Product Discovery as an Indie Hacker

Embarking on the thrilling journey of bringing your ideas to life as an indie hacker can be both exhilarating and challenging. In a world where possibilities are endless, the lack of structure might wreak havoc on our work.

Using my experiences as a Product Manager for a startup and as an indie hacker pursuing side projects, I've discovered a nice framework that helps turn my ideas into reality. In this post, I'll walk you through the four essential stages of my Product Discovery Framework, emphasizing the importance of failing fast, failing cheap, and embracing the agility needed in the world of indie hacking.

Brainstorming: The Birth of Ideas

As an indie hacker, the brainstorming stage is a continuous process, often complicated by the allure of shiny new objects. To rein in the excitement, it's crucial to channel your ideas into a structured format.

I prefer writing a brief description of the idea or feature, outlining its benefits, potential, competitors, and scope. Putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) helps bring clarity to your thoughts and serves as a foundation for the next stages. I choose to write these descriptions in a Notion doc where I have a pipeline of ideas I'm discovering.

Ideation: Defining the Vision

With a pool of ideas, it's time to define and refine. I usually try and take advantage of tasks from the product design world such as creating user stories, developing a high-level technical overview, and scoring ideas using the ICE method (Impact, Confidence, Ease). These tasks help me in providing a more concrete overview of what I want to accomplish.

The ideation stage concludes with the creation of a proof-of-concept prototype. Whether it's a Figma mockup, a business case, or a sales deck, this tangible representation allows you to engage with potential users and gather invaluable feedback.

Research: Deep Dive for Validation

The research stage is where the magic happens. Dive deep into user experience experiments using your prototype, engage in user interviews, and validate your ideas. With my prototype, I reach out directly to possible end users to gather feedback. I haven't build anything and I'm not selling anything yet, I'm just trying to gather enough evidence to understand if the idea is worth pursuing.

In the startup realm, this phase results in a comprehensive Spec Doc for new features. As an indie hacker, focus on creating a Go-to-market strategy. Armed with proof from the ideation stage, you mitigate risks and ensure that your project is worth the investment of time and effort.

Implementation: Bringing Ideas to Life

Now comes the moment of truth – implementation. Speed is your ally, and the emphasis is on building the simplest solution that addresses the needs identified during the research stage. By keeping the solution minimal yet effective, you not only save time but also ensure that you're delivering real value to your audience.

In the dynamic world of indie hacking, a well-crafted Product Discovery Framework is your guiding light. Embrace the iterative nature of the process, remembering that speed is paramount. At any stage, feel empowered to filter out projects that don't align with your vision or goals. This framework lets me fail fast, fail cheap, and let my ideas flourish.