Things to consider when deciding what indie app to build:
- Minimize complexity: Don’t chase the “dream app.” Start small, focused, and finite. Finish it, ship it, and make multiple small bets instead of sinking years into one endless project that never ships.
- Lifestyle fit: Match your project to your reality. Busy job and kids? Keep it tiny and polished. Free time and no commitments? Go big or make 20 small bets. Don’t fight your circumstances.
- Building is the easy part: Getting people to care, download, and pay is fuckin hard. Plan to spend at least half your time on marketing (if revenue is your goal).
- Solve your own problem: This is a cheat code. You know the pain point. You know the solution you’d pay for. You know the community around it. Marketing becomes natural and you’ll actually care enough to push through the grind.
- Play to your strengths: If you work with maps in your day job, build a product using MapKit. Use your experience to move faster, avoid roadblocks, and deliver a high-quality product.
- Validate: Don’t just trust your gut. Do some keyword research and talk to potential users. Building only for yourself is great, but make sure there’s real demand to your probability of success.