alex saint

I Built a Platform for Pre-Launch Apps. Now It Pays Me Monthly $500

I didn’t plan this.

I just got tired of launching into the void.

You know the drill:

You build for weeks. Maybe months.

You finally hit “Launch.”

You post. You wait.

And then… nothing.

No users. No feedback.

That’s the indie dev curse.

And I’ve lived it too many times.

So I built something I desperately needed:

🧪 IndieCrush, a testing lab for indie hackers

A place to drop your app before it’s polished.

Where testers actually show up.

Where feedback comes in before the big reveal.

Where it’s okay to be unfinished.

What happened next?

It started small.

I posted on X. Invited friends. Asked for feedback.

Then things picked up:

• Indie devs started listing their half-baked projects

• Testers showed up and gave real feedback

• Makers paid $7.99 to feature their apps

• I added a $100 private testing plan for devs

• Community hit 650+ members

Now I’m making $500/month, and I haven’t even done a real launch yet.

No ads. No funding. No Product Hunt badge.

Just builders helping builders.

What’s coming next

I’m not stopping here.

• AI-powered matching between devs & testers

• A rewards system using my own $INDIE token

• Public leaderboards, creator badges, and daily drops

• More chaos. More learning. More early launches.

This isn’t just a platform.

It’s a rejection of the “perfect launch” myth.

If you’re building…

Don’t wait.

Don’t overthink it.

And definitely don’t launch alone.

Come test with us.

Drop something raw.

Get feedback while it still matters.

https://indiecru.sh

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Elina Banerjee

As a UX researcher, this hits so many of the pain points I’ve seen indie builders struggle with — especially the lack of early, honest feedback before launch. Too often, devs polish for months in isolation, only to realize too late that they’ve missed key usability or value signals.

IndieCrush feels like it flips the script: it normalizes being “unfinished,” turns feedback into a product milestone, and gives builders the safe space to learn fast.

I’m especially excited about the idea of AI-powered matching and rewards for testers — that’s a brilliant way to incentivize real participation without losing the human signal in the noise. 👏

Curious: Are there any plans to capture qualitative insights (like patterns in tester behavior or friction points) and visualize them over time?

Great work — this is what community-led validation should look like. 🔍🧪