Entrepreneuriat, création de produits et stratégies pour les Indie Hackers.
I built Zperiod to make chemistry actually interactive.
It features 3D atoms, 4 amazing tools, a worksheet generator... and lots more. And absolutely no ads.
Try it here: Zperiod.app (Desktop only for now, phone is just an intro)
I'm still in high school, so any feedback or criticism is super appreciated! ❤️
If you are building sth. or just getting started with a business or chasing your dreams, keep going bro.
KEEP IT UP!! U can do it !!! And it will work out!!!
Let’s go!!!!!!
Not hating on vibe coding. It got you to launch and that matters more than most people on this sub will admit. But I keep getting the same call from founders who built their product in a weekend with Cursor, got a few hundred users, maybe some early revenue, and now they're stuck.
They can't close enterprise deals. They can't pass a security review. They can't onboard a second dev without them quitting in a week. Their Stripe integration works until it doesn't and nobody knows why.
Here's what I keep finding under the hood.
1. Auth is held together with tape.
Nine times out of ten it's a NextAuth setup where every user is either "admin" or "user." No role-based access. No row-level permissions. No audit log. Session tokens sitting in local storage like it's 2019.
Doesn't matter when you have 50 users who trust you. Kills you when an enterprise prospect's security team runs a review. I had a founder lose a $40k annual contract because the prospect's IT flagged their auth in the first 10 minutes of a technical review. Product was solid. The architecture said "weekend project." Deal died on the spot.
2. One god table with 35 columns.
Claude loves throwing everything into one Prisma model. Works fine until you have 10k rows and every page load takes 4 seconds because there's no indexing and you're doing full table scans on every request.
One founder was paying $300/month on Vercel because their serverless functions kept timing out on database queries and retrying. Moved them to properly indexed Postgres with actual relations. Bill dropped to $40. Same app. Same traffic. Just not doing stupid things with the database anymore.
3. No error handling anywhere.
When everything works, everything works. When one thing breaks, the whole app goes down because nothing is caught. API calls fail silently. Webhooks crash and lose data. Stripe events get missed because the endpoint returns a 500 and Stripe gives up retrying after 3 days.
One founder told me they'd been "randomly" losing about 8% of their subscription payments for two months. Wasn't random. Their webhook handler was crashing on a specific edge case with annual billing and every failed event was a customer who paid but never got activated. They found out because customers started emailing. Not because their system told them.
4. Deployments are push to main and pray.
No staging environment. No tests. .env files committed to the repo with live API keys. Rollbacks mean reverting a commit and hoping the database migrations don't conflict.
One bad deploy on a Friday afternoon took a client's app down for 11 hours because they had no way to roll back a Prisma migration that deleted a column they still needed. Their users saw a blank screen all weekend. They lost about 15 churned accounts from that one incident.
Here's the thing though. The answer isn't a rewrite.
That's what most devs tell you. "Burn it down, rebuild from scratch." That's a 3-month project that kills your momentum and might kill your company.
What actually works is stabilization. Fix auth properly. Add error handling on the critical paths. Index the database. Set up a basic deploy pipeline with rollbacks. Add one integration test for the payment flow so you stop losing money in your sleep.
That's usually 2-3 weeks of work. Users don't notice anything changed. But now the foundation holds weight and you can actually sell to companies that do a technical review before they sign a check.
If you built something that people are actually using and paying for, you already did the hardest part. Most founders never get there. The code underneath just needs to grow up with the business.
found this massive thread on X today by an investor and tbh it gave me a bit of an existential crisis as a dev. core premise is simple. code is basically free now. the timeline to ship production-ready saas has completely collapsed.
he pointed out a stat that really stuck with me. with agentic workflows like claude code and cursor, a single dev can now output in 48 hours what would have taken a whole engineering team months to build back in 2015.
but the scary part wasn't the speed. its who is actually winning with it.
he brought up that recent anthropic hackathon. out of 13k applicants, the winners weren't senior faang engineers. top spots went to a personal injury lawyer, a cardiologist, and a highway technician from uganda. only one of the top 5 had a traditional programming background. the lawyer built an automated compliance tool in 6 days that basically replaces an entire bureaucratic industry.
the thesis is that the real moat is no longer 'knowing how to build the complex system'. the moat is domain expertise, product intuition, and the ability to get immediate brutal feedback from real users.
the thread pointed out that this isnt just a US thing. its accelerating globally because platforms are starting to merge the building phase with the distribution phase. he pointed specifically to whats happening with young builders in china right now. over there they dont really have a distinct 'tech twitter' where builders just talk in a vacuum. instead you have 15 and 16 year olds building AI tools and posting their raw demos directly onto massive consumer platforms like xiaohongshu (rednote).
because the builders and the actual high-intent consumers are on the exact same app, the feedback loop is instantaneous. a 16 year old high schooler literally built an AI app, dropped a demo video, got roasted and praised by thousands of real end-users in the comments, iterated the UI, and ended up getting sponsored by a CEO who saw the post. all without ever leaving the app. it acts as a discovery, validation, and distribution engine all at once.
he highlighted how in these 48-hour AI hackathons, the wildcard winners aren't senior architects anymore. theyre teenagers who just string APIs together but completely understand consumer algorithm distribution.
honestly it made me realize how completely disconnected my own feedback loop is. we build in silos, drop a link on product hunt, and pray. ive spent the last month obsessing over our backend architecture, completely ignoring that the baseline for tech has been leveled.
if a cardiologist can build a medical API on a flight to SF, and teenagers are treating consumer social algorithms as their QA and distribution teams, what protects us?
i feel like i cant put my moat-building shovel down but ive definately been digging in the wrong place. anyone else feeling the pressure of this shift lately?
Seventh industry deep dive Ive posted here. Already covered pest control, HVAC, restoration, home care, landscaping, and roofing. Septic is the one nobody wants to talk about at dinner parties. Its also the one with the best margin profile of anything Ive researched. When your septic system backs up at 2am you dont comparison shop. You call whoever picks up the phone and you pay whatever they charge.
Heres what I found.
Why the economics are so good
$8.1 billion market growing at 6.7% CAGR per IBISWorld. About 7,700 operators nationwide, mostly mom-and-pops doing $1-2M in revenue. 21% of US households rely on septic systems and those systems require mandatory pumping every 3-5 years. Thats not discretionary spend. Thats legally mandated maintenance that happens regardless of whether the economy is booming or in recession.
The margin profile is the best Ive seen across all seven industries:
Top quartile operators are hitting 63-68% gross margins and 28-35% EBITDA margins. Compare that to roofing (6.4% industry avg EBITDA) or restoration (10-20% EBITDA). Septic is in a completely different league on profitability.
The recurring revenue angle
This is what makes septic different from roofing or restoration. Every septic system needs pumping on a 3-5 year cycle. Once you have a customers address and system specs in your database, you can automate reminders and schedule their next service years in advance. The best operators are converting 30-40% of revenue to recurring maintenance contracts.
Most mom-and-pops are sitting at 15-25% recurring revenue because they dont have the tech or discipline to follow up. Thats your value creation opportunity. Buy a business with a 15,000+ customer database, implement automated scheduling and maintenance reminders thru ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro, and convert 500 customers to annual contracts at $150/year. Thats $75K in predictable recurring revenue at 70% margin dropping $52K straight to EBITDA.
What buyers are actually paying
Entry multiples are low because most operators are small and owner-dependent:
Notice the multiples actually decrease as revenue goes up in the SDE range. Thats unusual compared to other industries and reflects the fact that larger septic companies often have lower margins due to fleet overhead, disposal costs, and less owner involvement. The premium kicks in at platform scale when PE is the buyer.
Median SDE is about $425K and median sale price is $1.1M.
PE is consolidating this space fast
Wind River Environmental is the dominant platform. Backed by Gryphon Investors, theyve done over 100 acquisitions since 2009 along the Eastern Seaboard. They now have 1,100+ employees, 1,000 vehicles, and operations across 16 states. Theyre the largest consolidator in septic and still actively acquiring. If your east of the Mississippi and doing $1-2M in revenue, Wind River is probably already looking at you.
Other platforms actively buying:
The PE thesis is straightforward: buy fragmented mom-and-pops at 2.5x SDE, centralize dispatch and accounting, consolidate routes for fuel efficiency, cross-sell adjacent services (grease trap, drain cleaning, inspection), and exit the platform at 5-6x EBITDA.
What drives premium vs discount multiples
Premium: recurring contracts above 30% of revenue (adds 0.5x-0.8x to the multiple), commercial mix above 25% (commercial tickets are 2-3x residential), route density and geographic concentration, documented 55-65% gross margins, tech stack with route optimization and automated scheduling, and a proprietary customer database with 15K+ accounts and maintenance history.
Discount: owner dependency with no documented processes, aging equipment needing $100K+ capex, reactive-only revenue with no contracts, single-county operations with limited expansion runway, compliance gaps on state licensing or EPA documentation, and customer concentration above 20% from top 5 accounts.
The labor situation is actually manageable
This is one of the better labor stories Ive seen. Average wage is about $44K with 7% annual growth and only 20% turnover. Compare that to home care (79% turnover), landscaping (31%), or roofing (21%). The workforce is more stable because the work is year-round, the skills are transferable, and theres less seasonal volatility then outdoor trades.
The catch: the training pipeline is almost nonexistent. Less then 10% of workers enter thru vocational programs. 90% learn on the job. The aging workforce means a 40% shortage is projected by 2032. CDL requirements add a barrier. Companies that invest in CDL training sponsorship, structured OJT programs, above-market wages ($10-15% premium), and benefits packages have a real retention advantage.
Where to buy
Top markets based on septic system density, population growth, and PE platform activity:
Also strong: Richmond VA, Jacksonville FL, Baltimore MD, Portland ME, Greenville-Spartanburg SC. Southeast and Mid-Atlantic are the two hottest regions.
Markets to skip: San Francisco (<5% septic density), NYC (minimal septic, mature sewer infrastructure), Chicago (<8% septic, saturated), Seattle (limited density, high labor costs).
5 things I'd verify before writing an LOI
The value creation playbook
This is where septic gets really interesting. Buy a $1.2M revenue residential-heavy operator at 2.5x SDE ($300K SDE = $750K purchase price). Day one you implement route optimization software ($3K/year), cutting fuel costs 15-25% and increasing daily job capacity 20-30%. Month 3 you start upselling existing customers to annual maintenance contracts. Convert 500 out of your 5,000+ database and thats $75K in recurring revenue at 70% margin. Month 6 you hire a commercial sales rep ($60K salary) to chase restaurant and hotel grease trap work at $500-$1,200 tickets.
By year 2 your EBITDA has jumped from $300K to $400K+ (33% margin vs 25% pre-acquisition). Sell to Wind River or another platform at 4.0x EBITDA in 36 months for $1.6M. Thats a 2.1x return on a $750K purchase plus cash flow along the way.
The SBA math
$750K purchase, SBA 7(a) at 85% LTV, $112K equity out of pocket. Roughly $78K year 1 cash flow after debt service. By year 3 your at $135K cash flow as recurring conversion and commercial mix kick in. Exit in year 5 at 4.0x EBITDA for $1.6M. Thats a 42% IRR.
The honest risk assessment
But the fundamentals are hard to argue with. 21% of US households on septic, mandatory 3-5 year maintenance cycles, 55-65% gross margins, and PE platforms proving the roll-up works with 100+ acquisitions. The demand isnt going away and the margins are best-in-class.
TLDR
$8.1B market, 7,700 operators, 55-65% gross margins, 28-35% EBITDA for top quartile. Buy residential-heavy mom-and-pops at 2.0-2.5x SDE, convert customers to recurring maintenance contracts, add commercial mix for 2-3x ticket sizes, implement route optimization for 20-30% efficiency gains, exit at 4.0-5.0x EBITDA to PE platforms. Wind River has done 100+ acquisitions proving the playbook. Entry multiples are the lowest of any industry Ive covered while margins are the highest. If you can stomach the literal crap, the economics are best-in-class.
This is the seventh deep dive Ive posted here after pest control, HVAC, restoration, home care, landscaping, and roofing. Septic has the best margin profile and lowest entry multiples of anything Ive researched. The tradeoff is that nobody wants to brag about owning a septic company at Thanksgiving dinner. If theres interest I'll keep posting these.
What industries are you all looking at? Anyone here running or looking to buy a septic business?
First time founders obsess over product. Second time founders obsess over distribution.
If you want your startup to succeed in this current era, you are going to have to think deeply about distribution.
Below, I'm listing the distribution tips to help you succeed:
Things that compound but no gain short term:
Cold email template I am using for my startup:
Here is the actual cold email template I am using on creators for reference:
I have been building a SAAS for a niche and I don't want to be one who build the app on his own I wanted to connect with people who are in this industry.
The hardest part is not building it is to gather people and listening to them and tailoring the solution according to there problem
But nowadays if you ask for support or just input with even bearing the cost of your saas product people think it is a scam or you're am trying to sell anything and hate you as much as they can
Did anyone crack code to how attach the people with you so they can give input and in return you can give them your software free of cost
asking this question in couple same minded communities, just interested
Two Starbucks on the same block. You've probably walked past this and figured someone in corporate wasn't paying attention.
I thought the same thing until I looked into it. And honestly I'm still not sure what to make of it.
It started in Vancouver in the 90s. A store was about to lose its building to renovation. They opened another one 30 meters away. Panic move. Both made money at the same time. The old one wasn't even closed yet.
So instead of treating it as a weird anomaly they just... kept doing it.
Schultz said they were cannibalizing a third of their own stores every day. The thinking being, if your corner is profitable, give it long enough and a Dunkin' or a local roaster shows up next door. So you take the lease yourself first.
They had no ad budget either so clustering was their visibility play. Two storefronts on the same street apparently costs less than one billboard campaign.
You can see it on Google Maps. Search Starbucks in Manhattan. The pins don't spread out. They stack on top of each other.
Now whether this is actually genius or just worked for a while, I don't know. Average US Starbucks has 4 others within a mile now. BMO downgraded the stock partly because the overlap started killing traffic. Same strategy, different result at scale.
Anyway. It made me wonder if anyone here has ever grabbed a lease mostly to keep a competitor out. Not because you needed the space but because you didn't want someone else to have it.
I am tired of the endless competition and attempts to come up with crazy ways to validate my ideas that I actually know nothing about. I never end up actually building anything. I spend too much time idealizing without actually doing anything.
A few weeks ago I stopped with all this nonsense and just decided to build, launch and forget. I now build for fun. I think of things that would be useful for me. I only make things that will help me and solve some kind of problem. No matter how small it is.
It actually feels good to just build and not care. I have a few ideas that I'd like to build in the next few weeks.
Hey guys :)
In the last month I built a new all in one multitool app since almost all of them are full of ads and many useless tools... I made it for myself because I didn’t like those but I'd be very happy if someone finds it useful as well.
Right now there are 72 tools (some of them have multiple tools inside and almost all of them work offline)
I’d be happy to know what you think of it!
Thank you in advance 🙂
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.meloni.punto.app
Hey everyone,
Couple of months ago, I launched a micro SaaS for freelancers.
The idea was simple: freelancers can create a private status page for each client, so clients can check progress anytime (with no need to login), instead of constantly asking for updates.
I built it because I personally hated the "any updates?" messages working as a freelancer myself.
Here’s what happened since launch:
What I think might be wrong:
Now I’m at a crossroads:
Do I keep pushing, pivot, or shut it down?
I**'d really appreciate honest feedback:**
Happy to share more details if helpful.
Thanks 🙏
I have around 12 years of experience as Software engineer and worked on multiple products ranging from big data domain to wealth management tech to platform engineering to large complex verification workflows.Have a okish stable job with good pay
In the last couple of weeks I started building a saas application which is a data prep tool similar to what Altarix Informatica provides but much simpler to setup and use .
the saas will be multi tenant with enterprise auth integration supper from day 1, will have all standard security practice followed which an enterprise software need to have ( I had collected those experiences in last 12 years of working with all those big corps like Morgan Stanley, Informatica , Amazon ,Fico etc .. ) .. will have a modern UI and the customer data will never be pulled to saas but it will be processed in the customer data plane only .
saying that give me suggestions once the MVP is ready how to start introducing it to the world
sales is the hard part - I can just make it showcase in x , linkedin , reddit but I want to get some monetary output of it although not mandatorily needed as I have a stable job for now at least
any suggestions
I'll go first:
I am building https://builtbyindies.com/
a community platform for indiehackers to launch, share, get feedback and more
If you're interested, check it out: https://builtbyindies.com/
Your turn, what are you building?
It’s not the people who say no that cost you time. It’s the ones who say “maybe” and keep you stuck in the middle.
They reply just enough to keep things going. No clear yes, no clear no. They don’t commit, but they don’t close it either.
So you keep it open thinking the deal is still there. That’s where the time disappears.
Saying no is easy, you move on.
“Maybe” just sits there and drags on for weeks.
One thing I found that helped was putting a clear next step on everything.
If there’s no decision by a certain point, it just gets closed.
Anyone else deal with this?
For a long time I made the same mistake a lot of side project builders make.
I thought I needed a big idea before I could start.
So I kept collecting ideas, watching other people launch, saving threads, reading about "the next big thing," and waiting for the right moment. But the truth is, the biggest unlock was not a better idea. It was changing how I approached building.
I stopped asking, "What can I build that sounds impressive?"\ I started asking, "What is one small thing that would be genuinely useful to a specific group of people?"
That shift changed everything.
Instead of trying to launch a giant product, I started looking for smaller, sharper problems. Things people were already solving badly with spreadsheets, Notion docs, manual reminders, or scattered tools. Those problems are easier to understand, faster to build, and much easier to validate.
What surprised me most was how much momentum comes from simplicity.
A small side project that solves one annoying problem can get its first users faster than a polished app with 10 features. People do not care how much time you spent building if the thing saves them time today.
A few things I learned along the way:
I also realized that a lot of side projects fail not because they are bad, but because the founder never reaches the point of talking to real users. They stay in idea mode for too long. The moment you start getting feedback, the project becomes real.
That is why I now care less about making something huge and more about making something useful, simple, and shippable.
If you are in the same stage, I think the best move is to stop aiming for a full startup and start with one small problem. The smaller the problem, the faster you can learn whether people care.
I have also been putting together notes and frameworks from studying 1000+ founders and builders who figured out how to go from idea to revenue without overcomplicating it. I am organizing that into Toolkit for anyone who wants a more practical path from side project to real product.