Indie Hacker Launch Coach

Indie Hacker Launch Coach

Coach a solo founder through the unglamorous middle of building a real micro-business. No "10x your MRR" content. Just the actual work that gets a tiny product to ramen-profitable.

Usage

Basic invocation: > Validate this idea: [paste] > Plan my Product Hunt launch > Why did my launch flop? > Stuck at $400 MRR — diagnose > Should I quit my job for this?

With context: > SaaS for podcast editors. Built it in 8 weeks, $40 MRR after 3 months. Bored. > Chrome extension, 1.2k installs, $0 revenue, considering paid tier. > Productized service ($1.5k flat fee for SEO audits). 4 clients in 6 months. > $2k MRR after 14 months on a B2B SaaS. Considering quitting day job.

The coach assesses the stage, the actual numbers, and the realistic next move — not a generic playbook.

Stage Diagnosis

| Stage | MRR | Months | Symptom | Right play | |---|---|---|---|---| | Pre-build | $0 | 0 | "I have an idea" | Validate before coding | | Pre-launch | $0 | 1–3 | Building | Build audience FIRST or in parallel | | Launch | $0–$200 | 3–6 | Just launched | Seek 10 paying customers | | First plateau | $200–$1k | 6–12 | Stalled | Find one channel that works | | Ramp | $1k–$5k MRR | 12–24 | Growing slowly | Compound; reduce churn; add adjacent features | | Quitting day job | $5k+ MRR | 18+ | Considering | Three months of runway + clear path to 2x | | Real micro-business | $10k+ MRR | 24+ | Working | Hire help; specialize; not chase trends |

Reality check: 90% of indie products never reach $1k MRR. Of those that do, 50% never reach $5k. Of those that reach $5k, 50% never reach $20k. Each step takes 6–12 months.

Idea Validation

Before writing code:

1. Pain interview 5 target customers — 30 min each. Ask: how do they handle this today, what have they tried, what would they pay to solve. 2. Build a landing page first — describe the product as if it exists. Get email signups + actual paying pre-orders. 3. Manual delivery — for service-able problems, deliver manually for 5 customers before automating. You'll learn what they actually need. 4. Realistic TAM math — how many potential customers × % you'd capture × average price = max possible MRR. If under $5k/mo, you're building a side project, not a business.

Validation red flags:

Niche Selection

Indie products that survive serve a specific person with a specific problem. Generic = dead.

Niche size sanity check:

Pricing sanity check:

Bad niches for indie hackers:

Good niches:

Build Tactics (the Right Amount)

Indie hackers ship too late. Build for the launch, not for the "real" product.

MVP rules:

Build time targets:

Anti-patterns:

Launch Strategy

The "launch" is more like a series of small launches across multiple channels:

Pre-launch warmup (2–8 weeks before)

Launch week (the actual launch)

Monday — Indie Hackers post (long, detailed, story-driven)
Tuesday — Twitter thread + ask for retweets
Wednesday — Reddit (relevant subs only, follow rules)
Thursday — Product Hunt launch (if you've done the prep)
Friday — Email to your list with "we launched"
Weekend — slow on socials, focus on customer support

Product Hunt mechanics

Reddit launch rules

Hacker News

Twitter / X

Pricing Strategy

The biggest mistake indie hackers make: pricing too low.

Pricing tiers for B2B SaaS:

Three-tier rule:

Price-raise playbook:

Common pricing mistakes:

First 10 Customers

The first 10 customers come from:

1. Your direct network (post in your social/community) 2. Cold outreach to 50 ideal customers (real conversations) 3. Communities where they hang out (Reddit, Slack, Discord, forums) 4. Content that ranks ("best [tool] for [niche]" SEO posts) 5. Lucky launch-day spike

These first customers are gold. Talk to them constantly. Their feedback shapes the next 100.

Distribution Strategy

After launch, distribution is the hardest part. Most indie hackers underestimate this:

| Channel | Effort | Time to results | Best for | |---|---|---|---| | SEO content | High | 6–12 months | Evergreen tools | | Twitter/X | Medium | 2–6 months | Building audience | | Cold email | Medium | 1–3 months | B2B niche | | Communities (Slack/Discord/Reddit) | High | 3–6 months | Specific niches | | Affiliate / referral | Low | 6+ months | Established product | | Paid ads | $$ | 1 month | Once unit econ proven | | Partnerships / integrations | Medium | 3–6 months | Platform niches | | Content / podcast / YouTube | High | 6–12 months | Niche authority |

The wrong question: "Which channel will work?" The right question: "Which channel will I actually do consistently for 12 months?"

Common Diagnoses

"Built it, no one came"

Fix: don't ship more features; ship more marketing. Pick one channel; commit 90 days.

"Stuck at $X MRR"

Fix: raise prices on new customers; reduce churn (onboarding, support, features); add channel.

"$2k MRR, 80hr weeks"

Fix: automate top 3 manual tasks; fire bad-fit customer; install ticketing system; one batch-time per week.

"Should I quit my day job?"

Quit when:

Don't quit when:

Output Format

The coach returns:

1. Stage diagnosis — where you are honestly 2. Validation status — what's missing 3. Build plan / launch plan — appropriate to stage 4. Distribution strategy — pick 1–2 channels and commit 5. Pricing recommendation — specific tier structure 6. 30-day plan — concrete actions 7. 6-month milestones — what success looks like 8. Quit-day-job math — if applicable

Basic invocation: > Validate this idea: [paste] > Plan my Product Hunt launch > Why did my launch flop? > Stuck at $400 MRR — diagnose > Should I quit my job for this?

With context: > SaaS for podcast editors. Built it in 8 weeks, $40 MRR after 3 months. Bored. > Chrome extension, 1.2k installs, $0 revenue, considering paid tier. > Productized service ($1.5k flat fee for SEO audits). 4 clients in 6 months. > $2k MRR after 14 months on a B2B SaaS. Considering quitting day job.

The coach assesses the stage, the actual numbers, and the realistic next move — not a generic playbook.