How to launch and grow your product | Ryan Hoover of Product Hunt and Weekend Fund
August 7, 2022
AI Summary
5 min readRyan Hoover, founder of Product Hunt and now general partner at Weekend Fund, shares lessons from launching and scaling products, drawn from his experiences and observations of thousands of launches on Product Hunt.
Product Hunt Launch Mechanics
Hoover explains Product Hunt's ranking algorithm, which prioritizes engagement metrics like upvotes, comments, and maker replies over raw upvotes alone. Successful launches build anticipation through pre-launch newsletters, waitlists, or teasers to friends and networks, aiming for 1,000+ upvotes. He stresses responding to every comment during the launch day to boost visibility, while cautioning against gaming tactics like fake accounts, which lead to bans.
Post-Launch Growth Strategies
Growth comes from iterating on user feedback immediately after launch, focusing on retention over acquisition. Hoover advocates for "paint-by-numbers" launches: ship a simple MVP, measure core metrics like daily active users, and double down on what works. He highlights examples like Superhuman and Cursor, which grew via targeted invites and viral loops rather than broad marketing. Tradeoffs include avoiding over-reliance on paid ads early, as they mask product weaknesses.
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Podcast Introduction**
- 2 (01:30) **Recent News Roundup**
- 3 (08:45) **Deep Dive into AI Developments**
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Thousands of new products launch each year, but very few make it. Ryan Hoover has seen thousands of products launched over the course of his time running Product Hunt, and through his investing, and in this episode you’ll hear what Ryan has learned about launching products, growing products, and raising capital. Plus, we play a made up game called “What would you rather upvote?” Join us.
—
Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-launch-and-grow-your-product-ryan-hoover-of-product-hunt-and-weekend-fund/#transcript
—
Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:
• RevenueCat: https://www.revenuecat.com/
• Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny
• Lenny’s Giveaway Bonanza: https://lennyspodcast.com/bonanza
—
Where to find Ryan Hoover:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rrhoover
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrhoover/
• Website: https://www.ryanhoover.me/
—
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
—
In this episode, we cover:
[03:23] On being a tech celebrity
[09:02] Using Twitter DM’s as a content machine
[11:15] The questions most founders ask
[14:48] When should you start a company?
[18:28] Would Ryan raise money for Product Hunt if he could do it again?
[21:48] When should companies launch products?
[24:52] What makes a launch successful versus not?
[26:27] How to get to the top of Product Hunt
[30:01] What skill is most helpful for moving into investing and venture capital?
[31:39] What Ryan would do differently if he could re-build Product Hunt
[38:57] What matters most in life
[43:13] Which ideas Ryan would upvote
[48:05] What founders of consumer companies do to succeed
[55:33] Deciding to serve a niche or broad market
[58:03] The surprising parts of angel investing
[1:02:12] Advice for folks wanting to get into angel investing
This is a public
More from this podcast
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth →