Am I creating a shovel business?

Hi Dusan,

Based on my reading of the manifesto, this appears to be the key part to ask yourself:

Is your online programming course targeted for "Agency owners, farmers, board game geeks, music lovers... simply, anyone but indie hackers"?

You specifically mention "non-technical founders", which are likely plentiful here on IH.

If you are planning on promoting your course on IH as a main selling strategy, you may be creating a shovel business based on the manifesto wording.

However, if you are targeting a specific non-IH group like small real estate/agricultural/marketing agency/etc. businesses to help them automate or improve their businesses via programming, that would seem to not be a shovel business.

Best of luck!

It seems I wrote an answer but saved it in a draft. Sending it now 😅

Hey, interesting question. I think you are the only one who can answer that.

But there are a couple of questions you need to answer yourself:

1. Do you want to build that kind of business? If your answer to this question is yes, whatever we think doesn't matter. So don't be hard on yourself.

2. If your main motivation is simply a "wealth transfer" from beginner indie hackers to yourself, yes it's a shovel business :D

Non-technical founders != indie hackers

Yes, it overlaps with many people here in indie hackers but as long as you are not treating your fellow indie buddies, I personally don't think it's a shovel business.

Two different examples I can think of:

1. Shovel: Programming course for indie hackers that will help them build their next idea to whatever MMR in a ridiculously short time frame.

2. Not shovel: Programming course for non-technical founders to be able to create their own products or participate in decision-making with their technical co-founder.