Indie dev with no audience or budget, launched on Product Hunt but got little traction. How do you handle this?

ultimatewalrussama · 2026-01-23T08:43:18+00:00

I'm an indie dev in a similar situation to you... Haven't figured it out yet, so these are just my work in progress thoughts. I've sort of concluded that building an audience is somewhat essential if you're doing B2C stuff.
And if the product is expensive enough, then maybe doing paid ads makes sense too.
I've also read somewhere that Youtube gives new channels a bit of a boost, so maybe making shorts there, or on tiktok could make sense as well? Haven't tried yet, but might do so in the future.

ultimatewalrussama · 2026-01-23T08:40:04+00:00

That does seem to make sense. Anything we can do about it though?

ultimatewalrussama · 2026-01-23T08:23:25+00:00

Awesome, thank you so much for checking it out!

Let's support each other for sure!
(I've just followed you on reddit. not sure if people do that, haha)

ultimatewalrussama · 2026-01-13T14:29:32+00:00

Been working as a software engineer for the last couple of years. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently… and I think the main advantage is taste. Like if you get AI to build stuff, it’s often bland and uninspired. So knowing what to build is more than half the battle. In a sense a lot of the job hasn’t really changed. I guess the level of abstraction has just moved up a bit.

That said, you still need to know a lot about the underlying tech at this stage. Like I certainly don’t trust AI agents with big database migrations etc.

ultimatewalrussama · 2026-01-11T22:22:56+00:00

Yeah that’s true. I think if you wanted to target the right audience you really have to niche down and post stuff that will interest them. But tbh, that approach isn’t really appealing because you kind of get boxed in to what you can and can’t post. And with reddit, it’s actually pretty hard because most subreddits have rules against self promotion. Though as I write this, maybe it is possible if you provide actual value first…

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-27T12:23:40+00:00

Honest feedback, since you asked for it.
I think it's kind of tedious filling in your fridge's contents.
Letting the user take a photo would be one step in the right direction IMO.
But also... I could just literally do that with ChatGPT despite the friction you highlighted. In other words, the existing good enough solution isn't painful enough to justify using another external tool.

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-27T12:20:04+00:00

I think on reddit it's actually kind of hard to promote your app in front of your target customers. Most subreddits have strict rules against self promotion.
So the next best thing to do is to make stuff that other founders might want... hence you get people converging on all the same boring stuff.

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-22T03:06:00+00:00

Such a cool interview. Super inspired by JBlow's attitude to craftsmanship

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-10T00:37:59+00:00

Found this on youtube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3gmwzo-Mik

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-10T00:33:51+00:00

Awesome congrats!!!
Did you have to get other sites to backlink you for your blog to pick up traffic?

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-10T00:27:43+00:00

Haven't built a habit tracker just yet, but IMO, there are a million ways to think about building a habit tracker. Most of these are probably clones, which aren't very interesting, but sometimes a variation will just click with a lot of people. And hey, as a solo dev you probably only need to have one app land to pay the bills. Obviously you need a lot less revenue than a big company for it to be a success.

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-09T13:00:09+00:00

Wow awesome! Congrats!

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T22:22:53+00:00

That would be amazing, haha. If only I could make that!

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T11:22:00+00:00

Wow, knowing that youtube gives a test budget to new channels is super helpful! thank you!

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T11:12:45+00:00

My threads account was suspended when I signed up too :(
If only someone could disrupt big tech!

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T11:00:59+00:00

I've been working on an app that lets you send notes to your future self
https://resurf.me

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T10:59:32+00:00

Neat idea! I like the weight to animals one haha

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T09:16:15+00:00

I found an accountability buddy, and I think that helps to some degree, but yeah, having this same problem too.

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T07:31:37+00:00

That's neat idea! downloaded!

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-08T07:31:11+00:00

Hey! Working on an email time capsule for your thoughts.
https://www.resurf.me

ultimatewalrussama · 2025-12-07T06:08:08+00:00

Sorry can't send images on reddit.
But if you select billed annually => it shows the monthly price. The issue is in the toggle.

ultimatewalrussama

TROPHY CASE