AffiliateAudit

The Problem

Indie hackers and micro-SaaS founders on r/indiehackers frequently mention running informal affiliate or referral programs — handing out discount codes, tracking referrals in spreadsheets, or using Rewardful/Tapfiliate — but losing money because they can't tell which affiliates are sending junk signups, which codes are being shared publicly, or whether their commission structure is actually profitable. AffiliateAudit connects to their existing affiliate platform or payment processor and surfaces which affiliates are driving high-LTV customers vs. free-trial abusers, and models what their commission rate should be to stay margin-positive.

Target Audience

Micro-SaaS founders with $1K-$20K MRR running affiliate or referral programs

Monetization Angle

$19/mo flat, positioned as 'pays for itself if it catches one bad affiliate'

Recommended Tech Stack

Why Now

Affiliate fraud and commission mispricing are growing problems as more indie SaaS founders add referral programs after seeing competitors succeed with them.

MVP Scope

Connect Stripe + one affiliate platform, show a table of affiliates ranked by referred-customer LTV vs. commission paid, flag any affiliate where commission exceeds 60-day LTV.

AI Angle

AI models optimal commission tiers based on product pricing, churn rate, and historical affiliate LTV data to recommend a margin-safe structure.

Primary Risk

Small addressable market — only founders already running affiliate programs need this, which is a subset of an already small indie SaaS audience.

Validation Checklist

• Search r/indiehackers for posts about affiliate program problems and DM the authors
• Post a poll: 'If you run an affiliate program, do you know your average LTV per affiliate?' — measure how many admit they don't
• Build a free 'commission calculator' landing page to capture leads and validate the core value prop
• Offer 10 founders a free manual audit of their affiliate data in exchange for feedback and a testimonial

Who Would Pay For This

Likely buyers are people already trying to solve this problem with manual workarounds. Start with Micro-SaaS founders with $1K-$20K MRR running affiliate or referral programs and validate urgency before adding secondary features.

First 10 Users

Find the first 10 users by searching for recent complaints around "SaaS affiliate" in Reddit, developer communities, GitHub issues, and niche Slack or Discord groups. Offer a concierge version first: manually solve the workflow for a few users, then automate only the repeated steps.

Why This Idea Has Legs

• Sourced from real discussions and complaints across Reddit and social media
• Cross-checked against recurring demand signals in the IdeaGenius archive
• Difficulty rated Medium — buildable by a solo developer or small team
• Clear monetization path from day one

Generate Your Full Project Spec

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