Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
Last year, a potential client approached me with an exciting opportunity: build a two-sided marketplace platform with a substantial budget. The technical challenge was interesting, and it would have been one of my biggest projects to date.
I said no.
Here's why - and what this taught me about the real purpose of validation in 2025, especially when it comes to platforms like Product Hunt.
The client came to me excited about no-code tools and wanted to "see if their idea works." They had no existing audience, no validated customer base, no proof of demand - just an idea and enthusiasm. Sound familiar?
This got me thinking about how most founders approach Product Hunt. They build first, launch second, then wonder why their "amazing product" gets buried among hundreds of other launches. The problem isn't Product Hunt - it's treating it like a magic validation button instead of what it actually is.
In this playbook, you'll learn:
Why most Product Hunt launches fail before they even start
How to build an audience before you build your product
The 90-day pre-launch strategy that actually works
Real tactics for getting traction without spending on ads
How to turn Product Hunt into a distribution channel, not a Hail Mary
This isn't another "growth hacking" guide. It's about fundamentally rethinking what validation means and how platforms like Product Hunt fit into your actual growth strategy.
Industry Reality
What every startup founder believes about Product Hunt
Walk into any startup accelerator or browse indie maker Twitter, and you'll hear the same Product Hunt gospel repeated endlessly:
"Build an amazing product, launch on Product Hunt, get featured, and watch the users flood in."
The typical advice sounds logical:
Perfect your product before launch
Create stunning visuals and compelling copy
Rally your team and friends for launch day votes
Aim for #1 Product of the Day
Convert the traffic spike into paying customers
This conventional wisdom exists because it feels like a meritocracy. Build something great, put it out there, and the best products will naturally rise to the top. It's the startup equivalent of "if you build it, they will come."
The problem? This approach treats Product Hunt like a lottery ticket instead of what it actually is - a community-driven platform where relationships and timing matter more than product quality.
Most founders discover this the hard way. They spend months perfecting their product, launch with high hopes, get buried on page 3, and blame "the algorithm" or "pay-to-play politics." But they're missing the fundamental truth: Product Hunt success isn't about having the best product. It's about having the best pre-launch strategy.
The real issue isn't Product Hunt - it's treating validation like a one-day event instead of a months-long process.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
I learned this lesson the hard way when that marketplace client reached out. They wanted to spend three months building a platform to "test if their idea works." But here's what shocked them: I told them their MVP shouldn't take three months to build - it should take one day.
The client had fallen into the same trap I see with Product Hunt launches. They were confusing building with validating. Just like founders who think a successful Product Hunt launch validates their idea, this client thought building a functional platform would tell them if people wanted it.
"If you're truly testing market demand," I told them, "your MVP should take one day to build - not three months."
This is when I realized that most Product Hunt failures aren't product failures - they're validation failures. Founders are using Product Hunt as a substitute for actual customer development. They build in isolation, launch hoping for validation, then wonder why a traffic spike doesn't convert to sustainable growth.
I've watched dozens of launches over the years. The patterns are depressingly consistent:
The "Build First" Approach:
- Spend 6-12 months building in stealth
- Launch on Product Hunt with no existing audience
- Get initial traffic spike (if lucky)
- Watch 95% of visitors bounce immediately
- Blame Product Hunt for "low-quality traffic"
The successful launches I've studied tell a completely different story. They don't use Product Hunt to validate - they use it to amplify validation they've already achieved.
This clicked for me when I started applying the same principles I use for SaaS user acquisition. The best acquisition strategies aren't about finding new people - they're about reaching people who already want what you're building.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
After studying successful Product Hunt launches and failed validation attempts, I developed what I call the "Audience-First Product Hunt Strategy." It flips the traditional approach completely.
Phase 1: Manual Validation (Week 1-2)
Before building anything, I recommend what I told that marketplace client:
Day 1: Create a simple landing page or Notion doc explaining your value proposition. Not a product - just a clear explanation of the problem you're solving.
Week 1: Start manual outreach to potential users. Find where your target customers already gather - specific subreddits, Discord servers, LinkedIn groups, industry forums.
Week 2-4: Manually solve the problem you're claiming to automate. If it's a marketplace, manually match supply and demand via email. If it's a SaaS tool, do the work manually for early customers.
This approach taught me that Product Hunt isn't where you find your audience - it's where you bring the audience you've already built.
Phase 2: Community Building (Week 3-8)
While manually validating, start building in public:
Document everything - Share your validation process, customer conversations, and early learnings
Engage authentically - Comment on other launches, provide value in maker communities
Build relationships - Connect with other builders launching around your timeline
Create anticipation - Share behind-the-scenes progress, not just final results
Phase 3: Pre-Launch Momentum (Week 9-12)
By now, you should have proven demand through manual processes. Only then do you build the automated solution. During this phase:
Announce your upcoming launch to your validated audience
Create a "coming soon" page with email capture
Share development updates and early access opportunities
Connect with Product Hunt hunters and makers
The Launch Day Strategy
By launch day, you're not hoping for validation - you're announcing to an audience that's already waiting. Your launch becomes a celebration of something people already want, not a desperate plea for attention.
The key insight: treat Product Hunt like a distribution channel, not a validation platform.
Validation First
Don't build until you've manually proven demand exists. Product Hunt amplifies existing traction - it doesn't create it from scratch.
Community Over Product
Invest in relationships and audience building before product development. The best launches come from engaged communities, not perfect products.
90-Day Timeline
Start building your audience 90 days before launch. Use the first 30 days for manual validation, next 30 for community building, final 30 for pre-launch momentum.
Distribution Strategy
Treat Product Hunt as one channel in your distribution mix, not your entire go-to-market strategy. It should amplify, not replace, your core acquisition efforts.
This approach fundamentally changed how I think about validation and launches. The marketplace client I turned down? They followed my advice instead of building immediately.
They spent their first month manually connecting buyers and sellers through email and Slack. Within 30 days, they had processed $15K in transactions without building anything. By month three, they had a waiting list of 200+ users begging for automation.
When they finally launched their platform six months later, their Product Hunt launch wasn't a validation experiment - it was an announcement to an audience that was already engaged and waiting.
The results spoke for themselves:
#2 Product of the Day with organic community support
40% of launch day traffic converted to signups (vs typical 2-5%)
$25K in transactions within the first week
Sustainable growth that continued long after the launch spike
The contrast with typical launches was stark. Instead of wondering "Will anyone want this?" they were answering "How do we serve all the people who already want this?"
This validated what I've seen across multiple SaaS projects: the most successful launches don't create demand - they reveal demand that was already there.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After applying this approach across multiple projects, here are the key lessons that changed how I think about Product Hunt and validation:
1. Your MVP should be your sales process, not your product. If you can't manually deliver your value proposition, automating it won't help.
2. Product Hunt rewards relationships, not just products. The makers with the best community connections consistently outperform technically superior products from unknowns.
3. Launch day is the end of your marketing process, not the beginning. If you're starting your marketing on launch day, you've already lost.
4. Validation fatigue is real. Most founders give up after one or two manual experiments. Persistence in manual validation separates successful launches from failed ones.
5. Community participation is a long-term investment. Start engaging with maker communities months before you need anything from them.
6. "Building in public" doesn't mean sharing everything. Share your learning process and customer insights, not just product features.
7. The best Product Hunt launches feel inevitable. By launch day, your community should be saying "finally!" not "what's this?"
The biggest mindset shift: stop thinking of Product Hunt as a place to find customers. Think of it as a place to celebrate with customers you've already found.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups specifically:
Start with manual onboarding calls instead of building self-serve flows
Create detailed case studies from your manual validation phase
Use your Product Hunt launch to announce your transition from manual to automated service
Leverage early customers as launch day advocates and testimonials
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce and physical products:
Test demand through pre-orders or crowdfunding before Product Hunt
Use your launch to showcase customer stories and use cases
Prepare inventory and fulfillment for post-launch demand surge
Create launch day exclusive offers for your existing community