A launchpad for people who make real things.
What we believe about building and launching, and the rules we wrote so the board stays fair. Seven principles, each one something you can check on the site.
- 01 · People first
Every product starts with a person.
A tagline tells you what something does. It doesn't tell you who will still be fixing it at 2am, or why they started.
So the first thing you see on an indie launch is the founder: one minute, one take, no edits. Not production value. Proof of work.
In practice
Indie launches need a founder video: unlisted on YouTube, about a minute, unedited.
Start a launch - 02 · A fair start
The first hours shouldn't decide the day.
Early votes snowball. Whoever wakes up in the right time zone, or has the bigger audience on call, tends to win before most people have looked.
We'd rather you were judged on the product. So for the first hours, nobody sees the score.
In practice
Launches go live at 08:00 UTC. Vote counts stay hidden and the board is shuffled until 12:00 UTC.
See today's board - 03 · Room to be seen
Fewer launches, more attention for each.
An endless feed buries good work under volume. We cap the day so every launch gets a real chance to be found, read and tried.
In practice
At most 20 launches a day, and 1 per maker.
- 04 · No pay to win
Money can buy a date. Never a rank.
Paying lets you skip the queue and pick an earlier launch day. That's all it does. The board is ordered by votes from people, and nothing else.
- 05 · Own lanes
Two people in a garage shouldn't race a public company.
Established companies are welcome here. They launch on their own board, reviewed by us, so the daily ranks and awards stay with independent makers.
In practice
Series B and later, 100+ people or $10M+ ARR launch on Enterprise, outside the daily ranking.
Enterprise - 06 · Honest feedback
Kind is not the same as nice.
Applause feels good and teaches nothing. The most useful thing a stranger can give you is a clear, specific reason they wouldn't use what you built yet.
Ask for it, and the community will tell you. Respectfully, but straight.
In practice
Roast is where makers ask for blunt, specific feedback before or after a launch.
Open Roast - 07 · Earned recognition
Awards should mean something.
A badge is only worth having if it's hard to get. Ours go to the launches people actually voted for, after a fair start, against a capped field.
In practice
Launch of the Day, Week, Month and Year, decided by votes once each period closes.
See the winners
The rules, at a glance
- 08:00 UTC
- 12:00 UTC
- Up to 20
- 1 a day
- About a minute, unlisted, unedited
- An earlier date, never a rank
- Their own board, reviewed
This is your first launch here. Not your last.
If you build things and want them judged on what they are, launch with us.