Year Three of Indie Dev — What I Learned to Say No To
Not every good idea deserves to start now.
The scarcest resource in indie development isn't ideas — it's sustained focus. Learning what NOT to do matters more than learning what to do.
Stop building for everyone
When a product tries to solve everyone's problem, no one truly remembers it. Now I'd rather start from a tiny audience and seriously solve one specific pain.
Stop chasing the "perfect launch"
I used to think a product needed complete features, polished interactions and full docs before shipping. Now I accept MVP for what it is — if the core loop runs, real users use it, and feedback comes in, that already beats a perfect unreleased product. Survive first, look good later.
Stop treating your stack as a talisman
Rust, K8s, writing compilers… cool, but users don't care. This year I put more energy into understanding user scenarios, refining copy, and designing pricing. Tech is just a means — pick the familiar, iterate fast.
Stop building in silence
Early on I feared copycats and harsh feedback, so I hoarded the big reveal. Now: ask on social media at the idea stage, put up a landing page to collect emails, talk to 3-5 seed users. Honest rejection beats fake encouragement.
Stop measuring only revenue
For two years I fixated on MRR, DAU and conversion anxiety. Now I ask: am I still enjoying writing code? Do users genuinely say "this works"? Am I accumulating reusable assets (component libraries, release processes, SEO experience, trust)? Those compound.
Stop rejecting "uncool" business
Tools, outsourcing, building sites for people, writing docs, selling templates… I used to think these weren't "productized" enough and felt beneath me. Now I know: cash flow buys the freedom to keep doing what I love. Dignity doesn't pay rent — cash flow does.
The keyword for year three is convergence:
- Feature convergence: only the core 20% that 80% of users touch
- Audience convergence: only serve people who'll pay for a specific problem
- Pace convergence: reject fake demands, protect deep-work blocks
- Expectation convergence: accept high odds of failure; only bet what you can lose
I no longer want to be a "successful indie developer". I want to be someone who keeps making things. That's probably the posture that goes the distance.