We don't hire experts. We hire builders.

Every week, we get applications from people who want to become a CultCode Pro. Some of them are impressive on paper: consulting backgrounds, thousands of Twitter followers, ex-FAANG engineers.

We reject most of them.

Not because they're not smart. They probably are. But being smart and being helpful are two completely different skills. And CultCode exists to be helpful.

What we actually look for

1. Have you shipped something?

Not "are you building something." Not "are you planning to build something." Have you actually shipped a product that real humans use? It doesn't have to be a massive success. It could be a tiny tool with 50 users. But it has to be real — deployed, live, with actual users.

This matters because the advice you give someone is only valuable if it comes from doing, not just knowing. A Pro who has struggled with pricing on their own SaaS gives fundamentally different advice than someone who read a book about pricing.

2. Can you give specific advice in real time?

Some people are great writers but terrible in conversation. Some people know general principles but can't apply them to a new situation on the fly.

A CultCode session is 45 minutes of live problem-solving. Someone shares their screen, shows you their code or their landing page or their analytics, and you need to immediately start giving useful, specific feedback. Not "have you considered your target audience?" but "your hero copy is about features when it should be about the problem — try leading with 'Stop wasting hours on X' instead."

3. Will you be honest?

Builders don't pay $49 for encouragement. They pay for clarity. And clarity sometimes means saying "this idea won't work because..." or "your pricing is fundamentally wrong — here's why."

The best Pros we have are the ones who are honest AND kind. They don't sugarcoat, but they don't tear people down either. They frame criticism as "here's what I'd change and why" instead of "this is bad."

Why your resume doesn't matter

We don't care where you went to school. We don't care what company you worked at. We don't care how many followers you have. We care about one thing:

If an indie hacker is stuck on a specific problem, can you help them get unstuck in 45 minutes?

That's the whole bar. If you can do that, apply to become a Pro.