App Masters · App Marketing Strategies: The Most Effective Campaigns
Lenny's Podcast · Aug 7How to launch and grow your product | Ryan Hoover of Product Hunt and Weekend Fund
Began as a newsletter and website, and took four to five months to incorporate. Its push into podcasts, games and books failed, it raised a seed and Series A but only started earning after AngelList acquired it, and break-even came about 12 months later.
Tips
- Write your tagline the way you describe it to friends▶ 25:00Seen across tens of thousands of launches on Product Hunt, where buzzword-heavy launches tend not to click.
- Use the launch gallery as a visual slideshow that tells a story▶ 27:52Ryan says the most interesting launch presentations he has seen treat the gallery like a slideshow.
- Start making revenue early, even if growth is the priority▶ 33:19Once they started generating revenue they reached cash flow break even in about 12 months, so starting in 2014 could have meant break even by 2015 or 2016.
- Stay vertical instead of expanding to new communities too early▶ 32:30Product Hunt now does effectively that, serving tech with more things.
- Delegate sooner, even if the team makes mistakes▶ 34:54He was still editing the newsletter daily years after starting the company.
- Pick launch goals first, since customers may not be the point▶ 22:26
- Treat a new product as an experiment before starting a company▶ 17:13
- Know exactly why you are raising money and from whom▶ 18:50Today Ryan says he might not raise venture for Product Hunt because it has no direct competitors forcing a war chest.
