Plan, Track, Build & Ship Faster
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You don’t need another bloated task manager!
You start your next big idea full of excitement, a new app, a cool feature, a dream product. But then reality hits: endless task lists, overthinking every detail, and zero sense of progress. Weeks pass, motivation fades, and that once-great idea quietly dies in your repo.
FoundStep exists to fix exactly that — to keep indie developers focused, motivated, and shipping.
See FoundStep Features
Stop wrestling with bloated tools made for enterprise teams. FoundStep gives you only what matters: a clean flow to validate ideas, plan releases, track progress, and finally launch your projects without losing motivation halfway.
FoundStep is the ultimate project management tool for indie developers and solo founders. Easily plan your side projects, organize ideas, set achievable milestones, track progress, and ship your projects faster. Built for simplicity and focus, FoundStep helps solo developers and indie makers stay productive, eliminate distractions, and finally finish what they start.
Plan releases, not endless backlogs
Self-validate your ideas early
Stay motivated with visible progress
Ship projects you actually finish
Join a growing community of indie developers and solo makers using FoundStep to share ideas, collaborate on side projects, and turn their ideas into finished products.
Explore essential tools built for indie developers. Capture and validate ideas, manage tasks, track project progress, and stay motivated all in a minimal, distraction-free workspace that helps you ship your side projects faster.
Idea Vault
Store all your side project ideas in one place, organize them, and self-validate using checklists. A simple tool to help indie developers focus on ideas worth pursuing.
Available Soon
Development in Progress Leading engineers and teams at startups, scale-ups, and global tech companies rely on FoundStep to stay focused, track progress, and ship side projects faster.
End-to-End Privacy
Your projects stay private. We do **not** access, sell, or share your ideas.
Indie Dev Focus
Made by indie developers, for indie developers. Designed to empower solo creators.
Secure & Reliable
Built with robust security standards to protect your project data at all times.
Trusted by Developers
Indie devs worldwide rely on FoundStep to safely track, plan, and ship side projects.
Compare our indie-focused project tool against traditional platforms and discover why simplicity and motivation always win.
FoundStep | Jira | Notion | Asana | ClickUp | Linear | Monday | Basecamp | Trello | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built For | Indie Developers & Solo Makers | Enterprise Teams | Everyone | Teams | Teams | Product Teams | Companies | Teams | General Users |
| Simplicity | ✅ Super clean & minimal | ❌ Complex setup | ⚠️ Medium | ⚠️ Medium | ❌ Overloaded | ✅ Clean | ❌ Cluttered | ⚠️ Simple but dated | ✅ Simple |
| Motivation Tracking | ✅ Built-in progress & performance tracker | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Idea Validation Tools | ✅ Idea vault + checklist | ❌ None | ⚠️ Only via templates | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Feature Release Planning | ✅ Plan only next release to avoid burnout | ❌ Heavy sprint planning | ⚠️ Manual setup | ⚠️ Project-level only | ⚠️ Overly detailed | ✅ But dev-oriented | ❌ Corporate-focused | ⚠️ Manual lists | ⚠️ Basic |
| Motivation-Driven Workflow | ✅ Focused on visible progress & rewards | ❌ Task loops | ❌ Generic notes | ❌ Standard tasks | ❌ Productivity overload | ⚠️ Dev productivity focus | ❌ Corporate metrics | ❌ Project-only | ❌ Card-based only |
| No-Bloat Philosophy | ✅ Essential-only features | ❌ Too many settings | ⚠️ Feature-heavy | ⚠️ Many unused options | ❌ Overwhelming | ✅ Lightweight | ❌ Complex | ⚠️ Basic but rigid | ✅ Minimal |
| Community & Public Projects Wall | ✅ Yes – showcase your apps | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None | ⚠️ Internal only | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Privacy | ✅ No data mining, fully indie-safe | ❌ Corporate analytics | ❌ Cloud storage | ❌ Usage tracking | ❌ Analytics-heavy | ✅ Transparent | ❌ Data shared with team owners | ❌ Basic privacy | ⚠️ Cloud data |
| Learning Curve | ✅ Instant start | ❌ Steep | ⚠️ Medium | ⚠️ Medium | ❌ High | ✅ Easy for devs | ❌ Corporate onboarding | ⚠️ Moderate | ✅ Easy |
| Team Collaboration | ⚠️ Optional – for small indie collabs | ✅ Deep integrations | ✅ Shared docs | ✅ Full team | ✅ Full team | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Light |
| Offline / Focus Mode | ✅ Focus workspace, distraction-free | ❌ Online only | ⚠️ Partial | ❌ Online | ⚠️ Partial | ❌ Online | ❌ Online | ⚠️ Partial | ⚠️ Partial |
| Pricing | ✅ Simple indie-friendly plan | ❌ Expensive enterprise tiers | ⚠️ Free tier but limited | ⚠️ Paid plans | ❌ Expensive | ⚠️ For teams | ❌ Paid per seat | ✅ Flat fee | ✅ Free basic |
| Vibe / Branding | 🎯 Made by indie devs, for indie devs | 🏢 Enterprise | 📚 Knowledge tool | 🧑💼 Productivity | 💼 Corporate | 💻 Developer teams | 🏢 Business | 🏕️ Old-school | 🎴 Fun + casual |
| Goal | ✅ Help you finish and ship your projects | ❌ Manage corporate tasks | ❌ Organize everything | ❌ Keep teams aligned | ❌ Measure productivity | ⚠️ Ship software | ❌ Manage business ops | ❌ Coordinate teams | ❌ Track cards |
| Unique Differentiator | ❤️ Keeps you motivated to finish and ship | ❌ Over-engineered | ❌ Generic | ❌ For teams | ❌ Productivity overload | ⚠️ Developer PM tool | ❌ Enterprise dashboards | ❌ Team planner | ❌ Simple cards |
Managing side projects as an indie developer can be challenging, from organizing ideas to staying motivated and tracking progress. FoundStep is built to simplify this process. Below, we answer the most common questions from solo makers and indie developers about how to plan projects, validate ideas, maintain focus, and launch apps faster. Whether you’re just starting or juggling multiple side projects, these FAQs will help you get the most out of FoundStep.