🗞 What's New: Bulletproof your business idea by playing a game

The AI boom has frightened inspired us into getting back to our indie hacking roots! But more on that below:

• We just built something new! It's a game that helps you validate new business ideas or make the idea you're already working on more bulletproof.
• Founders are scrubbing their revenue numbers and product details from social media — not because they're failing, but because they're succeeding.
• This founder's VC-backed startup crumbled post-pandemic. Then he made a bold pivot to build the “Zapier of AI.”

Paddle makes it easy for SaaS and digital product companies to sell anywhere. As a Merchant of Record, they manage global payments, tax compliance, subscriptions, and more, so you can focus on growth. Get paid from anywhere and grow everywhere with Paddle.

Courtland here! 👋

Some say that startup ideas don't matter, and that only execution does. I disagree. You need both to succeed, but you can only get so good at execution. A great idea can give you 10,000x the leverage.

So I built something very useful: an idea builder.

You put in a simple idea, and it helps you turn it into a great one. It only takes a minute or two. It's called Idea Board, and I'd love your help testing it out.

Try the new Idea Board →

The "build in public" movement that helped create countless indie hacker success stories is experiencing a dramatic shift. More founders are scrubbing their revenue numbers and product details from social media – not because they're failing, but because they're succeeding.

This deep dive explains why successful indie hackers are choosing privacy over transparency once they hit $10K+ MRR, how copycats are forcing this evolution, and what the new playbook for sharing your journey looks like in 2025.

Read the full article →

When Flo Crivello's VC-backed virtual office startup started tanking post-pandemic, he spotted an opportunity in the emerging AI landscape. Instead of trying to save a dying product, he made a bold pivot that transformed his business.

Two years later, his new venture Lindy.ai is pulling in six-figure monthly revenue as the "Zapier of AI." He shares the tough lessons learned about timing, trusting your gut, and why some startups need to be "fat" instead of lean.

Read the full article →

Counterintuitive, but really good advice. Reminds me of a John Stuart Mill quote that “He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.”

Better still, you can apply a more general version of the "write a rebuttal" prompt to many things, including the soundness of your business idea, investment strategies, personal opinions, etc.

—@channingallen

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Special thanks to Courtland Allen, Michal Kankowski, and James Fleischmann for contributing posts.

—Channing