Amy Hoy
Born 1984 · Age 42
Designer, developer, teacher and entrepreneur; co-creator of the 30×500 course and co-founder of the time-tracking app Freckle (now Noko). Writes and speaks about product design, bootstrapping and marketing.
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Life & Career Timeline
Birth
Amy Hoy born (celebrates birthday May 11; referenced in a May 11, 2011 blog post where she turned 27).
First freelance gig — began hustling
At age 11 Amy got her first freelance gig and began 'hustling' professionally.
Bought first personal computer via Usenet
At 12 she hustled and bought her first computer, a deal found on Usenet.
Left high school to self‑homeschool
Dropped out of high school at 14 to homeschool herself.
Moved out of mother's house
Moved out of an abusive mother's home at age 15 and began living independently.
Broken relationship — dumped & kicked out
At 20 she was dumped and kicked out by a long-term boyfriend — one of several traumatic events described as part of 'hitting rock bottom.'
Scammed out of three months' work
At age 20 she was conned and lost approximately three months' freelance earnings.
Ran up credit card debt / out of money
Around age 20 she ran up credit card debt and briefly ran out of money.
Contracted mononucleosis, unable to work
Suffered a severe case of mono that left her unable to work for a period.
Car stolen (by ex‑boyfriend)
Her car was stolen by her ex-boyfriend during this difficult period.
Nearly sued by a client
Nearly faced litigation from a client for work she couldn't complete while ill — part of the 'rock bottom' sequence.
Begins 'Crusade of Amy' — rebuilds life
After hitting rock bottom she made comprehensive life changes and began rebuilding her career and life.
Negotiated a 4‑day work week at age 22
Negotiated a 4‑day work week at her second semi‑corporate job — an early example of her negotiation/contract skills.
Launched creative web projects: Twistori & Creative Scrape
Designed and launched side projects including Twistori (an emotional Twitter 'experience') and Creative Scrape.
Shipped first software service: Freckle (time‑tracking)
Her team shipped Freckle, a time‑tracking service (later rebranded Noko).
JavaScript Performance Rocks! nearly out of beta
Her ebook 'JavaScript Performance Rocks!' was nearing the end of beta (mentioned in the 2009 interview).
Created 'failcamp' mini‑conferences
Organized and created small, focused mini‑conferences (e.g., 'failcamp').
UseThis interview published
Profile interview published on UseThis (Oct 27, 2009) describing her design work, products, hardware, and tools.
Begins collaboration with Alex Hillman on entrepreneurial training
Started extensive collaboration with Alex Hillman on teaching entrepreneurs and bootstrappers — precursor to 30×500.
Slash7 LLC / trademark stack (30×500 etc.) referenced
Site footer and materials list trademarks (30×500™, Just Fucking Ship™, etc.) under Slash7 LLC — indicates formalization of product offerings/brand.
Published '21 Lessons Learned from 16 Years of Hustling'
Posted a long personal essay on Stacking the Bricks reflecting on life & lessons at age 27 (May 11, 2011).
Spoke at MicroConf (MicroConf 2012)
Presented at MicroConf (2012); credited with the framing 'The customer is the MVP' / 'minimum viable customer.'
Known publicly as co‑founder of Freckle (Noko)
Public profiles (e.g., WPSessions) identify her as co-founder of Freckle (now Noko).
Speaker — WPSessions appearance (profiled)
Featured on WPSessions speaker pages and other conference circuits teaching product and bootstrapping topics.
Co‑creates 30×500 (entrepreneurship course)
Along with Alex Hillman and collaborators she launched the 30×500 course teaching creatives how to build profitable products and businesses (date inferred; course was established prior to 2014 pricing references).
30×500 course price cited at $1,500 (2014)
30×500 listed at $1,500 in 2014 for the two‑day live online process (documented price history).
Sales Safari & product/customer frameworks popularized
Promoted frameworks like 'Sales Safari' and 'minimum viable customer' in course material and talks, influencing many indie founders.
Guest on Good Life Project podcast (with Alex Hillman)
Appeared with Alex Hillman discussing bootstrapping, community and 30×500; wide distribution on podcast platforms.
Continued growth of courses and consulting
Ongoing sales of 30×500, workshops and consulting broadened her income streams (company and personal earnings grow).
Freckle rebranded/known publicly as Noko (Freckle → Noko)
Freckle later referenced as Noko in public profiles (rebrand timing inferred from 'formerly Freckle' phrasing).
30×500 live‑online price increased to $2,000 (2021)
Price for the two‑day live-online 30×500 process listed at $2,000 in 2021 (documented change from prior price points).
30×500 revenue model example popularized (name/frame)
30×500 teachings used the 'name/frame' example: $30/mo × 500 users = $180k/yr to demonstrate simple SaaS math in course materials.
Ongoing speaking, writing and product coaching
Continues to teach, speak and publish advice for indie founders on product, customers and bootstrapping; course and consulting revenues persist.
Current profile and continued public presence (as of 2025)
Amy remains active as a teacher and operator of 30×500 and as co-founder of Noko; public resources and trademarks remain under Slash7 LLC.
Key Achievement Ages
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