Launching on Product Hunt is beyond a simple growth trick; it is an indication worldwide that the product is ready. For us at Hexus, that was a defining moment that brought traction, strong feedback, and created long-lasting momentum.

Preparations began a few weeks before. We engaged with the PH community; we supported makers; we created a fun custom demo featuring the Product Hunt cat built with Hexus, of course. We chose to launch on a Thursday; the competition would be tough, but the opportunity for exposure would also be huge.

And these were our simple objectives: validate the product with early adopters, gather honest feedback, and start growing. The launch day was the most extreme day from the beginning: the whole team was on active duty, DMs were prepped, content scheduled, and an impactful first comment explaining our vision was ready to go. 

Things shifted fast, however. Since we were now in real-time competition with well-established players like Kraftful, we created a new feature for live roasting of PH launches within hours and tagged competitors in a playful manner. It created a lot of unexpected publicity, boosting engagement and giving a magnificent display of our speed and creativity.

The result was 150+ signups in 24 hours, dozens of thoughtful comments, and a strong wave of inbound interest. More importantly, it was a statement of Hexus's ability to stand in the crowded market and offer actual value from the very first day. 

Post-launch, we pursued a one-on-one basis with users, started implementing improvements based on feedback, and even entered into a PH partnership: makers now can design launch demos with Hexus.

‍

Why We Chose Product Hunt?

Hexus all-in-one AI platform allows teams to generate product demos, videos, how-to guides, and onboarding content in mere minutes. Being used by marketers, customer success, sales, and product teams alongside founders for product launches, so the team makes customer onboarding more efficient, or even helps in the evaluation stages of the sales funnel.

The user base of Product Hunt was an ideal community for us since it had startup founders, marketers, and product operators. Our key objectives were as follows:

• Creating brand awareness
• Attracting early adopters
• Getting feedback from a diverse and engaged crowd
• Increasing self-serve weekly signups from our ICP

Consequently, we had realized that PH was more than just a contest for upvotes; it was an opportunity for our product to get validated across a broader, unbiased market.

TL;DR — Question Yourself:

• What is your ideal customer profile (ICP)?
• Are they active on Product Hunt?
• What company size/stage fits best for your product?
• Is your product self-serve and simple to use?

‍

When to Launch and Set Goals?

Let's face it: Every founder feels 100% ready to launch. But, as Elaine Zelby, CRO of Tofu, and Rajiv Ayyangar, CEO of Product Hunt, said in their Pre-Launch Panel, it is better to launch with something functional and ask for early feedback.

Our MVP for Hexus consisted of:

• Screen recording, fully functional
• Editing
• AI-based conversion to multiple design templates

We felt that even with these features, Hexus was differentiated enough from other competitors in the interactive demos and video creation space.

Before launching, we established:

• What is our ICP’s biggest pain point?
• How is that being solved by others on the market?
• Can we solve it faster, more elegantly, or perhaps with a little magical twist?

With this knowledge, we designed the roadmap and started prioritizing the features needed to launch. We went for a version that delivered clear value but was not really polished.

We launched on a Thursday, which previously had been a day with more user engagement on Product Hunt. Our main goals were:

• Generate a lot of traffic and signups
• Gather feedback
• Build awareness

If ranking is your goal, then the weekend should be your launch time because there will be less competition. If you want maximum visibility, launch mid-week.

TL;DR: when making your marketing plan, go beyond the ‘hygiene’ and engage with the community:

• Join Product Hunt and founder groups and support their launches
• Study what a ‘good launch’ looks like
• Network, network, network
• Find mutually beneficial co-marketing opportunities
• Think about driving value to the community through your product that will help you stand apart day of
• Make a stand-out interactive demo and landing page (Hexus can help)
• Offer a discount to Product Hunt members

‍

Building Up to the Launch

One of the smartest things we did was to be part of the Product Hunt and founder communities well ahead of the launch date. We did not just create a sudden buzz for one day; we had been there for almost month.

Here's what we did:

• Joined Product Hunt-related LinkedIn and Slack groups
• Helped other founders by commenting on and upvoting their launches
• Engaged in community discussions and threads on product feedback
• Observed what successful launches did well (assets, storytelling, comments, engagement)

We also organized a pre-launch panel in San Francisco that featured:

• Rajiv Ayyangar, CEO of Product Hunt
• Industry leaders from high-growth startups

The panel was moderated by our CEO Sakshi Pratap and discussed GTM strategies for early-stage startups. This really helped us with the credibility and visibility ahead of launch. (We recorded it—here's the full session.)

After that, there was the Product Hunt-themed fitness challenge on X (formerly Twitter), inspired by Rajiv himself. We roped in Yana from Kraftful, making it all so merry and public to the grins of fellow Product Hunters. This fun and rustic launch kept our memories vivid and allowed many fresh faces to follow us, appreciating the humor and genuineness.

We even added a nice personal touch to our Product Hunt experience by slipping in the PH kitty into our product demo: a little thing that was very much appreciated and even shared beyond Product Hunt (we ended up on Reddit!).

TL;DR — Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy:

• Engage early in the PH community
• Join relevant groups and interact genuinely
• Co-market with other startups
• Design killer assets

‍

Launch Day!

“Yes! All this prep and we are FINALLY here.” - all Product Hunt launchers, us included.

This doesn’t stop you from being a ball of nerves but we know your team has your back.

We have entered launch day with a clear game plan:

• Our first comment as a maker goes live together with the launch
• We had ready answers to frequent questions
• Every team member was tasked with posting on LinkedIn, engaging in relevant Slack groups, retweeting, and sending DMs to their network.
• All members monitored the PH page in real time, keeping track of every single comment and responding accordingly.

Towards the end of the day, when activity was dying down and we were neck-and-neck with our competitors at Kraftful, another startup, Helicone, swooped in at the last moment. 

At Hexus, we are nothing if not adaptable. Our team built and shipped out a brand new feature that roasted product hunt launche,s and we announced a friendly competition with Helicone alongside Kraftful on X.

TL;DR — Launch Day Survival Kit:

• Made a precisely detailed plan, with specific task allocation for every team member
• Listed down every announcement channel—LinkedIn, X, Indie Hackers, Slack, and so on
• Scheduled the maker comment
• Monitored PH, responded actively
• Stay flexible; that launch day is a marathon, never a sprint

‍

The Feedback Flood

One thing guaranteed by Product Hunt is feedback brutal combination of praise and criticism; many are downright eye-opening.

We went on to be Product of the Day #3 and saw:

• 150+ signups-with zero sales calls made
• Dozens of comments, DMs, and emails
• Suggestions for new feature implementations
• Praise for our UX and onboarding

We truly perceived this as a goldmine of feedback. We analyzed patterns, tagged responses by feature and sentiment, and prioritized them according to our roadmap.

 Further capitalizing on its post-launch momentum, we extended the partnership with Product Hunt so others launching can add the Hexus demo to their PH pages.

Successful launches are defined by not just having that one-time buzz but putting the buzz into lasting value.

TL;DR-Post-Launch Priorities:

• Review all the feedback, identifying actionable themes
• Take the identified feedback and continue honing the roadmap
• Reach out to the signups and figure out their use cases
• Turn the buzz into partnerships, content, or PR

‍

Future-Launch Powered

Being our first Product Hunt launch was more than just a milestone; it turned into one of the axes around which our story has spun. Some of the most important lessons we learned are:

• Building pre-launch community trust
• Acquiring customer delight and experiences
• Taking advantage of momentum for long-term growth

And we are now assisting others in their taking of that same path.

Using Hexus, you can:

• Create gorgeous demos in minutes
• Attain interactive walkthroughs on your PH page
• Lead new users without choking on them
• Stand out with fast-loading and personalized assets

The icing? It’s free to use for any Product Hunt launcher.

If you are about to launch, we are here for you! And whether that means an ad hoc demo or a proactive pre-launch strategy, Hexus will help bring you to shine on launch day and all further.

‍

Hexus is now powering Product Hunt launches

Launching on Product Hunt is more than just the front page. It’s putting your product out there, learning with the market, and building an early tribe.

At Hexus, we are proud of our journey so far—and thirsty to help other startups paint their picture.

If you’re all fired up and ready to launch NOW, Hexus is here as your product demo partner.

‍

You can create Hexus demos and add them to your launch page and website. For free!

‍

View a live example.

‍

All the best with your launch!

‍