Hello Indie Hackers! My Name is Akarshit Patial – And This Month I Finally Took the Leap

Hey everyone,

My name is Akarshit Patial, and I just joined Indie Hackers this month. I’ve been lurking on the forum for a while, reading your stories late at night, but I finally decided it was time to stop watching from the sidelines and actually become part of the community. If you’re new here too, or even if you’ve been around for years, I hope my story feels familiar. Because I’m pretty sure a lot of you have been exactly where I am right now.

I’ve always loved talking about business. Whether it’s over chai at a roadside stall in Haryana or in some random WhatsApp group at 2 a.m., I can talk for hours about ideas, revenue models, customer problems, and what it really takes to build something that lasts. I love meeting other business owners and startup founders – the real ones, not the ones who just post motivational quotes. There’s something electric about sitting across from someone who has actually shipped a product, made their first sale, or even failed and kept going. That energy is addictive.

That’s exactly why I joined Indie Hackers.

I’ve read so many of your posts – the $0 to $10k months, the brutal failure stories, the quiet wins that nobody tweets about. Every single one taught me something. Some made me laugh, some made me nervous, and a few honestly kept me up at night thinking, “If they can do it, why am I still waiting?” Reading real experiences from people who built businesses without VC money, without fancy offices, and without pretending everything is perfect… that’s priceless. You don’t get that kind of honesty anywhere else.

So here I am.

This year I’ve made up my mind: I’m leaving my job and going full-time on my own business. I’ve been trying small things on the side for a while now – little experiments, some that worked okay, some that completely flopped. But the feeling that I can actually do this has been growing stronger every month. I don’t have a huge safety net. I’m not sitting on savings that will last years. But I’ve reached that point where staying in the job feels more risky than jumping out.

The truth is, I’m scared. But I’m also excited in a way I haven’t been in a long time.

I work a regular 9-to-5 right now. It pays the bills, it’s stable, and everyone around me keeps telling me I should be grateful for it. But every evening when I come home, the first thing I do is open my laptop and work on my own ideas. I’ve built a couple of small tools and tested a few service-based ideas. Nothing massive yet, but enough to know that I get more energy from building my own thing than from any salary slip.

Indie Hackers feels like the perfect place for someone like me – someone who is still figuring it out but is 100% committed to making it work. I don’t want to just read success stories anymore. I want to share mine too, even the messy parts. The late nights when nothing works. The moments when I doubt everything. And hopefully, someday, the wins that make it all worth it.

I joined because I want to learn from all of you. I want to meet other founders (virtually for now, maybe in person one day). I want to ask stupid questions without feeling stupid. I want to celebrate your launches and have you celebrate mine. Most of all, I want to surround myself with people who understand why someone would willingly walk away from a steady paycheck to chase something uncertain.

If you’re reading this and you’re also at that crossroads – thinking about quitting your job, launching your first product, or just tired of building someone else’s dream – I’d love to connect. Drop a comment, send me a message, tell me what you’re working on. I reply to everyone.

I don’t have a big launch to announce yet. No fancy product page, no revenue numbers to brag about. What I do have is commitment. This year I’m going all in. I’m documenting the whole journey here – the good, the bad, and the “why did I think this was a good idea” days. If you’re on the same path, I hope my updates will feel like having a friend in the trenches with you.

To everyone who has already shared their stories here – thank you. You don’t know it, but your posts have quietly pushed me to finally take this step. Every time I felt like giving up, I’d read another thread and realize that almost every successful indie hacker had the same fears, the same doubts, and the same “I have no idea what I’m doing” moments.

So this is my official hello.

I’m Akarshit Patial.
I love business.
I love meeting people who build things.
And this year, I’m becoming one of them.

See you in the forums, on the comments, and hopefully in the success stories section one day.

Let’s build something real.

Looking forward to learning from every single one of you.