SKILL.md
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Concept
Meaning
Bootstrapping
Self-funded; use product revenue to grow; no equity dilution
MVP
Minimum viable product; ship fast, validate, iterate
Build in Public
Share progress, metrics, failures openly; attracts early adopters
Scratch your own itch
Solve your own problem first; others likely have it too
Pieter Levels Playbook
Tactic
Guideline
Ship fast, fix later
Launch ugly but functional MVPs; Nomad List started as Google Sheet + Stripe; Photo AI made $150K first week despite initial flaws
Monetize from day one
Add payment button at launch; validate willingness to pay, not just usage
Automate everything
Scripts, APIs, no-code; run without employees
Build in public
Share metrics openly; 600K+ followers; "Day 1: building X. Day 3: first customer" attracts early adopters
Reference: Pieter Levels: The One-Man Startup Empire
First 100 Users (Indie Hacker Tactics)
Phase
Tactic
First 5
Direct DMs to people who'd genuinely benefit
Next ~15
Conversations in communities where target users hang out (Reddit, Indie Hackers)
Scale to 50
Build in public with visible metrics
Reach 100
Double down on what works; don't add new channels until one consistently converts
Niche products: Reddit (60/100 users in one case), Discord (25), Indie Hackers (15). Twitter/HN may yield 0 for niche—target existing conversations in niche communities. Reference: How I got my first 100 users - Indie Hackers, Indie10k – First 100 Users
Traction Triangle
- Clear Offer — "I built X to help Y do Z"
- Right Channel — Go where your niche congregates
- Social Proof — Screenshots, roadmaps, user feedback, rapid shipping
Build in Public (Content Framework)
Content Mix
Share
40%
Learnings
30%
Progress updates
20%
Challenges, failures
10%
Helping others
Principles: Transparency over perfection; authenticity over polish; consistency over intensity; value over self-promotion (90/10 rule). Post weekly minimum; engage two-way. Founders who build in public see ~4.2× more day-one users; ~34% of launch users from audience. Reference: Building in Public: Complete Strategy 2026, Indie Hackers Marketing 2025
Growth Channels (Indie Hacker Fit)
Channel
Fit
Conversion
Skill
Indie Hackers
Sustained 4–6 months; authentic journey
~23% vs PH 3%
community-forum
Product Hunt
Launch-day buzz
~3%
product-hunt-launch, cold-start-strategy
Niche subreddits; 5+ months; lead with story
Varies by niche
reddit-posts, community-forum
Twitter/X
Breadth, fastest follower growth
—
twitter-x-posts
Higher customer conversion than X
—
linkedin-posts
Discord
Niche communities; strong for first 100
—
community-forum
SEO
Long-term organic; Micro-SaaS, tools
—
seo-strategy
LTD / AppSumo
Fast revenue, validation
—
discount-marketing-strategy
Founder-led outbound
B2B, high ACV; 10–15 DMs/day
—
cold-start-strategy
Principle: 2–3 channels executed well > many poorly. Twitter/X for breadth; LinkedIn for conversion. Indie Hackers + SEO or Product Hunt + Reddit common combos.
Indie Hackers Platform Tactics
- Sustained engagement: 4–6 months; not one-time launch
- Content: Authentic journey posts, small wins, lessons learned, relatable struggles
- Promotion: Product "sprinkled within" content; avoid heavy promotion
- Result: ~12.5% conversion from authentic sharing; Plausible Analytics 24% trial vs PH 1.38%
- Build in Public: Share progress, metrics, failures openly
For HN launch, Reddit post structure, Discord tactics → community-forum.
Product Types & Growth Fit
Type
Example
Growth Focus
Micro-SaaS
Nomad List, Tweet Hunter, SiteGPT
SEO, Indie Hackers, Product Hunt
AI tools
Photo AI, Interior AI, AutoShorts.ai
Product Hunt, Twitter, LTD
Digital products
Templates, plugins, themes
SEO, content
Content
Blog, course, tools
SEO, content-marketing
Monetization & Pricing
Model
Use
Skill
SaaS (subscription)
Monthly/annual; stable revenue
pricing-strategy
One-time purchase
Tools, templates; lower overhead
pricing-strategy
LTD
Fast validation; cold start
discount-marketing-strategy
Diversified revenue
Multiple products; lower risk
—
Principle: Monetize early; add payment on day 1 to validate demand. Ramen profitability = first milestone. Avoid platform dependency (e.g., Twitter API).
Multi-Channel Launch (Indie Hacker)
Week
Focus
1–2
Audience building (LinkedIn 3×/week)
3–4
Beta; community engagement
5
Pre-launch countdown
6
Product Hunt + Reddit/Indie Hackers
7
Post-launch follow-up
Build in public before launch. For full launch checklist → cold-start-strategy.
When to Use Which Skill
Scenario
Skill
First users, launch timeline, Product Hunt
cold-start-strategy
Indie Hackers, HN, Reddit post structure, Discord
community-forum
PMF validation before scale
pmf-strategy
SEO for organic growth
seo-strategy
LTD structure, pricing
discount-marketing-strategy
Product Hunt, Taaft, G2 submission
product-hunt-launch, directory-submission
Full GTM (new product, 90-day)
gtm-strategy, product-launch
Output Format
- Channel selection (2–3; fit for indie)
- First 100 users plan (DMs, communities, Build in Public)
- Build in Public content mix (40/30/20/10)
- Skill mapping (cold-start, community-forum, seo-strategy, etc.)
- Timeline (pre-launch, launch, sustained)
Related Skills
- cold-start-strategy: Launch timeline, Product Hunt, directory submission; first users execution
- open-source-strategy: Open source commercialization; GitHub, DevHunt; Build in Public for OSS
- community-forum: Indie Hackers, HN, Reddit, Discord tactics; forum post structure
- pmf-strategy: Validate before scaling; avoid large paid before PMF
- seo-strategy: Organic growth; Micro-SaaS, tools
- discount-marketing-strategy: LTD structure; cold start revenue
- product-hunt-launch: Product Hunt preparation and launch
- directory-submission: Taaft, G2, curated lists
- gtm-strategy: Full GTM framework; new product launch
- product-launch: Launch execution; channels, checklist
- twitter-x-posts, linkedin-posts: Build in Public post copy
- reddit-posts: Reddit post copy for cold-start