Backscratch

Most indie apps have the same problem: you build something decent, and then nobody finds it. One thing that does work is other founders recommending you. Doing that by hand is awkward, though. You DM someone, agree to add each other to a footer or a "friends" page, and then you never know whether it sent anyone anywhere. Usually one side quietly gets more out of it and the deal dies. Backscratch is my attempt at fixing that. You list your product, put a small "Tools we recommend" widget on your site, browse other products, and pick who you want to swap with. Once you both accept, each widget shows the other product, and a shared dashboard shows both sides exactly how many views and clicks each one sent. Some decisions I made on purpose: - No credits or points. I tried to design a points system and every version ended up rewarding gaming over good matches. Now you choose your own partners, and the only "currency" is the two-way numbers you can both see. - The numbers come from our own event records, not from anything the client reports. If you connect Plausible, Umami or DataFast, your listing gets a verified-traffic badge, so you can tell a real 10k/month site from a made-up one.…