I’ve been following the indie hacker scene for years. Mostly without interaction, but rather from an observing point of view.
This particular demographic is usually the scrappy entrepreneurs who build solutions from scratch with limited resources and an insane obsession for product development.
Most of them have a full-time job, and try to climb their way up through weekends of coding, designing. Usually, with a lot of trials and errors until it works.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: indie hackers don’t fail because they can’t build. They fail because they don’t want to sell, or they simply can’t sell a product or service.
And ignoring sales is the fastest way to ensure your idea never sees the light of day.
Sure, they often make some sales, but if you look at who’s buying, it’s simply another indie hacker within their little bubble. This might sound too harsh, but once you’re deep enough into the indie hacking system, you’ll notice this recurring pattern over and over again.
Builder’s bias: Indie hackers default to product
If anything, most indie hackers I came across were coders, had a technical or creative background. You could segment them under engineers, designers, or creators who love building new systems.
For most of them, success equals solving a problem with code or design, launching it, and then praying for sales.
This mindset is almost natural for them. Building something feels safe, they’re in control, and no rejection.
Building is fun for them. There’s immediate progress, visible output, and a bucket of enthusiasm when the coded version finally runs. Shipping features, as they call it, looks like real work, even when nobody is paying.
But there’s a dark side to this bias.
Indie hackers commonly mistake progress in product development for progress in business. They could build the most neat features and most elegant tool in the world, but if nobody knows it exists, or you can’t persuade anyone to pay for it, it’s nothing more than a hobby.
Selling isn’t optional; it’s survival
Live or die by sales, not features. And yet, many indie hackers avoid sales entirely like it’s the plague. They would rather spend months perfecting a product before launching.
They’re okay with pouring hours of minimal UI tweaks, but are afraid of reaching out to potential customers. Instead, they follow a standard playbook from others who have had success like this.
They will launch on Product Hunt, Reddit, or Hacker News, hoping virality will validate their idea instead of cold selling. But virality is luck. Sales require strategic planning for revenue.
- No sales = no revenue, and without revenue, that project is doomed to fail
- No customer feedback = wasted development resources. Selling forces builders to have conversations with real users, so they can shape the product in the right direction
- No traction simply means no growth. When a product isn’t sold or used, momentum dies, and the indie hacker loses interest.
Why indie hackers hate selling
If you’re not comfortable selling what you’ve built, then you shouldn’t start this entrepreneurial journey.
For some bizarre reason, selling has a bad reputation among indie hackers. Some of the most common objections are:
- It’s too early to sell
- My product will sell itself
- I don’t know how to do sales; I am just a builder
Whether that’s the mindset or a way to find an excuse, it’s simply dangerous. Good products don’t just sell themselves. They’re built with a launch strategy, a content strategy, and a marketing plan.
All great startups and even iconic brands invest time and resources in branding and distribution.
Read also: Solo founders often forget branding, and that’s a mistake
What selling should mean for indie hackers
Selling doesn’t equal cold-calling 100 strangers a day. Sales can look different, or better yet, it should look different. Even when you’re an introverted founder, you can easily reach potential customers.
- Talking to potential customers early. Don’t wait until you’ve built version 1.0. Validate the problem before writing a line of code.
- Listening more than pitching. Sales isn’t about convincing; it’s about understanding what people want and whether your solution fits.
- Positioning the product. Being able to describe your tool in a way that resonates with a specific audience without sowing confusion
- Testing willingness to pay. Getting someone to swipe a credit card, even a small amount, matters more than 100 upvotes on Product Hunt
- Building multiple distribution channels. Whether it’s SEO, content marketing, email lists, or partnerships, sales is about repeatable ways of reaching new customers.
The indie hacker graveyard
For the last 15 years or so, I’ve seen more products tossed into the bin after a few months upon launch. Most of those products were lifetime deals or one-time payments for quick wins, and the ones who get duped are the customers who bought it.
Those projects lost momentum, or never had a single sale, and go straight to the indie hacker graveyard.
That graveyard is full of beautifully designed SaaS tools, but no paying users. I discovered applications that solved interesting niche problems, but not the kind of problems people would pay for.
Almost all of these failures come down to the same issue: no sales discipline. And honestly, that’s where a unique opportunity with micro private equity comes along for me and Echo Point Global.
While these indie hackers walk away, the projects have real potential, but they just don’t realize it.
We could acquire these abandoned projects for cheap, refine their positioning and apply a redefined sales and marketing model, and hedge my media division to market the relaunch.
Of course, I prefer seeing them succeed, but I wouldn’t pass up great opportunities if a gem is taking dust.
Making the shift from builder to seller
Avoiding this trap is making a simple mindset shift. Start thinking of sales as a priority over building. Focus on building relationships, market expansion, and revenue streams instead of solely shipping another useless feature nobody asks for.
Indie hackers should spend more time on outreach instead of hiding behind code. Instead of working 10 hours per week on your next project, allocate at least 1/3 of your time to outreach.
There’s no need to wait for the perfect design. You could sell early with a prototype and use social media as a soundboard for feedback.
Once you realize that important metrics like conversions, revenue, and profit matter, you’re going to see that new features aren’t that important just yet.
But foremost, indie hackers need to learn the basics of copywriting and positioning. The ability to write compelling headlines, expert niche blog content, and cold emails that convert is as valuable as shipping another feature.
Final word
At some point, I thought indie hacking was just a fad after the 2006-2010 boom in social media. But then no-code and low-code tools started to make their mark, and then I realized that indie hacking can be more than just a movement of individuals who try to side hustle their way to the top.
I am still convinced (with reservations) that indie hacking proves how we can think about entrepreneurship. That startups or solo founders don’t require massive runways, big teams, or VC to toss in a million bucks to make it work.
But if this “movement” wants a chance at survival, founders and new indie hackers have to embrace every variable of the game. Not just building.
I see this pattern across countless founders and creators: the product-first mindset is powerful, but without sales, it’s incomplete.
The few indie hackers who master sales are in it for the long game. They aren’t thinking like product builders, but know they can build a business that lasts.
