Describe your project the Y Combinator way.

How a side-project started because of a post on Indie Hackers.

The first question on the Y Combinator application is to describe your company in 50 characters or less. I made a small alteration and asked the Indie Hacker community to describe their projects in 50 characters or less.

I got an amazing response from 60+ Indie Hackers.

I honestly believe in indie hacking. Building something that’s yours is fun, and you learn a lot — and not just about the tech. Everything I know about marketing, SEO, Twitter, Product Hunt, etc. is because I used a side-project to test out actionable advice. This philosophy, and the post on Indie Hackers, is why I built Fifty.

Fifty is a way to discover indie hacker projects in 50 characters or less. Users can click through projects one-by-one, upvote the ones they like, or promote the projects they are working on.

This idea is not new. Product Hunt, BetaList, SideProjectors, Owwly, and 10words all offer founders & makers an opportunity to get their projects off the ground.

Two things differentiate Fifty.

One

The 50 characters or less requirement offers a challenge. The more you describe something in a slightly different way, the better you become at talking about it. As mattcrail said on Twitter:

It’s a nice challenge to find the most succinct way to describe your product.

And again aussiesimonon on Indie Hackers:

Every time I write anything about StaticForms I get a clearer idea about who it’s for and why it will give them value. Over the last couple of months it’s started to change the direction of the product.

Two

Projects on Fifty are ranked by upvotes, but these upvotes are zeroed every week, at the start of the week. This levels the playing field, giving new & old projects the opportunity to compete for the top spot — and in turn maximum exposure. Think Product Hunt, but you get to launch every week.

All in all, Fifty brings something different to the table and so far, it’s been loads of fun. I’ve seen some awesome projects. The best part is recognizing these projects and their founders on other platforms. It's great to watch them grow.

Cheers ✌

Fifty is an open startup — check out the metrics here. Also, check out the projects on Fifty, they all deserve some love 🧡 or add your own.