My Product Hunt Launch Sucked
I remember my first Product Hunt launch like it was yesterday—zero traction, harsh reviews, and an overall 2/5 rating.
As a naive first-time founder, I spent years building my first product, thinking Product Hunt would be my golden ticket. But instead of success, I got:
- 1 good comment
- 3 downvotes from competitors
- A disappointing score
The downvotes felt petty and cruel, especially coming from influencers that I respected who is also my competitor. It was a wake-up call I desperately needed.
For years, that experience left me bitter. But slowly, I uncovered valuable lessons:
- Marketing: Product Hunt is not a real marketing strategy. Suck it up and learn to do proper marketing.
- Quality over quantity: Constantly adding features isn’t the answer; improving what you have is.
- Know your customer: Identify your ideal users and focus on the channels that reach them.
These lessons shaped how we built Mida. We focused on quality, learned proper marketing, and diversified our channels. The result? Steady growth, happy customers, and a product we’re proud of.
Now, I’m giving Product Hunt another shot with Mida. This time, I’m not chasing sales or rankings. I’m here to give back to the community with a free A/B testing tool—especially now that Google Optimize is gone.
Check out our launch here: Product Hunt Link.
Whether it’s a hit or not, it won’t define us. True success comes from consistently delivering value, not a single day’s ranking.
To all the founders out there: Don’t put too much stock in launches. Focus on building something valuable, find the people who need it, and keep improving.
What’s your experience with Product Hunt or other launch platforms? Share your stories—I’d love to hear them!
