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Launch Platforms (PH / HN)

One well-prepared day in front of the internet's earliest adopters. Done right, a Product Hunt or Hacker News launch brings your first wave of users, feedback and press.

Cost
Free
Time to results
Days
Difficulty
Easy
Best for
B2B + B2C
0/7

Proof first

5 companies already did this.

Launch days fade within 48 hours. What lasts is the list of people you met and what they told you.

Deep dives

Two case studies, start to finish.

PostHog — launch to find people who love it

PostHog · 2020

Launch HN · 282 points

What they built: "Launch HN: PostHog (YC W20) – open-source product analytics"

What they didThree founders posted on Hacker News explaining what they'd built — self-hosted, open-source product analytics — and why, then answered questions all day.

Why it workedThey weren't chasing attention. In their words, they wanted "to find a group of people who loved it, as quickly as possible." They set modest targets — happy with 500 GitHub stars, delighted with 1,000 — and passed 800 within five days.

Copy thisSet a goal you can measure (stars, signups, conversations) before launch day — and judge the launch by it, not by its rank.

Dropbox — treat the skeptics as your FAQ

Dropbox · 2007

Hacker News · 104 points

What they built: "My YC app: Dropbox – Throw away your USB drive"

What they didDrew Houston posted Dropbox to Hacker News in April 2007 with a demo. It drew 104 points and 71 comments — and the top comment was a list of reasons it wouldn't work.

Why it workedThe objections — offline use, the tagline — were exactly what technical early adopters were thinking. Answering them in public, in front of the people most likely to spread the product, was worth more than praise.

Copy thisAnswer the harshest comment first, calmly and specifically. Everyone else reading has the same doubt.

The guide

7 steps, each anchored to a real example.

Tick each step off as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Step 1 · ~1 hour

Pick the right platform

Product Hunt for consumer and prosumer tools; Hacker News (Show HN, or Launch HN for YC companies) for developer and technical products; niche directories for specific markets. One great launch beats five rushed ones.

Product HuntHacker NewsNiche directories

How Notion did this step

Discord
Slack
WhatsApp
Facebook

Illustration

Notion 2.0 launched on Product Hunt in March 2018 and finished #1 Product of the Day.

Source [4] ↓

Step 2 · ~1 day

Write one line people can repeat

Your title is the whole pitch for most readers. Compare yourself to something they know, or name the outcome. Test it on five people first.

Notes5 friends

How Supabase did this step

"The open-source Firebase alternative."

Exact quote — see source

Supabase changed its tagline from "real-time Postgres" to "the open-source Firebase alternative". Hosted databases went from 8 to 800 in three days, and a Hacker News post with that line got 1.1K+ upvotes.

Source [6] ↓

Step 3 · ~2 days

Prepare everything before the day

Gallery images, a 1–2 minute demo, a first comment written in advance, a free plan or trial ready, analytics working. Launch day is for conversations, not fixes.

LoomFigmaAnalytics

How Loom did this step

Illustration

Loom's first Product Hunt launch in 2016 collected around 1,100 upvotes — for a video tool, the demo was the product.

Source [5] ↓

Step 4 · ~1 week before

Tell your people the date, not "upvote me"

Let your email list and communities know when you're launching and that honest feedback is welcome. Don't organise upvotes — both platforms penalise vote rings.

Email listXCommunities

How Product Hunt did this step

SUBJECT LINE

Illustration

Product Hunt itself began as an email list of people sharing new products. The community came first; the site followed.

Source [7] ↓

Step 5 · ~Launch morning

Post early and write the founder comment

Explain who you are, why you built it, what's different, and what feedback you want. Plain, honest, specific — no marketing voice.

Your launch post

How PostHog did this step

Show HN: PostHog

Illustration

PostHog's launch post introduced the three founders and explained exactly what they'd built and why it was open source.

Source [2] ↓

Step 6 · ~All day

Answer every comment — especially the harsh ones

Reply quickly and specifically. Thank critics, concede what's true, explain what's not. Readers judge you by how you handle the toughest comment.

Hacker NewsProduct Hunt

How Dropbox did this step

Show HN: Dropbox

Illustration

Dropbox's 2007 post drew 104 points and 71 comments; the top one challenged the whole idea. The answers mattered more than the rank.

Source [1] ↓

Step 7 · ~The week after

Turn the spike into a list

Email everyone who signed up, ask what made them try it, and publish a short launch retro. Traffic fades in 48 hours; relationships don't.

EmailBlog

How PostHog did this step

SUBJECT LINE

Illustration

PostHog wrote up its launch afterwards — the goals it set, what happened, and what it learned from the developers who showed up.

Source [3] ↓

Before you start

Pros & cons.

Works in your favour

  • Concentrated attention from early adopters in one day
  • Fast, blunt feedback
  • Can bring press, investors and backlinks
  • Free
  • A natural deadline that forces you to ship

Go in with eyes open

  • Spikes fade fast — most traffic is gone in 48 hours
  • Audiences skew to makers, marketers and developers
  • Results are unpredictable; good products still flop
  • Vote-gaming gets penalised and damages trust

Make it yours

Three ways to run it.

The PostHog model

Launch HN · Find the lovers

A candid founder post to a technical audience. Best for developer tools and open source.

The Notion model

Product Hunt #1

A polished launch for a broad maker audience. Best for productivity and prosumer tools.

The Supabase model

One line that travels

Sharpen the positioning until the title does the work. Best when you're an alternative to something famous.

Copy and paste

Templates & resources.

Founder first comment

honest, specific, asks for feedback

Hi everyone — I'm {name}, {role} of {product}.

We built it because {personal story of the problem}.

What's different: {1–2 concrete differences}.
What it doesn't do yet: {honest limitation}.

I'd love feedback on {specific question}. I'll be here all day answering everything.

Launch-week checklist

prepare before, listen during, follow up after

T–7: date set · assets ready · list told (no vote requests)
T–1: first comment drafted · free plan works · analytics checked
Day 0: post early · reply to every comment within 30 min
T+1: email every signup · note every objection
T+7: publish a short retro with numbers

Show HN title formula

modeled on Supabase and Dropbox

Show HN: {Product} – {the X alternative / what it does in 6 words}

e.g. "Show HN: {Product} – an open-source {famous tool} alternative"

Avoid superlatives ("the best", "revolutionary") — HN readers discount them.

From the showcase

Be the first founder featured here.

The famous examples above are proof it works. The next founder reading this wants proof it works for someone like them — that could be you.

Used “Launch Platforms (PH / HN)”? Submit your product →

Discussion

Tried this? Tell us how it went.

Share a result, ask a question, or say what you'd do differently. The next founder to try this will thank you.

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Receipts

Sources & references.

Last reviewed

  1. 1.
    "My YC app: Dropbox – Throw away your USB drive" (opens in a new tab)

    Hacker News, April 2007

  2. 2.
    Launch HN: PostHog (YC W20) – open-source product analytics (opens in a new tab)

    Hacker News, February 2020

  3. 3.
    After the HN launch (opens in a new tab)

    PostHog blog, 2020

  4. 4.
    Notion 2.0 on Product Hunt: #1 Product of the Day (opens in a new tab)

    hunted.space

  5. 5.
    Loom's Product Hunt launches (opens in a new tab)

    Product Hunt

  6. 6.
    Supabase's tagline change to "the open-source Firebase alternative" (opens in a new tab)

    Contrary Research

  7. 7.
    Product Hunt began as an email list (opens in a new tab)

    Ryan Hoover, 2013

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