Derek Liu

So many indie makers launch like this:

• alone.

• no hype.

• no crew.

• no plan.

• just vibes.

They think it s noble. if it s good, people will notice.

But here s the problem:

Hey Product Hunt!
This morning I launched my first solo product ever: Controol a minimalist finance app built around one idea:

Know how much you can spend, not just what you already did.

No team. No paid ads. No launch list. Just late nights and building something I personally needed.
I honestly didn t expect much but hours later, it made it to the Top 5 of the day

The feeling? Wild.
Strangers are connecting with the mindset behind it, and it's been amazing to read their comments.

One night, my wife shared an old news story with me: the Wordle game (where players guess a five-letter word in limited tries) was bought by The New York Times. I was surprised that such a simple, old-style game caught the attention of a big company.

I casually replied, I d rather play a matchstick puzzle - a childhood game where you move matchsticks to fix a math equation. Then I said, half-jokingly, Why not create an online version for free?