Fresh Accounts Pitching "Partnerships": How Do You Filter Real Collaborators from Agencies?

Lately I’ve noticed a pretty consistent pattern whenever I post about project updates or milestones here. Within a day or two, my inbox gets hit with messages from brand-new accounts offering to collaborate, partner up, or help scale things.

On paper, they sound great. They usually claim a ton of senior experience in development or growth, say they love the concept, and immediately suggest jumping on a quick call to "explore synergies."

In reality, almost every single one turns out to be an SDR for a dev shop, an agency trying to sell services in disguise, or just an automated bot parsing recent posts for keywords.

It creates a annoying dynamic. Indie hacking is supposed to be about community and meeting genuine collaborators, but wasting 30 minutes on a sales pitch disguised as a partnership chat gets exhausting fast.

Right now, my default filter is pretty low-friction: I don't book calls off a first message anymore. I usually reply asking for a LinkedIn/portfolio link and one specific thought on the product itself. If it's a bot or an agency blast, they either disappear or send another generic push for a call. If it's a real person, they usually don't mind taking two minutes to answer.

Curious how the rest of you handle this:

📣 Do you even bother opening DMs from brand-new or empty accounts?

📣 What’s your personal red-flag checklist before agreeing to a call?

📣 Has anyone here actually found a real co-founder, early team member, or legitimate partner through a cold IH message?

Thanks and Cheers!!