A side project from 2018 that has earned US$157,000, and the day the free plan ended

Paulo founded Doctor Engage in November 2014, software for clinics in Brazil. 2 For three years Paulo worked on it full time with partners. In a small team everyone does everything: Paulo wrote the code, called prospects, studied marketing and answered the support chat. 4

In April 2018 Doctor Engage was sold to BoaConsulta, and Paulo became a partner there. The two products merged, and in October 2020 BoaConsulta was sold to Pixeon: Paulo's second company sold. 2

Paulo created Changelogfy in December 2018 as a side project. 2 During the new-year holidays came the decision to put it live. 4

Doctor Engage had taught Paulo not to waste time: only 43 days passed between the first commit and the launch on Product Hunt. On launch day hundreds of people signed up to try it. 4

Paulo's tip from that day: put a support chat inside the product. It made it possible to talk to the first users closely and collect their feedback. 4

The product was free during the beta. Users asked for things like a Slack integration, email notifications and user sync through an API. Paulo built the minimum that made the product worth paying for. 4

On 1 August 2019 Changelogfy left beta and started charging. 4

Paulo had always avoided social media, but in December 2022 decided that staying away was getting in the way of the business. The choice was X, because it takes the least time to produce for. 2

The routine: four posts a day at fixed times, two threads a week, and 20 minutes a day replying to people. Paulo paid for a year of a scheduling tool, as a push to stay consistent. 2

One post offered a free list of 131 tools for startups, sent by direct message to anyone who asked. That single post brought 194 followers, and the download asked for an email, so it started an audience Paulo owns, outside X. 2

In the first month Paulo sent more than 1,000 visitors to Changelogfy without paying for any of them, and trials and paid conversions went up. 2 In 71 days the account went from 380 to 5,100 followers. 6

In 2025 Paulo removed Changelogfy's free plan. To start the 14-day trial, people now had to enter a credit card. Paulo calls it one of the riskiest decisions in the company's history. 5

Why: many free users never meant to pay. They filled the feedback and support channels with noise, cost money in servers and emails, and gave a false sense that the product was working. 5

What happened: sign-ups fell, but the people who came activated faster, used the product more, gave better feedback and paid far more often. MRR grew 50%. 5

Paulo's rule of thumb for other founders: if fewer than 5% of free users become paying customers, ask whether the free plan is worth it. 5

Changelogfy makes US$2,900 a month from 50 subscriptions, 5.8% less than in the previous three months. It has earned US$157,600 since it started, the most of any product on Indies Club, the founder directory Paulo runs. 3

In 2026 Paulo also launched Sendkit, in March, and TryPost, in May. 3529

1. What was the MRR before and after the free plan ended, in dollars?
2. Where do new customers come from today: search, X, or Product Hunt alternatives pages?
3. Why did MRR stop growing in 2026, and what are you trying next?
4. How do you split your week between Changelogfy, Sendkit and TryPost?