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I’ll try to keep this short because, well, someone actually has to get some work done in this industry.

From what I’ve seen on X, this community can be a bit risky. And why do I say that? Because a lot of the people doing “vibe coding” and calling themselves indie hackers don’t seem too interested in actually learning.

They launch apps without knowing backend development, pick a tech stack just because AI suggested it, don’t properly secure their apps because they don’t fully understand what their code is doing—and the list goes on.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that they really hype each other up. When someone launches a new product, the first buyers are usually other indie hackers, just to “support” their fellow dev. And while that’s nice in theory, it’s not sustainable in the long run. At some point, that bubble is going to pop.

Now, about indie hacker product acquisitions—yeah, I’m not a fan of those either. The prices are usually pretty average. I recently saw an acquisition where the total price was about the same as a mid-level programmer’s salary for six months. The people buying these products are often getting the better deal because $50,000 might sound great as a lump sum, but let’s not forget—the developer probably worked on that project for a year or two, maybe even longer, without making much money in the process. If you add up the time, effort, and investment, you’re barely breaking even.

At the end of the day, AI is amazing, but if someone builds a mediocre app, it’s going to show. Users have higher standards now—we’ve had decades of progress in web apps, and we’re not about to go backward just because AI makes coding easier. And you can see this in the numbers, even though AI is still relatively new in programming.

Programming used to be well-paid because developers brought real knowledge and expertise to the table. But now, if anyone can just pay $20 for Cursor and have AI build something for them, where’s the real value? Where’s the passion for learning, improving, and mastering the craft of coding?

The truth is, a lot of that passion is gone. Instead, it’s just a race to squeeze out another $10 on Stripe. But the best products—the ones that actually last—are the ones that keep evolving and improving. And the same goes for developers. Years from now, the people getting recognition (and better pay) won’t be the ones churning out weak products every week—they’ll be the ones who actually know their stuff and can deliver when it really matters.

To wrap this up: AI is a powerful tool, but it’s just that—a tool. It can make you faster and take care of the boring tasks, but it’s not at the point where it can build a backend while you have no clue how the programming language behind it actually works.