Starting my indie journey, would appreciate some tips :)
Hey folks!
I'm right at the start of my indie journey and figured the smartest move is to learn from people a few steps ahead before I make every mistake the hard way. A few things are on my mind and I'd genuinely love your take on any of them.
Staying in the game. The part that scares me most isn't the building, it's the long middle. How do you keep showing up with energy in month four or five when the numbers still aren't moving? What actually kept you going through the flat stretch, and how did you learn to tell the difference between "push harder" and "this isn't working, change something"?
Distribution. Everyone keeps saying distribution is the real game, not the product. I'd love to understand what that actually looks like day to day for an indie dev. Which channels genuinely worked for you, and what did you pour time into that gave you nothing back? Also curious: did you go global from day one or start with an Indian audience first, and did that choice help or hurt? If you could hand your beginner self one warning about distribution, what would it be?
When does the money show up? Roughly how long after launch did you see your first real MRR, and what changed right before it started to move? Just trying to set honest expectations for myself.
The big competitor question. Were you ever put off by the fact that a bigger, more polished version of your idea already existed? How did you get past that, and honestly, does it matter as much as it feels like it does when you're staring at it on day one?
Finding the niche. I keep hearing the goal is to solve one problem better for one specific person rather than beat everyone at everything. How did you actually find that angle? Was it from talking to users, scratching your own itch, or something you stumbled into?
Would really appreciate any honest answers. Happy to share back whatever I learn along the way.
Thanks a ton 🙏