If you’re an indie builder, this might sound familiar.
You get an idea.
A really good idea.
You get excited, start building, and for a few weeks you’re fully locked in.
The product ships. You launch it.
And then… nothing.
No users.
No traction.
No feedback.
Slowly, motivation fades.
A new idea pops up.
You abandon the old one and repeat the cycle.
I’ve been stuck in this loop for years.
The syndrome I didn’t realize I had
I recently learned there’s a name for this: idea hopping (or “shiny object syndrome”).
I wasn’t failing because my ideas were bad.
I was failing because I treated building as the hard part and marketing as an afterthought.
In reality, it’s the opposite.
You can build a solid product in weeks.
Getting it in front of the right people can take months.
This time, I’m doing things differently
In early December 2025, I launched a new tool called TruthScore.
Before building it, I actually did something I’d never done properly before:
- I validated the idea
- I checked if people were already searching for solutions
- I confirmed the problem existed before writing code
The tool itself wasn’t the hard part.
Marketing it has been.
Early wins that didn’t translate to traction
On paper, things looked promising:
- I launched early instead of waiting for perfection
- I created YouTube videos explaining the problem (one hit ~560 views)
- I started posting on X and building in public
- The product even won a gold challenge on SoloLaunches
And yet…
Traffic is still lower than I expected.
Daily active users are inconsistent.
Growth is slow and unpredictable.
That disconnect has been mentally exhausting.
The uncomfortable truth about marketing
Here’s what I’m slowly accepting:
A good product doesn’t automatically find its audience.
Marketing isn’t about “going viral.”
It’s about distribution.
You can solve a real problem and still fail if:
- You’re talking to the wrong audience
- You’re on the wrong platform
- You’re explaining the value poorly
- Or you’re simply not visible enough
None of that means the product is bad.
It just means the work isn’t done.
What I’m focusing on now (instead of quitting)
For the first time, I’m resisting the urge to jump to a new idea.
Instead, I’m focusing on:
- Writing openly about the journey (like this)
- Learning SEO and long-form content
- Engaging in comments instead of pushing links
- Talking to users instead of chasing metrics
- Being patient with compounding growth
I’m treating marketing as a skill, not a phase.
My honest question to other builders
If you’ve been here before:
- How did you get your product in front of the right audience?
- What worked when you had no budget?
- How long did it take before things felt “real”?
- What would you do differently if you were starting again?
I’m committed to seeing this one through — even if growth is slow.
If you’re building something and feeling stuck in the same loop, you’re not alone.
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