This Ask HN post is a raw, emotional cry for help from a burned-out indie hacker who has given up after multiple failed attempts. It details the struggles of building an audience, getting paying customers, and navigating the often-toxic 'hustle culture' promoted by online influencers. The post resonated deeply with the community, garnering over a thousand upvotes and comments.
A starter prompt for Claude Code, what you'll need, and how to reach them.
You are an expert full-stack developer. Build a web application using Next.js 16 (App Router), React 19, Tailwind v4, and Neon Postgres on Vercel. The application should provide an anonymous platform for indie hackers to share their startup failure stories and struggles. Users should be able to create posts and comments without revealing their identity. Focus on a minimalist, empathetic UI/UX. The MVP should include: 1. A homepage displaying recent anonymous posts. 2. A 'New Post' page where users can submit a title and text body, ensuring no personally identifiable information is collected. 3. A post detail page showing the post content and allowing anonymous comments. 4. A basic moderation dashboard (accessible only by the admin) to review and remove inappropriate content. Prioritize anonymity and ease of sharing. Use the AI SDK v6 with Gemini for any internal content analysis if deemed useful for moderation. Do not implement user accounts for posting, but ensure posts can be linked to a session or an anonymous ID for simple follow-up/editing if needed, without exposing real user data. How would you structure the project and what are the initial component files and database tables needed?
Reach indie hackers and solo founders discussing 'I am done' by offering Lumivara Forge tools that automate their build/ship loop and help avoid burnout, directly addressing the pain points of wasted effort and lack of progress.
I'm writing this post because I'm done. I can't do this anymore. After three failed attempts at building a successful startup and spending time institutionalized, I'm giving up on my entrepreneurship dreams. I tried everything - building an audience, making sure my product actually solved a problem, getting paying customers, and writing high-quality content and contributing to the community. But no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get anywhere. My efforts were fruitless and I'm tired of trying. I barely had 20 followers, my substack and product blogs didn't get any signups, and while I did get a few upvotes (8) on Product Hunt once, I never had a paid customer. It was as if the world was against me and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any progress. I remember trying to interact and hype up my fellow indiehackers on Twitter, regularly engaging with their content, but no one ever paid any attention to me or followed me back. It was like I didn't even exist in the world of entrepreneurship. And even when I did get some attention, it was short-lived and never led to anything substantial. But it's not just the lack of suc
Reply in the HN thread and potentially email 'wakana' if a public email is available in their profile (though unlikely given the context).
“I read your 'I am done' post on HN and it deeply resonated. I'm building a platform specifically for founders to share their authentic struggles and failures in a supportive, anonymous space. I'd love your input on its design and whether it addresses the pain points you experienced.”
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