Thread · 8 min read
Your build-in-public audience is not your market. I learned the difference the slow way.
Indie Hackers Free Intermediate
A founder's first-person account of the exact failure mode in your question: mistaking an audience of people who look and think like you for a paying market. It's a useful gut check because it's not a famous investor's theory, it's someone who actually lived the gap between enthusiasm and revenue.
- An audience that resembles you (same taste, same online habits) can still be too small or unwilling to pay.
- Likes and encouraging comments are a weaker signal than people reaching for their wallet.
- Separately track who engages with you versus who actually becomes a paying customer.
