Clous

It’s been one week since we scheduled our PH launch. We had some trouble with creating a new product vs adding a new update to an existing one. But the PH team solved it super fast! This time, we already have some followers, and hence 400+ people notified for our launch. But we still need to do outreach to get to the daily podium.

For the moment, we haven’t been messaging anyone to get ready for our launch. There are only 3 weeks left and our team is far behind. Last time we worked on it for 10 days and got to the 9th place.

We’re hoping to reach at least 400 upvotes, but depending on the day it might not mean being #1. Wish us luck! Launching on 18th June.

It's hard to describe what I feel right now. Most likely frustration. We've been working in this for 16+ months now and only a few people are experiencing value in our product. That's what bothers me most. It's not about revenue or money. Or wanting to be VC-backed. It's about how little value I feel we're adding.

This time we're not launching on PH - most of the feedback was BS or even AI-generated. Today we're launching purely on Linkedin.

Our marketing team spent 24+ hours straight producing this video - it was the first video they did. And we're working hard on every channel. But for the following months we will be doubling down on sending cold emails and cold outreach on Linkedin. And of course, retaining the existing recruiters in our network.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7191670280870649856

Hi everyone, I'm here to share a mistake tale from last week — the accidental ProductHunt launch. It definitely exceeded our expectations.

It all started on a regular Thursday morning. We were knee-deep in refining our product, fixing bugs, and making those last-minute tweaks before our planned launch day on 28th December. Little did we know that fate had other plans for us.

In the middle of our routine development, our co-founder mistakenly clicked a few buttons, and before we knew it, our project was live on ProductHunt. Panic ensued as we frantically scrambled to comprehend what had just happened. It was like discovering your surprise party before the guests had arrived — thrilling, nerve-wracking, and unplanned.

I even talked with PH support team to avoid the launch publishing. But I said to myself “what’s holding us?”. PS: they were super helpful but I ghosted them though.

As they say, the show must go on. We quickly rallied the team and crossed our fingers.

Users started pouring in, leaving comments, etc. We were riding the wave with a mix of excitement and gratitude.

This is what I actually learned from launching.

Embrace the unexpected
Life is unpredictable, and so is the startup journey. Sometimes, the best outcomes come from unexpected situations. Embrace the chaos and find opportunities.

Authenticity resonates
Our hastily written post was raw, authentic, and unfiltered. Turns out, the community appreciates genuine stories. Authenticity resonates, even in the fast-paced world of product launches. Also, doing a live demo as the cover video gave us a warmer look.

Learn, iterate, repeat
Mistakes are inevitable, but the key is to learn from them. We took the accidental launch as a learning opportunity, gathered insights from user interactions, and iterated on our product based on the feedback received.

So here's to embracing the unexpected, learning from every twist and turn, and celebrating the moments that make the startup journey one to remember.

Cheers to the accidental launches and the exciting adventures to come!

Alvaro Villalba

CEO at Clous

Hey world,

I've been hesitant to share my story, but I believe it's time to open up about the challenges of building a startup software product as a CTO. It's a tale of hard work and, yes, a fair share of mistakes.

The excitement was palpable. The vision was clear, and the goal was set - build a product from scratch that would disrupt the recruiting industry. Little did I know the difficulty of it.

Y had been programming for 7 years. But always as an indiehacker, so I couldn’t predict how much time it would take me to build an entire software. I guess this post was made to be here (:

Sure, we had a great idea and a solid plan, but translating that into a tangible product took more time than anticipated. It wasn't just about coding; it was about navigating annoying tasks that go with building something significant.

Dependency Hell.
Every coder's nightmare. Constantly checking for dependency deprecation, updates, and ensuring compatibility became a daily ritual. It felt like trying to juggle while standing on a tightrope - one wrong move, and everything could come crashing down.

Backend Blues.
Building a robust backend proved to be a more complex task than I initially thought. The architecture needed to be scalable, flexible, and, above all, secure. The endless hours spent fine-tuning every detail left me questioning if there was a better, more efficient way.

Learning overload.
As a CTO, there's an expectation to be the expert in everything tech-related. From understanding the latest frameworks to mastering emerging technologies, the learning curve was steep. It often felt like standing at the base of a mountain, wondering if I could ever reach the summit.

Endless iterations.
Iterating on the product is crucial, but it can also be mentally taxing. The perpetual cycle of tweaking, testing, and refining sometimes left me questioning if we were on the right track or stuck in a loop of perpetual adjustments.

Through all these challenges, I've come to realize that failure is not the end but a stepping stone to growth. Embracing the mistakes, acknowledging the shortcomings, and learning from every misstep.

So here I am, sharing my experience not as a tale of defeat but as a testament to the resilience required. Building something meaningful takes time, effort, and commitment to the vision.

To my fellow CTOs and aspiring entrepreneurs, don't be disappointed by the hurdles; let them be the booster for innovation. The journey may be tedious, but the destination is worth every painstaking step.

Cheers to the highs, the lows, and the unwritten chapters that lie ahead.

Alex Purdoiu
CTO at Clous

I think this last week we finally got into developer-mode, but I can't say we fly yet. It's been hard to manage a team that can't deliver the objectives. I realised they needed some more training.

So apparently we're launching next week! We're moving fast now. Not light speed yet though. Product velocity is king!

We're reaching the end of our Minimum Lovable Product development. We decided to not go for an MVP. It's maybe a mistaken decision, but our confidence in the need and pain points we're solving is so much bigger than we could have expected. There are many MVPs, not so many MLPs.

It has been a long journey. Specially given the many stakeholders that are involved in the hiring process. We've validated the pain points discovered by interviewing candidates, HR professionals and talent acquisition leaders. 6 months part-time will allow us to achieve our first $1M ARR, I'm 100% confident about it!