13-year old indie hackers

I observed something notable in an indie hacker group this week. Now mind you, this group is vetted, you can't be here unless you've been referred by a member and are doing a certain level of business.

A new member introduced themselves as the founder of an email outbound agency. Standard protocol: share your LinkedIn profile.

Their response: "I can't. I don't have LinkedIn. I'm 13 and it's against their TOS."

I think to myself, it’s incredible, the point we've reached in technology and software evolution:

• Digital tools have reached a critical inflection point in access and usability

• Knowledge barriers have effectively dissolved

• Traditional competitive moats are rapidly eroding

It's a Robinhood effect as the productivity gains shift from entrenched incumbents to new entrants: offshore and early/pre-career. Native understanding (Gen Alpha) will trump learned expertise, something that Gen-Z digital-natives know well and (some) Gen X are struggling to come to terms with.

Gen Z is the age of social media fluency whereas Gen Alpha will be the age of AI fluency.

And it's a stark contrast to common misconceptions I still hear currently in late 2024 in the marketplace: "AI isn't mature enough" or that "LLMs make too many mistakes for us to use them." Quick reality check here: a 13-year-old sitting in their parents' house is using them, and they're comin’ for your lunch.

Note to self: build great things, hire great people, don't discount the youthful, and remember that every great empire falls from hubris.