Every Tuesday since May 2017, iOS developers around the world have known they could count on one thing: a new article from SwiftLee, Antoine van der Lee's technical blog about Swift and iOS development.

This is the story of how Antoine went from frustrated conference reject to thriving independent creator. And how Teachable became the platform that let him monetize years of expertise without giving up control of his audience.

Antoine’s Teachable journey at a glance

The turning point

The moment that changed everything for Antoine happened in 2023, during an ordinary performance review at WeTransfer.

After six years with the company, Antoine received feedback that made his future path suddenly clear: his growth trajectory had flatlined.

Most people would have accepted it. Found comfort in the stability of a paycheck from a well-known tech company. Antoine did something different.

He negotiated an unusual arrangement: work four days a week at WeTransfer, and dedicate one full day to his side business.

"The impact of that single day was insane. I could see such a lift up in conversions. I could develop larger features for my Mac app because I had more dedicated time for development." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Since 2017, Antoine had been writing one article every Tuesday. Building an audience while working full-time meant squeezing deep work into scattered evenings and weekends. Half an hour here. An hour there. Never enough time to tackle substantial projects.

One dedicated day changed the equation entirely.

He could finally build features for RocketSim that required sustained focus. Content strategies could span weeks instead of days. He could respond to his growing audience with the attention they deserved.

The business metrics reflected the shift immediately. Conversions increased. Product development accelerated. Revenue grew. Most importantly, Antoine saw proof that his constraint had been time, not market demand.

By early 2024, the math became undeniable. He'd originally planned to go independent in 2026—a cautious timeline that gave him margin for error. The results from that single day per week proved he was already prepared to make the leap.

In March 2024, the same month his second son was born, Antoine left WeTransfer entirely.

Why Antoine chose Teachable

When Antoine went independent, he had already validated three revenue streams through years of consistent work. 

1. Blog sponsorships provided steady income. 
2. Newsletter ads added another layer of revenue. 
3. RocketSim subscriptions rounded out his product offerings. 

Courses represented a fourth opportunity, but only with the right platform.

The decision came down to control and ownership.

Many platforms position themselves as audience builders with promises to bring you students, handle your marketing, and manage your distribution channels. In exchange, they take 50-60% of your revenue as their fee.

Antoine had spent seven years building his audience with dedication and consistency. He needed infrastructure and delivery capabilities, not acquisition services.

"Teachable ticked all those boxes for me. It's flexible, it integrates with all the tools I already use, and they're super respectful to creators. They offer a fixed fee." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Three factors made the choice clear for him:

Factor 1: Creator-friendly economics. 

A fixed platform fee instead of percentage-based revenue shares that would eat into his margins. After years of audience building through consistent Tuesday posts and genuine relationship cultivation, giving away half his earnings to a platform made absolutely no sense.

Factor 2: Direct relationships with students. 

Complete control over student data and communications meant he could export his entire student list, connect it seamlessly to ConvertKit for email nurturing, and maintain the relationships he'd cultivated over years of consistent content creation.

Factor 3: Technical integration across his stack. 

His entire tech ecosystem worked together without friction or complicated workarounds. ConvertKit handled email sequences and automation. Teachable handled course delivery and student progress tracking. RocketSim served the same audience with complementary tools. Everything connected smoothly without requiring technical expertise or custom development.

Teachable aligned with how Antoine thinks about business: build trust first through consistent value delivery, monetize second when that trust is established. Own the relationship with your audience. Control the experience they have with your content.

When he launched his first course in 2024, the audience was already there waiting for him. Teachable provided the delivery mechanism that let him finally monetize years of expertise.

$40,000 in his first launch proved the strategy worked.

Antoine’s secret sauce to success on Teachable

Antoine developed five strategies that turn consistent content into predictable course revenue. Each one challenges conventional wisdom about course creation.

Strategy 1: Build your personal knowledge base in public

Most creators agonize over whether their content measures up. Someone else already covered the topic, they think. Publishing gets delayed until everything feels perfect.

Antoine reframed the premise entirely.

"I'm building my personal knowledge base, but I decide to make it public so everybody can read it. If they don't like it or don't find it good enough, that's their problem. It's my personal knowledge base." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

This mindset shift eliminated friction. He publishes articles within an hour of finishing them. 

The approach extends to his courses. He creates content on topics he wants to master. His Swift Concurrency course is highly technical—a Swift UI course would probably sell better to a broader audience. But he loves building it because he genuinely cares about the topic.

"If you don't have that intrinsic motivation, it becomes really hard to finish that course in the first place. Try to stick to something that you can do every day, and that will make it much easier to create a course that people will love." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Students feel that authentic interest radiating through every lesson. A teacher passionate about the material guides them through challenges.

Take action:

• Pick a topic you're genuinely excited to master deeply, even if it seems less commercially viable
• Set a one-hour publishing deadline from draft completion to hitting publish
• Stop asking "is this good enough?" and start asking "does this help me document what I'm learning?"

Strategy 2: Measure everything to fuel your motivation

Antoine calls himself "addicted to measuring." Data drives a continuous loop: measurement reveals results, results create achievement, achievement generates momentum.

When he started weekly blogging in 2017, Google Analytics showed him the hockey stick growth curve. That visible progress kept him consistent when individual articles felt insignificant.

What he tracks:

• Blog visitors and traffic sources
• Newsletter subscriber growth
• Course completion rates
• Sales conversions and revenue

Vanity metrics hold no interest for him. Tracking happens for leverage, finding the points where small changes create outsized returns.

"I'm constantly seeking improvements. I want to quit the day at 3:00 PM and enjoy the day with my kids. So whatever works for me to still have that most impactful growth while having time with the family, that's something that will resonate with me." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Three weeks before our interview, he launched a free 5-day email course—his "playbook" lead magnet. It produced the strongest growth he'd seen in six years of serious creator work.

The data proved it worked.

Doubling down happened immediately. LinkedIn profile optimization came first. Twitter bio updates followed close behind. YouTube content creation rounded out the strategy. Everything directed traffic to that playbook landing page.

Take action:

• Set up a simple dashboard tracking your top 4 metrics: audience growth, email subscribers, course completions, and revenue
• Review these numbers every Friday to identify which activities produced the best results that week
• When something works (like Antoine's playbook did), immediately redirect 80% of your effort toward scaling that one winning approach

Strategy 3: Design flywheels, not one-off tactics

Antoine obsesses over compound systems where one action creates accelerating returns. His most powerful flywheel sits built directly into Teachable's certificate feature.

The certificate flywheel works in six steps:

1. Student completes the course and receives a certificate
2. Certificate gets added to their LinkedIn profile
3. LinkedIn prompts them to write a public post celebrating the achievement
4. That post promotes the course organically to their network
5. New students discover the course through that authentic social proof
6. Those students complete the course, get certified, and the cycle repeats

Each cycle multiplies the previous one.

"If a certificate multiplies to two students, the growth goes even faster. That is a flywheel effect that I actually see working great for Teachable. If you're using Teachable, you want to implement this for sure." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Beyond certificates, every piece of content serves multiple objectives across his business. Blog posts attract iOS developers searching for solutions. That same audience needs his newsletter for ongoing tips and updates. Those readers use his RocketSim tool to work more efficiently on their projects. Many of them eventually enroll in his courses for deeper learning and skill development.

A single piece of content compounds across four distinct revenue streams.

Unlike creators splitting attention across different audiences in different niches, Antoine ensures every hour of work resonates with his entire business ecosystem. Each effort reinforces the others naturally.

Take action:

• Add instructions on your Teachable certificate page showing students exactly how to add it to LinkedIn and what to write in their post
• Map out your content ecosystem—every blog post should naturally lead to your newsletter, which leads to your product, which leads to your course
• Audit your last five pieces of content and identify which ones could be repurposed to serve multiple parts of your business simultaneously

Strategy 4: Use forced deadlines and public accountability

Creating comprehensive courses while working full-time demands consistent momentum. Antoine maintains it through "purposeful deadlines" that create external pressure.

When building his Swift Concurrency course, hard constraints threatened to derail progress. Recording all lessons required 2-3 months of focused work. Kids in the background limited him to two days per week for recording sessions. Deep technical content added layers of complexity to every session.

His solution changed the game entirely.

Releasing while building replaced waiting for completion. Students could enroll before all modules existed in finished form. New lessons arrived on a specific public schedule that created accountability.

"I made a really strict planning. Every week I would release new episodes, and I even told my students—because they could already join the course while it was being developed—new modules are coming. So I had that public deadline, which is super important. It pushes you to push things out. People are expecting it." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

This created three distinct benefits:

1. Public commitment forced consistent momentum even when motivation flagged
2. Early students provided detailed feedback that improved later modules significantly
3. Revenue during development validated the concept before full time investment

The same principle applies to his blog publishing schedule. Every Tuesday for years without exception. Audience expectation creates internal accountability that keeps him shipping quality content.

Take action:

• Launch your course on Teachable with just the first 3 modules complete and a public release schedule for the rest
• Email your waitlist or audience with specific dates when new modules will be released—make the commitment public and visible
• Pick one day of the week (like Antoine's Tuesday) and commit to publishing something every single week on that day for the next 6 months

Strategy 5: Embrace AI as your team, not your replacement

Solo creators face a persistent challenge: producing quality content at scale without complete burnout.

Antoine treats AI as team members with specific capabilities. Enthusiasm runs high for AI agents—systems he sets running on assigned tasks and checks later for completed results.

"The 20-person company now looks at me and realizes like, 'Whoa, Antoine is doing it all alone. I need to get rid of my 20 people.' Whereas I'm with AI thinking like, 'Hey, I'm alone, but I now have a team of 20 people because I can just leverage AI.'" –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

The critical nuance separates success from failure: he never blindly accepts AI output without careful review. As an experienced developer with years of debugging expertise, evaluating and validating everything AI produces against his quality standards happens automatically.

How he uses AI for course creation:

• Outline lessons based on specific learning objectives
• Generate code examples that demonstrate concepts (then reviews and refines them)
• Create quiz questions that test understanding
• Draft supporting materials and explanations (then edits for accuracy)

During our interview, an AI agent was running in the background completing an assigned coding task.

"After this interview, I'll probably have something done. That is just insane." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

But fundamentals still matter in an AI-assisted world. His Swift Concurrency course teaches deep technical knowledge because students need to verify AI output themselves in their own work. Letting AI write code is easy enough. Understanding the underlying concepts well enough to evaluate whether that code works correctly under production conditions requires real expertise that can't be automated.

Take action:

• Ask AI to create a complete lesson outline for your next course module, then spend your time refining and adding your unique expertise
• Have AI generate 10 quiz questions for each lesson, then review and rewrite the ones that miss the mark or test the wrong concepts
• Set up one AI agent to draft your weekly newsletter while you're recording course content—edit it later with your voice and perspective

Expert corner: How Antoine thinks about education

Antoine approaches education differently than most course creators who optimize primarily for revenue. Building his personal knowledge base systematically and choosing to make it public for others to learn from drives his entire approach.

This perspective changes everything about how he creates and what he creates.

Teaching what you're learning

Most course creators ask themselves: "What does the market want from me right now?" Antoine asks a completely different question: "What am I genuinely excited to master deeply?"

His Swift Concurrency course is more technical than commercially optimal for maximum revenue. That authentic interest shows clearly in every lesson, code example, and explanation.

"The course that I create might not be the best course in terms of return of investment. But the point being is that I work on a course that I love building. I create lessons that I actually love diving into." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Students feel this authenticity immediately when they start learning. A teacher genuinely passionate about the topic guides them through the material. Someone who struggled with the same concepts and remembers that frustration helps them navigate those difficulties. Someone building understanding lesson by lesson alongside them rather than lecturing from a distant place of complete mastery shares the journey.

The seven-year foundation

Antoine spent seven years building his audience before monetizing with courses on Teachable. Every Tuesday since 2017 without missing a single week. One article each week without exception or excuse.

That consistency created compound trust that money can't buy. When he finally launched a course to his audience, they already knew his teaching style intimately. His depth of expertise was proven through hundreds of articles. His reliability was demonstrated through years of consistent show-up.

The $40,000 first launch came from seven years of earned trust converting to sales in a single concentrated moment.

Certificates as learning validation

Antoine structures his courses with intentional difficulty that forces real learning. His Swift Concurrency course requires passing rigorous assessments to progress to the next module. Initially, failed attempts locked students out for 24 hours to create reflection time. Forcing them to truly learn before continuing rather than rushing through became the design principle.

"In the beginning, I made it so that the assessment would fail right away and you got like 24 hours wait time, which forced students to go back to the lessons and learn again, which I personally liked the best because I want people to not just skip through the course." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Students complained about the restriction feeling too harsh. Adjustments came based on feedback while maintaining high standards. The principle remained solid: certificates should mean something tangible and valuable. When students share completion on LinkedIn, it should represent genuine achievement and mastery. That authentic credential makes the entire flywheel work effectively.

Companies like Meta use his certificates as hiring signals during technical interviews. SwiftLee certificates represent real competency, not just completion.

Optimizing for life quality

Most creators optimize relentlessly for maximum revenue at any cost. Antoine optimizes deliberately for maximum life quality while maintaining strong revenue growth.

"I want to quit the day at 3:00 PM and enjoy the day with my kids. This isn't just a lifestyle preference—it's a forcing function that drives innovation in my content systems." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

His annual revenue goal serves as a measurement of effectiveness rather than pure ambition. A scoreboard that tracks progress objectively. The real goal is building a sustainable creator business that gives him freedom with his family.

Looking ahead

Antoine sees himself at the beginning of something transformative, not the culmination of his journey.

Moving deliberately from written content toward conversational video formats shapes his production evolution. One recording session becomes blog posts through transcription, course lessons through editing, and social media clips through strategic cutting.

"I'm preparing a webinar that I'll reuse for lessons for my course, that I will reuse for clips. I feel like that is a win-win-win for me as a company as well." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

This shift represents a major production evolution in his business model. Natural conversation generates raw material efficiently without time-consuming writing. Strategic editing transforms that material into multiple formats and distribution channels.

Upcoming initiatives

Course expansion: Additional Swift Concurrency modules covering emerging patterns and advanced techniques as the Swift language evolves continuously

Video-first content: YouTube channel development with repurposed webinar and course material creating multiple touchpoints with his audience across platforms

Community building: Exploring practical ways to connect course students for deeper learning, networking opportunities, and peer support

AI experimentation: Continuing to test boundaries of AI-assisted content creation while maintaining the quality standards his audience expects consistently

Long-term vision

Building a sustainable creator business model that others can learn from drives Antoine forward. One that prioritizes life quality alongside revenue growth rather than sacrificing one for the other becomes the blueprint.

"It's not that I need more money. It's not that I want more money. I just want to be as successful as possible. So I'm constantly seeking improvements and I'm just looking forward to see where I can go next." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

Creator education is entering a fundamentally new era with AI capabilities democratizing production. Authentic expertise, consistent presence, and earned trust become the true differentiators in a crowded market where anyone can produce content quickly.

"I feel like I'm just getting started in a way because things are really, really changing now. We're living a revolution in a way. It just becomes easier. So much easier." –Antoine van der Lee, Founder of SwiftLee

What to do next

Explore Antoine’s Teachable courses:

Going Indie - The complete system for transitioning from full-time developer to independent creator successfully. Learn Antoine's strategies for audience building, time management, product pricing, and using platforms like Teachable effectively.

Swift Concurrency - Master concurrent programming in Swift with step-by-step lessons, challenging assessments, and a certificate companies like Meta recognize as proof of expertise.

Follow SwiftLee's weekly content:

• Read new iOS development articles every Tuesday at avanderlee.com
• Subscribe to the SwiftLee Newsletter for exclusive insights and practical tips
• Download RocketSim to accelerate your iOS development workflow significantly
• Connect with Antoine on Twitter/X and LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes creator insights

Build your own success on Teachable

Ready to turn your expertise into a thriving education business like Antoine has built?

Whether you're a developer, designer, consultant, or expert in any field, Teachable provides the platform to build, market, and sell your courses effectively.

Start your free Teachable trial today and discover why creators like Antoine choose Teachable to:

• Keep more revenue with creator-friendly pricing structures
• Own your audience and maintain direct relationships with students
• Integrate seamlessly with email platforms, analytics tools, and your existing tech stack
• Build viral growth systems with certificate features that drive organic discovery
• Focus on teaching instead of managing complex technology infrastructure

Join thousands of creators building sustainable education businesses on Teachable.

Your expertise is valuable and deserves to be shared. Your time is limited and should be protected. Your audience deserves quality education that transforms their skills.

Teachable helps you deliver all three without compromise.