Indie Bites

High Signal founder on the state of indie hacking and building in public in 2025 - Pete Codes

January 8, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The "build in public" movement, while still valuable, has lost some of its marketing potency due to increased adoption and the rise of shameless copycats, leading some founders to shift towards more private growth strategies. 
  • The indie hacker community is experiencing a shift in platform focus, with Twitter and Blue Sky emerging as key hubs for founders, while LinkedIn's feed can be fragmented and less conducive to discovering indie-specific content. 
  • Successful indie hackers like Tony Din and Andre (of AI Tools Directory) demonstrate the power of identifying market gaps early, building quality products, and leveraging platforms like AI tools and directories for significant revenue growth, even from regions with lower cost of living. 

Segments

Indie News Curation Process
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(00:01:13)
  • Key Takeaway: Pete Coach curates “High Signal” newsletter content by bookmarking posts on platforms like Twitter and Blue Sky, then reviewing and writing directly in the email editor, a method he shares with other newsletter writers.
  • Summary: Pete discusses how he gathers news for his “High Signal” newsletter, explaining his process of using social media bookmarks and directly writing into his email editor, noting that this direct approach is common among newsletter creators.
Platform Landscape for Founders
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(00:03:21)
  • Key Takeaway: The indie founder community’s online presence is splitting between Twitter and Blue Sky, with LinkedIn being less effective for discovering niche content due to its mixed feed.
  • Summary: The conversation explores the current social media landscape for indie hackers, with Pete sharing his view that Twitter and Blue Sky will likely divide founder attention, while LinkedIn’s feed is often too varied to be a primary source for indie news.
Evolution of “Build in Public”
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(00:04:36)
  • Key Takeaway: While “build in public” still offers benefits like publicity, its impact has diminished as it’s no longer novel, and the growth of the community has led to issues with copycats and less personal connection.
  • Summary: Pete reflects on the “build in public” movement, explaining how its initial revolutionary appeal has faded due to widespread adoption and the emergence of copycats, which has somewhat diluted its effectiveness and changed the community dynamic.
Notable Indie Success Stories
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(00:09:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Tony Din’s journey to $1 million in revenue with Typing Mind and Andre’s success with AI Tools Directory highlight the rewards of early market entry and consistent product development in the AI space.
  • Summary: Pete shares inspiring stories of indie hackers, including Tony Din’s bootstrapped success with Typing Mind and Andre’s high-traffic AI tools directory, emphasizing their strategic early entry and product execution.