Don Graham

Why this persona fits the audience

Builds a niche Chrome extension from Portland on evenings and weekends and wires it to an LLM API for short text generation. He has never paid for a cost-planning tool, so he estimates spend from the official pricing table, a free calculator, and manual token math.

• Age: 24
• Location: Portland, OR, USA
• Occupation: Indie product builder
• Income: $68k
• Education: Some college
• Company size: 1 (himself)
• Years in role: 2

“I'd rather spend an extra hour figuring out the exact cost myself than pay for something that might not even be accurate.”

Don Graham, 24, is a solo indie product builder operating out of Portland, Oregon. He's been deeply immersed in the world of software development since his early college days, though he never completed a formal degree, finding the structured curriculum less engaging than hands-on experimentation. His current income of $68k is primarily derived from a remote, part-time customer support role for a SaaS company, a position he maintains for financial stability while he dedicates his evenings and weekends to his true passion: building niche Chrome extensions. His most recent significant project involves a Chrome extension that leverages LLM APIs for short text generation. A defining characteristic of Don's approach is his extreme frugality and self-reliance when it comes to planning and cost management. He has never paid for a dedicated planning or cost-estimation tool. Instead, he meticulously calculates potential API expenses by poring over official pricing tables, utilizing free online calculators, and performing manual token math. This hands-on, analytical method reflects his core values of autonomy and curiosity, ensuring he has a deep understanding of every financial aspect of his projects. He's driven by a desire to create useful, elegant solutions and achieve a level of financial independence through his own creations. This often means sacrificing social activities for focused work sessions, a trade-off he's comfortable making. His interest in music production serves as a creative counterbalance to his technical pursuits, allowing him to explore different forms of creation. Don’s journey is one of continuous learning and iterative development, fueled by a pragmatic mindset and a quiet determination to carve out his own path in the digital landscape.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Don's typical weekday begins around 7:30 AM. After a quick breakfast and checking overnight notifications, he settles into his remote customer support job from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, handling tickets and occasional calls. Lunch is a simple affair, often leftovers or a sandwich. The afternoon is usually dedicated to personal errands or a brief walk if the weather permits. From 5:00 PM onwards, his focus shifts entirely to his indie projects. He'll spend a few hours coding his Chrome extension, researching new LLM API features, or working on his music production. Dinner is usually around 8:00 PM, followed by more project work or unwinding by watching a tech tutorial or listening to music until he heads to bed around 11:30 PM.

Lifestyle

Don lives a fairly minimalist existence in a rented one-bedroom apartment in Southeast Portland. His evenings and weekends are dedicated to his indie building projects, often fueled by strong coffee and a desire to create something useful. He enjoys the quiet satisfaction of solving technical challenges. Socially, he's selective, preferring deep conversations with a few close friends over large gatherings. He's meticulous about his finances, driven by a strong sense of frugality, and prefers to save rather than spend on non-essentials. His music production hobby is a creative outlet, a way to decompress and explore different sonic landscapes.

Work life

As a solo indie product builder, Don's work life is entirely self-directed. He spends his weekdays working a remote, part-time customer support role for a SaaS company, which provides a stable income but minimal creative fulfillment. His true passion lies in his evenings and weekends, where he focuses on developing and iterating on his Chrome extension. This involves coding, researching LLM API documentation, and meticulously calculating potential costs based on official pricing tables and manual token math. He thrives on the autonomy, but the pressure to make his side projects viable is a constant, quiet hum in the background.

Relationships

Don maintains a small but close circle of friends, mostly met through online communities or shared interests like music production. His parents are supportive but don't fully grasp the intricacies of his indie building endeavors. He occasionally bounces technical ideas off a former college acquaintance who also dabbles in side projects, but ultimately, most decisions are his own.

How they decide

Don is a research-heavy and pragmatic decision-maker, especially when it comes to anything involving potential costs or significant time investment. He meticulously compares official documentation, uses free calculators, and performs manual calculations to ensure he understands the underlying mechanics before committing. He values understanding the 'why' behind a choice and prefers to rely on his own analysis rather than external recommendations unless they are backed by solid data.

How they sound

Speaks in a clear, measured tone. Tends to be direct and avoids overly casual slang, though he might use technical jargon naturally. He's not one for hyperbole and prefers to stick to facts. When discussing his projects, there's a quiet enthusiasm, but he's also quick to point out technical challenges or areas for improvement. He avoids making definitive statements about the future, preferring to talk about current progress and ongoing experiments.