Ask HN: Are SaaS Indie Makers Slowly Dying as a Breed?

by dare0505 on 1/25/2019, 5:56:55 PM with 3 comments
In almost every major market, I'm seeing the same pattern: A year or two, it's "the wild west", where 100s (or 1000s) of people compete. Within a year or two, the market solidifies, and it becomes MUCH more difficult for indie makers to stand out.

It seems like most markets (including new one like bitcoin) are well into the second phrase. I got an impression that the indie makers kind of slowly dying, and the slope will increase in the future.

What are your thoughts on this?

  • by wrestlerman on 1/25/2019, 10:14:34 PM

    That's an interesting point of view. I don't know an answer to this question, because I don't have access to any data on this matter. But what I've noticed is that with every "technology advance" there is a new market, which slowly within a few years(I wouldn't say a year or two) gets filled and after some time it's pretty crowded. With smartphones came mobile apps, with clouds came Saas. What's next? VR? AR? Or maybe something much simpler like a speech recognition?

  • by _ah on 1/26/2019, 12:28:06 AM

    This is not unique to indies. Consolidation is a normal part of the business cycle. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/consolidationphase.asp

  • by usgroup on 1/25/2019, 9:24:09 PM

    I like your observation. I think it’s true in part because indi makers move in to collect the low hanging fruit. Once that’s done, the remainder of the fruit is less low hanging; forcing you to either to reach higher or seek other trees.