Indie Hackers

Online community, newsletter and podcast for founders building profitable, mostly self-funded internet businesses.

Online communityBootstrappingNewsletterPodcastBuilding in public

Active^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About Indie Hackers

Indie Hackers is a website where founders of profitable businesses and side projects share their stories transparently, and a forum where independent founders give each other feedback and support. It defines an indie hacker as someone earning revenue directly from customers rather than through an employer.^{Source [1]}

Alongside the community it publishes founder interviews with revenue figures, a newsletter, a podcast and databases of products and ideas.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}^{Source [2]}

Stripe bought the site in 2017, saying its goal was to help more internet companies get started. After the 2023 spin-out the company has to fund itself through its own revenue, from sources such as newsletter sponsorship and paid founder profiles.^{Source [2]}^{Source [5]}^{Source [4]}

What happened

Courtland Allen created Indie Hackers in August 2016. Stripe acquired it in April 2017 and ran it for six years, with Courtland and his brother Channing as employees. In March 2023 the brothers spun it back out as an independent company with Stripe as a seed investor, and it operates independently today.^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [5]}

Timeline

2023-05Launched paid Indie Hacker Profiles.^{Source [4]}
2023-04Announced it was independent again, at $0 in monthly recurring revenue.^{Source [5]}
2023-03Spun out of Stripe as an independent business with Stripe as a seed investor.^{Source [1]}
2017-04Acquired by Stripe, its fifth acquisition, for undisclosed terms; Channing Allen joined as co-founder.^{Source [2]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [1]}
2017-03Launched the Indie Hackers podcast.^{Source [4]}
2016-08Created by Courtland Allen, along with its newsletter.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}

Products and brands

Indie Hackers community: Forum for self-funded tech founders, launched August 2016.^{Source [4]}^{Source [1]}
The Indie Hackers Newsletter: News, tips and stories for founders, sent three times a week.^{Source [4]}
The Indie Hackers Podcast: Interviews with founders, hosted by Courtland Allen since March 2017.^{Source [4]}^{Source [6]}
Indie Hacker Profiles: Paid pages for founders to show off their products, launched May 2023.^{Source [4]}

How it makes money: Earns revenue mainly from its newsletter, listed at $11,000 a month, and paid Indie Hacker Profiles, listed at $1,450 a year (both self-reported on the founder's Indie Hackers profile, as of October 2026).^{Source [4]}

Leadership

Courtland Allen

Founder^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}

Since 2016

Funding and financials

Newsletter revenue: $11,000 a month, self-reported on Courtland Allen's Indie Hackers profile (as of October 2026)^{Source [4]}
Monthly recurring revenue at spin-out: $0 (April 2023), per the founders' announcement^{Source [5]}

Date	Round	Amount	Investors
2023	Seed (spin-out)^{Source [1]}	Undisclosed	Stripe

People on Founded, and where they went next

1 person on record, connected to 2 other companies.

Person	Here	Also built
Courtland Allen	Founder2016 to now	TaskforceStatus unknownSyphirShut down

Sources

About Indie Hackers (Hello, I'm Courtland Allen), Indie Hackers. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Stripe acquires Indie Hackers, a knowledge-sharing community for entrepreneurs, TechCrunch, 2017-04-11. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
The 'surprising' email that led to Irish-founded Stripe's latest company buyout, Fora, 2017-04-12. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Courtland Allen (@csallen) on Indie Hackers, Indie Hackers. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Indie Hackers is indie again!, Changelog, 2023-04-06. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Your Whole Goal Is to Not Quit: Courtland Allen of Indie Hackers, Y Combinator. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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