Rob Hardy wrote about this phenomenon (it's not exclusive to indie hackers) and he call it "the pattern":
> If you’ve ever wondered why so much of the creator economy looks like a pyramid scheme—with course creators who teach other creators how to sell courses to creators who eventually sell their own courses on course creation to other unsuspecting creators—mimesis is at the heart of the matter.
From his article: The Ungated Manifesto: The Pattern, and the Battle for the Soul of the Internet.
> If you’ve ever wondered why so much of the creator economy looks like a pyramid scheme—with course creators who teach other creators how to sell courses to creators who eventually sell their own courses on course creation to other unsuspecting creators—mimesis is at the heart of the matter.
From his article: The Ungated Manifesto: The Pattern, and the Battle for the Soul of the Internet.