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Search postmortems, filter by failure pattern, and find revival opportunities.10 curated postmortems · reviewed before publishing

10 postmortems found

Happenin

Find what's happening tonight in your city — concerts, pop-ups, open mics, and more

R.I.P.
JUL '2024 – DEC '2024
AbandonedCompositeNo Distribution

ValidatedThe UX was good. The 'tonight' feed with category filters was clean and fast.

NeedsGeneral 'local events' apps are nearly impossible for indie builders because of the supply…

Revenue
$0
Users
~500 downloads, ~80 opened the app more than once, peak DAU of 12
Built in
3 months
Has usersDomain includedOpen to saleNeeds marketer
Revive30Explore revival →

ProseAI

AI writing assistant that matches your voice and style for blogs, emails, and docs

R.I.P.
OCT '2023 – MAY '2024
PivotedCompositeBad Timing

ValidatedThe style matching was genuinely good.

NeedsGeneral AI writing tools are a dead category.

Revenue
$8,200 MRR at peak (164 paying users at $49.99/month)
Users
~2,800 signups, 164 converted to paid at peak, ~60 paid at shutdown
Built in
7 months (3 founders, full-time)
Had revenueHas usersDomain includedCodebase included
Revive40Explore revival →

SkillSwap

Trade skills instead of money — teach coding, learn guitar, no cash needed

R.I.P.
OCT '2024 – FEB '2025
FailedCompositeNo Market Need

ValidatedSignup was easy and people liked the concept.

NeedsPure skill bartering doesn't work at any scale.

Revenue
$0 (planned to take a transaction fee eventually, never reached transaction volume)
Users
~340 signups, 95 created a skill listing, 6 completed a swap
Built in
6 weeks
Has usersDomain includedOpen to sale
Revive30Explore revival →

RankBoost

Find the best App Store keywords to rank higher and get more downloads

R.I.P.
FEB '2024 – AUG '2024
FailedCompositePlatform Dependency

ValidatedThe keyword difficulty scoring was useful and indie devs appreciated having data they coul…

NeedsASO as a category is consolidating around a few well-funded players.

Revenue
$1,750 total (35 users at $49.99 one-time)
Users
~220 signups for the free keyword research tool, 35 paid for the full optimizer
Built in
3 months
Had revenueHas users
Revive20Read postmortem →

MetricVault

One dashboard for all your SaaS metrics — Stripe, Plausible, Mailchimp, and more

R.I.P.
JUN '2024 – NOV '2024
AbandonedCompositePoor Execution

ValidatedThe Stripe integration was solid — MRR, churn, and revenue charts were accurate and fast.

NeedsThe aggregated-metrics dashboard is a real need for indie hackers, but the market has matu…

Revenue
$0 (we planned to launch paid tiers after 'finishing' the integration list — we never finished)
Users
~40 beta signups from an Indie Hackers post, 8 connected at least one integration, 0 paid
Built in
5 months (2 co-founders, both part-time)
Has usersDomain includedCodebase includedOpen to sale
Revive30Explore revival →

SoulPulse

Daily spiritual practice tracker for prayer, meditation, and reflection

R.I.P.
MAY '2024 – NOV '2024
FailedCompositeWrong Audience

ValidatedThe onboarding was well-designed. Users picked their spiritual tradition (or 'none'), sele…

NeedsFaith-based apps for specific traditions are underbuilt relative to the market size.

Revenue
$0 (planned a $3.99/month subscription, never launched it — too few users)
Users
~700 downloads across iOS and Android, ~120 used it more than once
Built in
4 months
Has users
Revive50Explore revival →

TabSnooze

Snooze browser tabs and they come back when you need them

R.I.P.
APR '2024 – SEP '2024
AbandonedCompositeNo Distribution

ValidatedThe user experience was tight. Right-click, pick a time, done.

NeedsTab management is a real need but a terrible standalone product.

Revenue
$0 (planned to add a paid tier, never reached the user threshold to justify it)
Users
~380 installs, ~90 weekly active users at peak
Built in
5 weeks
Has usersDomain includedCodebase includedOpen to sale
Revive30Explore revival →

InnerLog

AI-guided journaling that asks the right questions at the right time

R.I.P.
AUG '2024 – FEB '2025
FailedCompositeCouldn't Retain Users

ValidatedFirst-session engagement was extremely high.

NeedsDaily journaling apps are a graveyard category.

Revenue
$860 (annual subscriptions at $29.99/year — about 29 subscribers at peak)
Users
~3,200 downloads, ~1,100 wrote at least one entry, 29 paid subscribers
Built in
3 months
Had revenueHas usersLow rebuild difficulty
Revive40Read postmortem →

SubWatch

Track every subscription in one place so nothing slips through

R.I.P.
JAN '2024 – JUL '2024
AbandonedCompositeCrowded Market

ValidatedThe design was genuinely good. People who found the app loved how it looked and felt.

NeedsConsumer subscription tracking is a dead category — Apple handles it natively now.

Revenue
$220 (44 users at $4.99 lifetime unlock)
Users
~2,600 downloads, ~600 monthly active at peak, 44 paid
Built in
4 months
Had revenueHas usersCodebase includedOpen to sale
Revive20Explore revival →

MealGenie

AI-powered weekly meal plans based on your fridge, diet, and budget

R.I.P.
SEP '2024 – JAN '2025
FailedCompositePricing Wrong

ValidatedThe first-use experience was genuinely impressive.

NeedsThe meal planning problem is real but the AI-wrapper approach is dead for monetization.

Revenue
$34 total (7 users paid $4.99 once, no recurring)
Users
~1,400 signups, ~310 generated at least one meal plan, 7 paid
Built in
6 weeks
Had revenueHas usersDomain includedLow rebuild difficulty
Revive50Explore revival →
Showing 10 of 10 postmortems