The Blog.

TAM, SAM, and SOM are standard vocabulary in startup pitches and market research. They're also frequently misused, often irrelevant for early-stage indie hackers, and sometimes used to obscure rather than illuminate what a market actually looks like. Here's the honest version.

Marketplace validation is structurally different from SaaS validation. You're not testing one problem -- you're testing whether two different groups of people will show up for each other. Here's how to do it without building the platform first.

This question deserves a concrete answer, not 'when it feels right.' Here are the specific thresholds, the calculations that matter, and the signals that indicate you're quitting too early or waiting too long.

The traditional business plan is designed for investors and banks. This one-page version is designed for you -- to make your assumptions explicit, so you can test them before reality does it for you.

Not being able to code is a real constraint, but a navigable one. The tools available in 2026 and the paths to getting product built have changed significantly. Here's an honest, practical guide.

The biggest surprises in the transition from employee to entrepreneur aren't financial. They're structural and psychological. Here's what actually changes -- and how to prepare for the parts that most founders don't see coming.

These three artifacts answer different questions. Building the wrong one for your stage is one of the most common ways founders waste months. Here's the precise definition of each and the decision framework for choosing.

The fear that someone will steal your idea is one of the most expensive fears in startup culture. It keeps founders silent when they should be talking, and it costs them the feedback they need to build something worth protecting.

VC consensus says you do. Many successful indie hackers say you don't. Both are sometimes right. Here's how to actually think through the decision without defaulting to what sounds correct.

The first 10 customers are found through different means than the next 1,000. They're recruited, not acquired. Here's the specific process for finding the right 10 people before your product exists.