BuiltIndie - Angel List for Indie Hackers

Hey Everyone,

My name is Ali and I am working on builtindie.com. I started Built Indie because I wanted to help independent entrepreneurs build great businesses. Helping founders is something I really enjoy, and this is actually the third iteration of this idea.

I have started two companies in the past, and a plethora of other side projects. My first company (MealSurfers) was bootstrapped and acquired after 2 years. My second company is Rally, a YC and VC backed startup that grew surprisingly quickly through covid. These experiences taught me a great deal about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. I really wanted to pass on my learnings to others so they could also accomplish their goals. Unleashing human capital I really vibe with.

My first iteration of this idea was building YCrejects - a website to help founders get into an accelerator program, ideally the top ones. This was meant to be a feeder school, like Startup School but more hands on. I had hundreds of applicants and I started to see patterns of where people needed the most help. Unfortunately I was asked to close down the website, even though some founders did find success in raising.

The second iteration of this idea was building a contest to help founders make their first dollar on the internet. I started to coach solo founders on getting their ideas out. This was fulfilling but not monetarily rewarding. Most ideas here were features that larger companies missed with very little room for growth. It also felt more like I was an accountability coach.

BuiltIndie is the third and far from the final iteration. The focus is on companies that want to be profitable, cashflow generating, and using technology to solve problems in likely overlooked markets. Some of these companies may become unicorns, but it's likely they will grow profitably as long as they are solving a unique problem well.

I want to speak to more founders and investors interested in the indie space. There are significant tailwinds today with the current economic climate and I think there will be new funding and economic models to back independent, profitable, cashflow generating businesses.

If you're building something in this space, or if you're looking to invest in it, I would really appreciate a chat. Feel free to also comment with any questions.