Day 913 - The indie hacking carnival - https://golifelog.com/posts/the-indie-hacking-carnival-1688255480501
There's this great Hacker News analogy about how [entrepreneurship is like the carnival](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076#):
> Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work. Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it.
[I'm that middle class kid](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1675089127841071105). I had my one throw, but now trying to afford more tickets for more throws, through things like freelancing.
All the while just hoping I'll never have to go back to working at the carnival.
The funny thing with being middle class is that our situation sets us up to not even try. We're neither here nor there. Comfortable enough to fear losing it all, not poor enough to want to risk it all. So doing this whole indie hacking thing so far feels like swimming against that narrative current.
But try I will. I think us indies can get more throws in by making it as cheap to do so:
- bootstrap and keep infra costs low
- pre-launch to minimize building wrong things
- make small bets, commit to big bets after better data
- move and live in low cost location
- freelance at the side to extend the runway indefinitely
- spouse works in a job while another tries a business
The carnival analogy ain't watertight, but the best part about it is:
Guess what the indie hacker's favourite ride at the carnival is? The rollercoaster.
LOL. #dadjokes
> Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work. Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it.
[I'm that middle class kid](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1675089127841071105). I had my one throw, but now trying to afford more tickets for more throws, through things like freelancing.
All the while just hoping I'll never have to go back to working at the carnival.
The funny thing with being middle class is that our situation sets us up to not even try. We're neither here nor there. Comfortable enough to fear losing it all, not poor enough to want to risk it all. So doing this whole indie hacking thing so far feels like swimming against that narrative current.
But try I will. I think us indies can get more throws in by making it as cheap to do so:
- bootstrap and keep infra costs low
- pre-launch to minimize building wrong things
- make small bets, commit to big bets after better data
- move and live in low cost location
- freelance at the side to extend the runway indefinitely
- spouse works in a job while another tries a business
The carnival analogy ain't watertight, but the best part about it is:
Guess what the indie hacker's favourite ride at the carnival is? The rollercoaster.
LOL. #dadjokes