Stop launching solo. It’s not brave, It’s dumb

This is 🔥 and exactly what beginner indie makers like me need to hear.

A lot of us just code, ship the product, and hope it speaks for itself — but the truth is, no one sees anything unless you help them look.

As someone who recently launched without much of a plan, this post hit hard. Marketing, building a launch crew, preparing assets — it’s not about hype, it’s about alignment and intention.

Thank you for sharing this. Super helpful and encouraging. 🙌🏽

"This isn't a favor exachange, it's mutual acceleration"
Pretty sure that single line'll change my pitch completely!

Spot on, @alexsssaint . I used to think launching solo was a badge of honor , like if it’s good, it’ll speak for itself. But I’ve learned (the hard way) that great products can disappear without a crew behind them. For my upcoming launch of PageX, I’m focusing on building that circle instead of going solo.

Curious — how do you keep that crew engaged beyond launch day? Is it about constant value exchange, or something else?

When you have someone to launch with, ideally multiple co-founders, not only does it increase the number of people you can share it with (their contacts), but the risk is also better distributed.

You pull each other up, assuming you're a good team.

Nice read. :)

As a solo maker who has launched both serious and casual products here with no hype and no crew, I truly believe this advice is valuable. It helps you stay authentic while giving your launch a better chance of being noticed. On social-media-driven platforms like PH, it’s absolutely true:

No one notices unless you make them look.

From my own experience, if you care about your product’s ranking or visibility, you’ll need some momentum to catch people’s attention. But I also don’t think you’re doing it wrong if you don’t follow this approach, it all depends on your goals and expectations. For example,

I'm so dump when I launched @Trangram , a tool I spent years building on my own, that I launched it with no hype, no marketing, no social media connections, and having high expectation exactly like what you described “if it’s good, people will notice.”, I even thought, “It’s free, no install or login needed - what could go wrong?” But the result was far from what I expected, despite all the work I put in.

It's not that dump and actually good, if you can create products in a relatively short time and enjoy the process of making things, launching without expectations can actually be a great way to learn. Many makers (myself included) prefer building over marketing and don’t want to spend time on social media. I tried my second launch on PH with a small puzzle game I love. Again, no hype or crew. but this time, no expectations either. And I learned a lot again about how the platform works (has changed) by launching something I genuinely enjoyed.

Thanks @alexsssaint for sharing such practical advice - clear and straight to the point.

If I could add one thing from my own experience:

Try launching a smaller, fun product first to learn the platform before launching the one product you feel you might only build once in your lifetime.

And remember, you never know whether your product will get featured or not.

A good launch is a good team work

This is such a powerful and practical reminder, Alex! Launching solo often feels like the “authentic” path, but as you said, it’s really about connection and community. Building a dedicated crew who genuinely care not only amplifies your launch but also creates lasting support and momentum beyond day one. I love the emphasis on mutual alignment rather than transactional favors—that mindset truly fosters meaningful collaboration. Definitely bookmarking this as a guide for anyone planning a launch. Thanks for sharing these actionable steps!

Big things happened with big teams!