Indie10k Platform Help

Indie10k (indie10k.com) is an indie-maker growth platform for bootstrapped solo founders,
indie hackers, and vibe coders. Its public front door is a suite of free AI micro-tools — an
Idea Validator (pros/risks/effort/competition/monetization, tailored to indie/micro-SaaS, no
numeric score), a distinctive Idea Invalidator ("don't build" — a short roast that hunts for
weak distribution, weak wallets, and weak positioning), and a PRD Generator — all of which funnel
into the paid core product: a daily "Reps" accountability system (bite-sized traffic/feedback/
revenue actions with evidence logging) built around the "TenK" goal of compounding toward the
10k-MRR milestone. UI-only — no public API.

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

Ask only what you can't infer from the user's prompt:

1. Which part of Indie10k? (a) the Idea Validator (the pros/risks/effort breakdown), (b) the
   Idea Invalidator ("don't build" roast), (c) the PRD Generator or another free tool, (d) the
   paid "Reps" daily accountability system, (e) pricing (free vs Builder vs Hacker), (f) whether it
   has an API / export.
2. What's the idea, in one sentence? (only if they're running the validator/invalidator).
3. What have you got so far — just a hunch, an AI score, a landing page, a waitlist, or someone
   offered to pay?

Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

Indie10k's tools are one indie-maker workflow. Most of the thinking a founder needs is tool-agnostic
— route it:

When routing, give the exact command: "This is a validation-method question — run:
/sales-idea-validation {the user's original question}"

Answer directly only for Indie10k-specific mechanics (the Validator vs the Invalidator, the roast's
three failure lenses, the PRD sections, the Reps/TenK system, Builder-vs-Hacker gating, "does it have
an API").

Step 3 — Indie10k platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — every free tool and its output shape,
the Idea Validator's five sections, the Idea Invalidator's three failure lenses, the PRD Generator's
seven-part spec, the Reps/TenK accountability model, pricing/plan gates (free cap, Builder, Hacker),
and the (absent) automation surface.

Answer using only the relevant section — don't dump the whole guide.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

• The Validator's prose (and the Invalidator's roast) are AI opinions, not demand. Indie10k's
  Idea Validator gives a qualitative breakdown (pros, risks, effort, competition, monetization) with
  no numeric score — it's a focus accelerator, not proof. Keep the structured parts (risks,
  competitor/pricing benchmarks, monetization ideas) to sharpen the pitch; take the go/no-go from a
  real behavior test (smoke test / pre-sale). Route that test to /sales-funnel + /sales-audience-growth.
• Use the Idea Invalidator on purpose — as a red-team, not a verdict. Its whole job is to argue
  against the idea, returning a short roast of the "gnarliest reason it flops" across three lenses —
  weak distribution, weak wallets (nobody pays), weak positioning. Treat each callout as a
  hypothesis to go disprove with real customers, not as a kill decision. Pairing the Validator's
  upside with the Invalidator's downside is the tool's distinctive two-sided gut check — but both are
  still model output.
• Treat the one-page PRD as a build-handoff artifact. The PRD Generator outputs a first-principles
  spec — Problem → User & Job → Success Metric (7 days) → Solution → Scope v1 → Risks → Next steps —
  that you can paste into Claude Code / Cursor to start building. Its value is forcing a 7-day
  success metric and a v1 scope before you code; it is not validated demand.
• Explain the "Reps" system as the real product, and set expectations. Indie10k's paid core is a
  daily accountability loop (one metric per week, one small evidence-logged rep per day toward the
  10k-MRR goal) — it's a habit/consistency engine, not an idea generator. It explicitly does not
  guarantee financial outcomes. The validator/invalidator/PRD tools are the free top of funnel.
• Present all pricing/plan gates as best-effort and tell the user to confirm at
  indie10k.com/pricing — this is a small, fast-moving indie beta. State the gates: Free caps at
  completing 7 reps then requires upgrade; Builder (~$9/mo) = unlimited reps for early-phase
  projects + a private project profile; Hacker (~$19/mo) = unlimited reps for revenue-generating
  projects + a public profile + higher-priority support.
• There's no API — point automation at the demand test, not the report. Indie10k is UI-only (no
  public API, webhooks, Zapier/Make, or MCP). Don't plan an integration around it — copy the validator
  breakdown or PRD text out by hand, and put any real pipeline on the demand side (landing-page
  analytics, waitlist capture, pre-sale checkout events).

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.

Gotchas

Best-effort from research (2026-07) — this is a small indie beta; verify the tool set, the Reps cap, and Builder/Hacker pricing at indie10k.com.

• The Idea Validator gives no score. Unlike MiskMap (0-100) or IdeaProof (100-pt), Indie10k's
  validator returns qualitative prose (one-liner, pros, risks, effort Low/Med/High, competition &
  revenue models). Don't expect a number or a BUILD/PASS verdict — it's a "focus accelerator."
• The Idea Invalidator is deliberately negative. "Don't build" (/tools/dontbuild) roasts your
  idea on purpose — a harsh output is the feature, not a bug. Read it as a red-team blind-spot check,
  not a rejection.
• Free tier caps at 7 reps, not the AI tools. The free plan lets you complete 7 reps before an
  upgrade is required; the standalone AI tools (validator, invalidator, PRD) are the free lead-gen
  front door. Confirm current caps live.
• "Reps" is a habit product, not a validator. The paid subscription is daily accountability toward
  the 10k-MRR goal — it explicitly does not guarantee financial outcomes and won't tell you what
  to build; the validation tools do that, separately.
• A generated verdict, roast, or PRD is not validated demand. All three are AI output from a short
  description — always follow with a real-behavior test (smoke test / pre-sale).
• No API, webhooks, Zapier, or MCP. UI-only; there's no export beyond copy/paste. Don't build
  automation on it.

Related skills

• /sales-idea-validation — the tool-agnostic validate-before-building method and the full idea-validator comparison (start here to decide whether to trust any verdict)
• /sales-miskmap — a Claude-powered skeptic validator that gives a 0-100 score and bridges to building via code prompts (the score-based cousin of Indie10k's no-score validator + invalidator)
• /sales-funnel — build the smoke-test / fake-door landing page the real demand test runs on
• /sales-audience-growth — grow a pre-launch waitlist and capture signups once you're testing demand
• /sales-trendseeker — Reddit-based real-demand signal to cross-check Indie10k's verdict
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code

Examples

Example 1: "The Idea Validator listed pros and risks but gave no score — is my idea good?"

User says: "Indie10k's Idea Validator gave me a pros/risks/effort breakdown but no number. Should I build?"
Skill does: Explains that Indie10k's validator is qualitative by design (no numeric score or verdict) — a focus accelerator, not proof. Keeps the structured parts (risks, competitor/pricing benchmarks, monetization ideas) to sharpen the pitch, and prescribes the real test: run the same idea through the Idea Invalidator to red-team it, then build a smoke-test landing page with a pre-committed conversion threshold and attempt a pre-sale — routing the build to /sales-funnel and signups to /sales-audience-growth.
Result: The founder stops waiting for a number and earns a go/no-go from stranger behavior.

Example 2: "Should I use the 'don't build' tool, and how seriously do I take the roast?"

User says: "The Idea Invalidator roasted my idea pretty hard. Is it saying I should quit?"
Skill does: Frames the Idea Invalidator as an intentional red-team whose job is to argue against the idea across three lenses — weak distribution, weak wallets, weak positioning. Tells the user to treat each callout as a hypothesis to go disprove with real customers, not a kill decision, and to pair it with the Validator's upside for a two-sided gut check. Reiterates that a harsh roast is AI opinion, not demand — the decision still comes from a real behavior test.
Result: The user mines the roast for blind spots instead of over-reacting to it.

Example 3 (automation): "Can I pull my Indie10k PRD or validator output into Notion via API?"

User says: "I want to auto-export my Indie10k PRDs and validation reports into Notion / my repo — is there an API or webhook?"
Skill does: States plainly that Indie10k is UI-only — no public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make, no MCP, and there's no export beyond copy/paste. Offers the realistic path: copy the PRD's Problem → User & Job → Success Metric (7 days) → Solution → Scope v1 → Risks → Next steps text straight into Claude Code / Cursor to start building, and — since the report isn't demand anyway — point any real pipeline at the demand test (landing-page analytics, waitlist, pre-sale events).
Result: The user stops trying to integrate a UI-only tool and uses the PRD where it actually pays off.

Troubleshooting

"The validator's output feels generic / too shallow to act on"

Symptom: The pros/risks/effort breakdown reads vague and could apply to any idea.
Cause: The tool takes a single free-text idea; thin input ("an app for X") yields generic output, and it's tuned for a fast indie gut check, not a deep report.
Solution: Re-run with a specific target customer + a painkiller problem in the description, then run the same idea through the Idea Invalidator to surface the weakest link. Keep the structured parts, and cross-check against a second validator or a real-demand signal (/sales-trendseeker).

"I hit a wall after a few days — it says I need to upgrade"

Symptom: The free plan stops letting you log progress.
Cause: The free tier caps at completing 7 reps before an upgrade is required; the AI tools are free but the accountability loop is gated.
Solution: Decide whether you want the habit product before paying — Builder (~$9/mo) covers unlimited reps for early-phase projects, Hacker (~$19/mo) is for revenue-generating projects with a public profile. Confirm current caps and pricing at indie10k.com/pricing.

"I want to export the report / connect it to my stack"

Symptom: Looking for an API, webhook, or Zapier connector.
Cause: Indie10k is UI-only — there is no public API, webhooks, Zapier/Make, or MCP.
Solution: Copy the validator breakdown or the PRD text out manually (the PRD pastes cleanly into Claude Code). Build any automation around the demand side instead — landing-page analytics, waitlist capture, and pre-sale checkout events.

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