How much did Marc Lou make in 2025?

$1,032,000 in total revenue across his portfolio, as self-reported in his annual income post. This is gross revenue, not profit - he does not publish costs. About $147K was investment returns and $14K was X payouts.

A Next.js startup boilerplate that bundles Stripe payments, authentication, a database, and prebuilt UI. Marc Lou built the first version in about a week in August 2023. It made $6,000 in its first 48 hours.

A Stripe-verified startup revenue directory and acquisition marketplace. Marc Lou built it in 24 hours. It became his top-earning product by February 2026 at $33.3K per month, largely from a 3% acquisition fee on startup sales.

Marc Lou

@marc_louvion

Made $1M in 2025 solo. Ships startups in days with ShipFast, CodeFast, DataFast, and TrustMRR.

Indie hackerFrance

X Website

Last updated Aug 26, 2026 · Content reviewed Aug 26, 2026

Marc Lou (Marc Louvion) is a French indie maker who operates a portfolio of digital products and publicly shares his revenue. He reported $1,032,000 in total revenue in 2025 across ShipFast (a Next.js startup boilerplate), CodeFast (a coding course), DataFast (an analytics SaaS), and TrustMRR (a Stripe-verified startup marketplace). He describes himself as running three products with zero employees. Product Hunt named him maker of the year in 2024.

Our take

Marc Lou is the clearest case study for the 'sell the pickaxes' model in indie hacking. ShipFast, a Next.js boilerplate he built in about a week, outearned nearly everything he made for end users. His real product is his audience - the products rotate, the distribution channel stays.

By the numbers

2025 revenue

$1.03M

Feb 2026 monthly

$81.7K

Twenty startups, mostly failures

By his own count, Marc Lou launched roughly twenty startups over three years before any of them took off. In August 2023 he built ShipFast, a reusable Next.js boilerplate, in about a week. It made $6,000 in its first 48 hours - more than he earned in all of 2022.

The portfolio in 2026

By February 2026 his portfolio reported $81,683 in a single month. TrustMRR, a Stripe-verified startup marketplace he built in 24 hours, became his top earner at $33.3K/mo via a 3% acquisition fee. DataFast, an analytics SaaS, overtook ShipFast at $19.7K/mo. ShipFast and CodeFast still earn roughly $20K/mo each but are no longer dominant.

Build in public as distribution

Every revenue number, product launch, and failure gets posted publicly. This transparency is the distribution engine: his audience follows along, which gives each new product a warm launch instead of a cold start.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Marc Lou make in 2025?: $1,032,000 in total revenue across his portfolio, as self-reported in his annual income post. This is gross revenue, not profit - he does not publish costs. About $147K was investment returns and $14K was X payouts.
What is ShipFast?: A Next.js startup boilerplate that bundles Stripe payments, authentication, a database, and prebuilt UI. Marc Lou built the first version in about a week in August 2023. It made $6,000 in its first 48 hours.
What is TrustMRR?: A Stripe-verified startup revenue directory and acquisition marketplace. Marc Lou built it in 24 hours. It became his top-earning product by February 2026 at $33.3K per month, largely from a 3% acquisition fee on startup sales.