# Customer feedback for indie hackers and solo founders

> A solo founder needs one product, one widget and one notification channel to start. Budget about thirty minutes a week for triage, reply to people yourself, and skip charts and ratings until you have enough data to read them.

Source: https://escutaproduto.com/resources/feedback-for-solo-founders
Last updated: 2026-10-09

## Start with the smallest setup that works

You need three things to start: one product, one widget on your site and one notification webhook to a channel you read. Add the product, set its allowed origins to your domain, paste the widget snippet with its key into your page, and point the webhook at a channel you already open every day. That is the whole setup.

If you already have a contact form, keep it for now. The widget does not have to replace everything on day one, and running both side by side for a month shows you which one people actually use.

The snippet is short:

```html
<script src="https://escutaproduto.com/widget.js" data-key="pk_your_product_key" defer></script>
```

Skip the rest until you need it. The hosted page link is useful when people without the widget want to write in, so add it to your footer or onboarding email at that point. The REST API matters when you have a mobile app or a backend that submits feedback, and you will know when that is you.

## Budget the time before you add anything

Decide how much time feedback can take each week before you set anything up. Thirty minutes is a reasonable start for a founder who is still building. Put that block in the calendar and use it for one triage pass: read every New item, fix or plan what matters, and close the rest with a short note.

Protect the thirty minutes by booking a fixed day, and treat it as a meeting you do not cancel. Friday afternoon works for many founders because the week's messages are complete by then. During a launch, keep the triage but shorten it to ten minutes rather than dropping it, because launch week is when people tell you what broke.

Check alerts for a few seconds at a time, not all day. A notification that buzzes every hour during deep work will eat the focus you need to build. Mute the channel while you build, then check it once after lunch and once before you stop.

## Get alerts where you already look

Choose the notification channel you already read every day. For many solo founders that is a Slack or Discord server they already use. A new app you have to open is one more place for feedback to hide. Each alert shows the type, the rating stars, the sender, a 500-character excerpt and a dashboard link, so you can judge most messages from the alert and open the dashboard only for the ones that matter.

## Reply yourself, from your own email

Escuta Produto does not send automatic emails to customers, so replying is your job. That sounds like extra work, but it is the best part of this setup. A short reply to someone who reported a bug tells them you read it, and often gets you a clearer description of the problem. Use your own address, write in your own voice and keep replies to three or four sentences.

When you know a customer's email, the hosted page accepts an email parameter, so a link in your onboarding message can prefill the field. The widget also asks for an email when the visitor is not identified, so you get a way back to the person in most cases.

Keep a few reply templates in your notes app for the common cases: a bug you fixed, an idea you will not build, and a question that needs more detail. Edit each one before you send it, so it still sounds like you and not like a form letter.

## Ask for the feedback you need

Do not wait for feedback to arrive by accident. When you are unsure whether to build something, put a small button next to the related part of your product. The button can open the widget with the idea type already chosen, and the text next to it can ask one specific question. A narrow question gets more useful answers than a general request for feedback.

## What to ignore while you build

Skip the 30-day chart during the first months. There is not enough data for a trend to mean much, and checking it every day feels productive while changing nothing. Skip the average rating until you have a meaningful count of ratings. Escuta Produto does not run surveys or NPS campaigns, so do not wait for one to tell you how customers feel. Read the messages you receive and reply to them. That is the signal you need at this stage. Once you have a few dozen messages, the chart starts to mean something, and you can add it to your routine.

## How much feedback is too much for one person?

Watch for the point where you stop replying. If the New count grows for two weeks, your routine is too big for the time you have. Cut the alerts to bugs only, or move the weekly pass to a shorter window and keep it. A small routine you keep beats a complete one you abandon by the third week.

## How to set this up with Escuta Produto

Start with one product, the [widget docs](/docs/widget) and one [notification webhook](/docs/notifications). Add the hosted page link to your site footer when you want people without the widget to write in. For a broader routine that still works when you add a second product, read [one feedback inbox for many products](/resources/one-inbox-many-products). For the weekly habit itself, read [a feedback routine for five products](/resources/feedback-routine-multiple-products).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the smallest useful feedback setup for a solo founder?

One product, the widget snippet with its key on your site, allowed origins for your domain, and one Slack or Discord webhook to a channel you read. Add the hosted page link later, when people without the widget need a way to write in.

### How much time should feedback take each week?

About thirty minutes of triage is a reasonable start for a founder still building. Use it for one pass: read every New item, fix or plan what matters, and close the rest with a short note.

### Should a solo founder reply to every message?

Reply to messages that show a real problem or a useful idea, and keep replies short. Escuta Produto sends no automatic emails, so replies come from your own address, which is a good way to stay close to users.