What are solo founders actually building?
71 ideas keep coming up in what the builders wrote, in 12 areas. 652 of their 1,284 projects fit one of them; each idea lists its projects and the words that put them there.
Find a starting point
- Research an idea before committingFounders compare complaints, competitors and revenue examples before choosing what to build.6 projects
- Win a place in project discoveryGetting a project or brand listed becomes an ongoing distribution task.32 projects
- Allocate visibility through bids and creditsPlacement is allocated by a visible bid or credit rule.23 projects
- The first ten usersFounders need an audience and useful feedback before they have an established acquisition channel.13 projects
- Learn from the work of other buildersEditorial products package concrete building experience and conversations.6 projects
- Pair capital with participation in building the businessFunding is coupled to milestones, technical help or operational intervention.4 projects
- Founder maps & directoriesA directory of the directories: find solo founders, see what they build, and put them on the map.6 projects
- Founder communities & live networkingMeet other builders through live conversations, introductions and founder communities.5 projects
The whole landscape
Every project on one board, placed by the waves it belongs to, or the September 2026 map as an image to keep.
How we found these waves
- The starting point
- Founder networking threads, quote posts and related posts, followed by project websites. The September 18 research reviewed 854 records: 851 unique projects and three duplicates.
- What we could learn
- 485 projects had enough evidence for the offering, audience and approach; 177 had a meaningful description with gaps; 189 lacked enough information. 440 projects fit the 70 recurring ideas in this edition.
- What a wave means
- A shared task, audience need or approach, checked against each project’s sources. It describes a pattern in this catalogue, not measured market growth. Some projects fit several waves; others have a distinct idea or need more information.
- Follow the evidence
- Open a wave for its criteria and source excerpts, then a project for the original sources and its builders. Counts above reflect the current published catalogue; the downloadable map records the research edition.