multi‑platform.

Can a non‑technical founder use this playbook?

Yes — but they must validate demand and be willing to hire or partner on the technical MVP. Alternatively, a non‑technical founder can start with a manual or semi‑automated service to prove willingness to pay, then productize. Andy’s success hinged on productizing repetitive flows to make onboarding easy for non‑technical users.

How did Andy price DataFetcher?

He used comparable pricing from similar products on established platforms (like Google Sheets add‑ons) as a reference. Napkin math on platform user counts and adoption rates helped him choose price points that matched perceived value. Pricing experiments came after real usage data started flowing in.

What role did content play?

Content was crucial. Andy focused on SEO‑friendly posts and short YouTube videos about specific integrations. Content acted as both education and acquisition: it answered the “how” for prospective users and demonstrated the product solving a concrete problem. For a platform add‑on, content about a specific integration converts better than generic homepage copy.

Is building on ChatGPT or Claude a good idea?

Andy suggests using LLMs to augment your product, not as the primary platform to build on. The competition and noise on LLM platforms are intense; instead, use those models as accelerants for automation inside your product (templating, transformations, user coaching, and so on).

🧾 Bonus: a Claude prompt to simulate a cofounder

Andy uses Claude as an accountability coach. Here’s a compressed prompt that replicates his approach (use as a starting point):

• Prompt: "You are my product cofounder. I'm working on [product name], a [one‑line product]. Keep me focused for the next 30 days. Each morning, ask: 'What did you ship yesterday?', 'What are the 3 metrics you care about?', and 'What will you ship today?'. If I propose a new idea, question me to prove why it's better than improving conversion on existing funnel steps. Be direct, ask for data, and push me to user interviews until I hit 20 tech‑qualified signups."

🔚 Final words — what to take away and what to test next

Andy’s path from a freelance React dev to a $23K/month micro‑SaaS is not flashy. It’s a steady application of platform distribution, technical execution, content, and productizing common workflows for non‑technical users. The key takeaways for solo builders:

• Hunt for platform plays where you can be early and visible.
• Copy proven patterns from mature ecosystems but make them native to the new platform.
• Invest in content that targets specific integrations or use cases — that’s where conversions live.
• Talk to users constantly; one afternoon of interviews can fix months of wasted effort.
• Use tooling (even LLMs) to build accountability if you’re solo.

If you want a small experiment tonight: pick a platform (Notion or Figma), find one recurring pain in the community, draft a landing page promising the core outcome, and share it in the relevant forum. If 20 people sign up with real use cases within two weeks, build the MVP for the top three integrations. That sequence, not luck, is how Andy found product‑market fit on a marketplace.

And finally — remember the EBITDA of hobby projects: focus beats novelty. Build one thing that moves the needle, then compound.

This article was inspired by this amazing video How I Built It: $23K/month micro-saas. Check out more from their awesome channel.