Day 618 - What does a good opportunity look like in indie hacking? - https://golifelog.com/posts/what-does-a-good-opportunity-look-like-in-indie-hacking-1662777252937
I read this from James Clear's recent newsletter:
"3 things that help luck:
1. Deconstructing your craft, so you know what good opportunities look like.
2. Remaining vigilant, so you notice when lucky breaks come your way.
3. Acting quickly, so you are more likely to seize luck when it arrives."
– [James Clear](https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/september-8-2022)
#2 and #3 are familiar, but #1 got me thinking because I realised I don't know the answer to that...
So what does a good opportunity look like in indie hacking? In particular, for my products?
Some thoughts:
- Viral. But not all viral are created equal. Viral is an opportunity if it converts, if it helps you achieve your goals. If it's just a funny viral meme with no engagement, no conversions, then not an opportunity.
- People pay for pre-sales, in droves. If there's not even a product yet but people are willing to open their wallets, you might be on to something.
- When you hit more than $10k monthly. I used to think hitting $1k was enough as a signal that the product is a great opportunity. But that's too low a bar. Hardly even ramen profitable. Just breaking even isn't enough to count as a great opportunity. $10k is a better benchmark.
- When you're pulled forward by external forces—market demand, feature requests, high usage—it also means opportunity. When you can't build fast enough, or don't have enough time to serve everyone lining up for it. In contrast, if you have to push hard on everything, the process feels uphill, and with little to no results, that's a sign there's no opportunity.
- When you're having fun and not caring about the results or rewards of your work other than the joy of doing it, yet people love it, sign up and pay. That's a perfect overlap of customer desirability and maker enjoyability.
- When you get multiple offers for micro-acquisition. Bonus points if the project is not even revenue-generating yet.
- When it's a saturated market and there's already multiple existing competitors, yet customers come to you.
- When you don't do paid marketing or ads, yet customers come to you via word of mouth.
*What are the other ways a good opportunity looks like in indie hacking?*
"3 things that help luck:
1. Deconstructing your craft, so you know what good opportunities look like.
2. Remaining vigilant, so you notice when lucky breaks come your way.
3. Acting quickly, so you are more likely to seize luck when it arrives."
– [James Clear](https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/september-8-2022)
#2 and #3 are familiar, but #1 got me thinking because I realised I don't know the answer to that...
So what does a good opportunity look like in indie hacking? In particular, for my products?
Some thoughts:
- Viral. But not all viral are created equal. Viral is an opportunity if it converts, if it helps you achieve your goals. If it's just a funny viral meme with no engagement, no conversions, then not an opportunity.
- People pay for pre-sales, in droves. If there's not even a product yet but people are willing to open their wallets, you might be on to something.
- When you hit more than $10k monthly. I used to think hitting $1k was enough as a signal that the product is a great opportunity. But that's too low a bar. Hardly even ramen profitable. Just breaking even isn't enough to count as a great opportunity. $10k is a better benchmark.
- When you're pulled forward by external forces—market demand, feature requests, high usage—it also means opportunity. When you can't build fast enough, or don't have enough time to serve everyone lining up for it. In contrast, if you have to push hard on everything, the process feels uphill, and with little to no results, that's a sign there's no opportunity.
- When you're having fun and not caring about the results or rewards of your work other than the joy of doing it, yet people love it, sign up and pay. That's a perfect overlap of customer desirability and maker enjoyability.
- When you get multiple offers for micro-acquisition. Bonus points if the project is not even revenue-generating yet.
- When it's a saturated market and there's already multiple existing competitors, yet customers come to you.
- When you don't do paid marketing or ads, yet customers come to you via word of mouth.
*What are the other ways a good opportunity looks like in indie hacking?*
Jason Leow
Author
Totally! Without which we won't last long enough to get to product-market fit or profitability
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