Indie Hacker
A solo founder or small team building profitable internet businesses without outside capital.
The term originated with the IndieHackers.com community, which coined it to describe founders building bootstrapped businesses (typically SaaS, digital products, or content sites). The defining traits: no VC funding, small team (often solo), focus on profitability over growth, and public sharing of metrics. Indie hackers typically aim for $10K–$50K MRR as an initial goal, treating it as a livable income rather than a stepping stone to a $100M outcome.
Related terms
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
The predictable monthly revenue from active subscriptions. The indie-founder scoreboard metric.
Bootstrapped
Funded from revenue and personal savings, without outside investment.
PMF (Product-Market Fit)
The point at which users pull the product from you instead of you pushing it to them.