Retention > Hype: What Are We Really Chasing as Builders?
We talk about growth like it’s supposed to be loud — installs, spikes, upvotes, MRR.
But the moments that actually stay with us are strangely quiet.
Like when someone comes back to your product without any nudge.
No launch. No promo. No trick.
Just a person returning because what you built genuinely helped them.
And honestly… that moment hits deeper than any viral day ever will.
It made me stop and wonder:
Are we truly chasing numbers… or are we chasing that feeling of creating something that matters?
I’ve been building Showesome and every time I see someone return to use it again, I feel this quiet sense of pride.
Not because of “growth,” but because this little tool is slowly becoming useful in real people’s lives.
We say we want growth…
but maybe what many indie hackers really want is meaning.
Not metrics, but proof that our hours didn’t disappear into the void.
Maybe the real milestone isn’t installs or revenue —
maybe it’s that subtle emotional moment when your product quietly earns its place in someone’s workflow.
So I’m curious:
What matters more to you — the numbers, the money,
or the feeling that you built something people actually come back to?
Agree, those small signs can give some small confirmation that the product is useful! But i would rather get those loud spikes! They send the real volume you need and if after that no one is coming back you know enough.
I get that. Loud spikes are definitely informative — they tell you fast whether there’s any pull at all.
For me though, the small repeat moments are what tell me why someone would stay once the noise fades.
I think both signals matter — spikes for direction, retention for conviction.
Honestly the thing that keeps me going is watching how people actually use what I've built vs what I thought they would use. There's always this gap between your vision and their reality.
Had a user recently tell me they'd been using a feature I almost cut because I thought nobody cared about it. Turns out it was the reason they stuck around.
The numbers tell you if something's working. But watching people come back tells you why it matters. Both are useful but only one keeps you from burning out.
Yes — that gap is real, and honestly a gift if you pay attention to it.
Amazing how often the thing we almost remove ends up being the reason someone stays.
I think that “why it matters” insight is what keeps a lot of us from burning out.
I can appreciate that. I was really excited when my client got her dream job and got paid 50% more than her last job. She found her voice. She got to be herself in the best way.
I love this. That kind of transformation is exactly the kind of “signal” numbers will never capture.
When your work helps someone become more themselves, it’s hard not to feel like it matters.
This really resonates.
The loud moments feel good — the spikes, the launch highs, the dashboards turning green — but they fade fast.
What doesn’t fade is seeing someone return on a random Tuesday with zero prompting. That’s the kind of validation you can’t fake.
I’ve noticed the same while building my own product: retention feels like a quiet handshake between you and the user — a subtle “hey, this helps me.” It’s not viral, but it’s real.
At the end of the day, numbers are goals… but retention is meaning.
It’s the closest thing we get to proof that we’re not just building for ourselves.
Great post, Alma.
Love this. It’s funny how building teaches you to pay attention to the smallest signals.
The big moments are obvious, but it’s the subtle patterns that actually guide what to work on next.
Appreciate you sharing your perspective
This really resonates.
Early on, it’s tempting to chase the loud signals because they’re measurable and validating.
But the quiet moments — someone returning with no push — are usually where real product-market fit starts to reveal itself.
I’ve found that when you optimize for genuine usefulness first, the numbers tend to follow later — not the other way around.