Looking for some indie hackers to talk to

Hey, @sneub.

I've tried reaching out to other Indie Hackers myself to open-endedly explore the problems others in the community are facing but hit the same roadblock. I know it's frustrating. You're doing the right thing by thinking problem-first.

I think Chapter 4 of Rob Fitzpatrick's book The Mom Test explains what the problem is: "In the early days, asking for the initial problem conversation was simply impossible for me. I wasn't credible enough, so nobody wanted to take a meeting just to talk to me about their day. ... As my credibility built after a couple of years in the industry, I found myself able to get meetings without any real 'reason'."

I have thought a lot about what he calls credibility. To me, there are several pieces:

Does your target audience know you? Have they read something you've written, seen something you've made, or heard you speak somewhere? I guess they don't have to know you well, but just enough to get through that awkward stranger zone.
Does your target audience believe you are capable of solving their problems? This understanding could be built on weak evidence, like explaining that you have a university degree, or stronger evidence, like by showing you've helped others similar to them.
Does your target audience view you as being trustworthy? Do you do what you say you will? Treat people fairly? Help others and not just yourself?

I guess the realisation here is that while we want to minimise market risk by building something people actually want, it's very difficult to help others if they don't see us as a credible option—which requires some risk on our part. We have to show some good faith, first. Even if it misses the mark.

Say something nice to sneub…

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Hey, @sneub.

I've tried reaching out to other Indie Hackers myself to open-endedly explore the problems others in the community are facing but hit the same roadblock. I know it's frustrating. You're doing the right thing by thinking problem-first.

I think Chapter 4 of Rob Fitzpatrick's book The Mom Test explains what the problem is: "In the early days, asking for the initial problem conversation was simply impossible for me. I wasn't credible enough, so nobody wanted to take a meeting just to talk to me about their day. ... As my credibility built after a couple of years in the industry, I found myself able to get meetings without any real 'reason'."

I have thought a lot about what he calls credibility. To me, there are several pieces:
- Does your target audience know you? Have they read something you've written, seen something you've made, or heard you speak somewhere? I guess they don't have to know you well, but just enough to get through that awkward stranger zone.
- Does your target audience believe you are capable of solving their problems? This understanding could be built on weak evidence, like explaining that you have a university degree, or stronger evidence, like by showing you've helped others similar to them.
- Does your target audience view you as being trustworthy? Do you do what you say you will? Treat people fairly? Help others and not just yourself?
I guess the realisation here is that while we want to minimise market risk by building something people actually want, it's very difficult to help others if they don't see us as a credible option—which requires some risk on our part. We have to show some good faith, first. Even if it misses the mark.
ryanismaking

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6 years ago
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