Get your first users as an indie hacker, from Reddit, X and LinkedIn
Inbown finds the threads where someone is describing the problem your side project solves, scores intent 0–100, and drafts a reply that helps instead of spams. Built for solo builders, not sales teams.
Almost every indie hacker hits the same wall a week after launch: the product works, the landing page is live, and nothing is happening. The advice to 'do distribution' is correct and useless at the same time, because the actual work of distribution is finding individual people who have the problem you solve and talking to them, one thread at a time. That is slow, it is easy to do badly, and posting your link in the wrong place is how you get a subreddit ban on day three.
Inbown is the radar for that grind. You point it at your project, and it scans Reddit, X and LinkedIn for posts where someone is describing the exact pain your thing fixes or asking for a tool like it. It scores each thread 0–100 so you focus on the real asks, and it drafts a reply built from your project and the thread, the kind that leads with help and mentions your product softly if at all. Before you post, it checks the subreddit's self-promo rules so your account survives the launch month.
It will not auto-post, inflate vanity metrics, or pretend a hundred low-intent mentions are progress. It does one thing: it puts the handful of genuinely relevant threads in front of you each day, early enough that a good reply actually gets read.
Where indie hackers find buyers
The radar watches these communities for threads showing buying intent. You do not have to live in any of them.
Builders sharing launches and asking for tools. Peer buyers who will actually try a new product.
'I built X' and 'looking for something that does Y' threads. Direct early-adopter intent.
People documenting a build often ask for exactly the tool you made.
Founders comparing tools and asking for recommendations in your category.
The whole community is builders asking each other for tools and feedback in public.
Less noisy, and a 'does anyone know a tool for X' post gets real replies. Available on Scale.
The threads Inbown surfaces
Real shapes of buying intent for indie hackers. When a thread like one of these appears, you get it with a score and a drafted reply.
- I just launched and have zero signups. How did you get your first users?
- Is there a simple tool that does [exact thing your project does]?
- Where can I promote my app without instantly getting banned?
- Tired of [big incumbent], looking for a lighter alternative built by an actual person.
What changes day to day
You know you should be on Reddit and X every day finding users, but manually scanning is a time sink you abandon after a week.
The radar does the scanning. You open a short daily list instead of doom-refreshing five communities.
Half the threads you find are not really about your problem, and you cannot tell at a glance which are worth a reply.
The intent score sorts the genuine 'I want this' posts above the tangential ones, so your limited time goes to the real ones.
You are scared of getting banned for self-promo, so you either stay silent or post awkwardly and get removed.
Each draft leads with help, and the anti-ban check flags the subreddit's rules before you post so you do not torch your account.
Who this is not for
If you have not launched yet and have no URL to point the radar at, wait. This is for getting users to something that exists, not for validating an idea. And if you are allergic to ever mentioning your product in a thread, even helpfully, the tool cannot do the talking for you. You still post in your own voice.
Questions indie hackers ask
I am a solo dev with no budget. Is this overkill?
Starter is $19/month with a free preview first, and it replaces the hour a day you would otherwise spend manually scanning Reddit. For a solo builder trying to get the first users, the trade is usually worth it. If you would rather grind it by hand, F5Bot is a free starting point.
Will it get my account banned for self-promo?
It is designed to prevent exactly that. Inbown never posts for you, drafts replies that lead with help, and runs a subreddit-rules and cool-down check before you post. The account risk on launch month usually comes from blasting links. This is the opposite approach.
Which plan as an indie hacker?
Start on Starter ($19/month) for Reddit, where most early-adopter asks live. Add X with Pro ($29/month) if you build in public there. Scale ($79/month) adds LinkedIn and is listed as coming soon.
Can I try it on my project first?
There is a free preview that runs once against your product URL with no signup, so you can judge the feed before paying anything. Paste your project URL and see whether real threads come back before you commit a cent.
The honest verdict
Distribution is the hard part of indie hacking, and most of it is finding the right person at the right moment. Inbown will not do the talking for you, but it will find the threads, rank them by real intent, and draft the reply so you can be early and helpful instead of spammy. If you are launched and stuck at zero, that is the loop it is built to unblock.
See it on your own product
Paste your URL. Watch Inbown surface real threads with buying intent in 30 seconds.
Scan my product. Free →Other use cases
For SaaS founders
Inbown watches the threads where someone is actively asking for a tool like yours, scores buying intent 0–100, and drafts the reply. You copy and post from your own account.
For marketing agencies
Inbown surfaces high-intent threads for your agency's own pipeline, or one client at a time, scores them 0–100, and drafts a reply that does not read like a bot. No auto-posting, so the accounts you reply from stay safe.
For freelancers and consultants
Inbown catches the threads where someone is asking for exactly the work you do, scores how serious they are 0–100, and drafts an opener you can send. No bidding wars, no auto-spam.
For B2B startups
Inbown finds the threads where a potential buyer is describing the problem you solve, scores intent 0–100, and drafts an opener per platform. Pipeline from signal, not spray-and-pray.