Issue #144 - Mustafa Yusuf (Where Are They Now?)
Happy Monday, everyone!
We made it to Issue #144! Thank you to everyone who read last week’s issue ❤️
Where Are They Now?
Today’s issue is a special “Where Are They Now?” issue where we catch up with a previous Indie Dev Monday guest! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now but I never felt like I had enough indie developers or enough time has passed where it made sense. Well… it turns out that after 143 issues and like 5 years, that is the perfect amount of time for this kind of issue 😉
This first “Where Are They Now?” is a special one. I mean, every issue is special but this is someone that truly is special…
Back in Issue #3, we featured Mustafa Yusuf. I think I first got introduced to Mustafa from some random tweet and I thought his app, Tasks, looked really neat. And I just honestly needed someone that would say yes to being in a random new newsletter and Mustafa looked desperate enough to say yes. Wait, what?! Did I really say that? 🙊 I did but that is because I’m now very close with Mustafa where this is generally just how we interact with each other 😇 I was able to spend time with Mustafa in India this past September and he is one of the smartest, kindest, and most genuine people that I know. I had no idea that in Issue #3 that interview would end up in a friendship on the other side of the world where we now see each other a few times a year. But enough of the mushy gushy stuff…
Let’s see what they’ve been up to since then!
Catching Up With…
📆 Today I’m catching up with Mustafa Yusuf.
👉 Please make sure to follow them or support them anyway you can! 😇
Indie Dev
Mustafa Yusuf
Indie dev turned tiny indie studio. Building Tasks and Karo with a remote team of 3 in India.
Mustafa Yusuf
Q&A
1) For readers who weren’t around in 2020, give us a quick intro. Who are you and what do you build?
Hi, I’m Mustafa. I’m 5 indie years old (turning 6 this June).
I build two apps: Tasks and Karo (both are task managers)!
Tasks is my main app (you might recognize it by its fun, lickable, rainbow-candy-esque logo). After watching how people actually used Tasks, I realized something: a lot of tasks involve other humans (who would have thought?).
So I built Karo, an app that lets you send tasks to anyone in your contacts. Karo then politely… or not-so-politely… reminds/nags them via WhatsApp or Messages and they can complete it right from there. They don’t even need the app! Cool, right?!
2) A lot can change in 4+ years. Walk us through what’s happened since we last talked.
I went from a solo indie dev to a tiny indie studio. We’re now a remote team of three, all based in India. I also added two more kids to my personal “portfolio” (clearly scaling in all directions).
On the indie side: I lost focus for a bit. Tasks was doing well, but I kept thinking, “What if I recreate Tasks’ success with a new app?” So I kept starting new apps instead of doubling down on the one that already worked! Now it’s just Tasks and Karo!
I’ve been working with Apple to visit universities across India, speaking to students about indie dev life. These universities have an iOS Development Center, and I try my best to inspire students to build and ship their own apps.
Oh I also shipped a conference - Swift Bharat in India which is in my eyes (and as per the event feedback survey) was a wild success!
3) You’re a dad now! How has that changed how you approach indie dev?
I was a dad then… I think? Maybe the kid was still in beta when we last spoke. Today I have a 5yo, 3yo, and 1mo!
Early parenthood is chaos. Later, it becomes… structured chaos? I’m incredibly grateful for the systems (aka family) around me that let me keep building.
The biggest shift: I’m way more intentional with my time. Now, before building something new, I ask:
- Does this make sense?
- Is there a market?
- Will I still want to maintain this in 5 years?
That said… I really want to build an education app for my kids. Is it a good business idea? Probably not. Is it an excuse to code while my kids wireframe designs? Absolutely. Peak parenting!
4) You were excited about Mac, Widgets, Watch, and Siri. How did that play out?
Wow, I shipped all of it, and honestly, nailed it!
- Mac app: Huge win. Paid off way more than I expected.
- Apple Watch app: Hardly anyone uses it… but if I may brag, it’s one of the most complete independent Watch apps out there. Almost all of the main app functionality, on your wrist.
- Siri support: Built it twice thanks to AppIntents. Character-building experience.
Fun surprise: Tasks gets featured more on the Mac App Store than iOS, and Mac users are far more likely to pay.
5) What’s the biggest thing you’d tell 2020 Mustafa?
Add analytics.
I had that idealistic indie mindset: “I track nothing. My privacy label is pristine.” That’s just building blind. I wish I’d added anonymous, reasonable analytics from day one. Not creepy stuff, just enough to understand how people actually use the app. I only added analytics recently, and wow. The number of users and the impact Tasks has was something I never fully grasped before. Those numbers now drive me every day.
6) Does your advice about product-market fit and listening to users still hold?
100%. No change. Listen to users. Always.
I still reply to emails promptly. I still ship improvements based on feedback. And those users? They stick around and bring people in! Some of the people I email/chat with today have been with Tasks since launch, over 5 years ago. That’s everything.
7) One feature you’d mass-delete (or time you wasted)?
Tasks on Vision Pro! (jk, it took 24 hours, and I’m low-key proud it was on the App Store on day one)
Honestly, I haven’t wasted much time on features inside Tasks or Karo. But I’ve wasted a lot of time on apps I never shipped. Now, every time I hit Xcode → New Project, I try to think it through. (emphasis on try :P)
8) What’s next? What are you excited about heading into 2026?
- Massive updates to Tasks (to become one of the finest task managers out there)!
- More open source - I’ve been extracting internal tools into packages to help me ship faster and break fewer things. Recently launched MYCloudKit and Dragula.
- ARCtic Conference (February) - I’ll be doing something with CloudKit, and yes, I’m extremely excited. Get your tickets if you haven’t?
- Deep Dish Swift 2026 - I’m planning to swing by!
- and Swift Bharat 2026 👀
- maybe a new app?!
2026 is shaping up nicely 🚀
This was a “Where Are They Now?” interview. Read Mustafa Yusuf’s original interview in Issue #3.
Thank you to everybody who made it to this footer! You either spent the time to read or took the effort to scroll 😊
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