Product Hunt entered the internet space in 2013 and is a website that allows users to share and discover new products, virtually every day. Founded by Ryan Hoover, and backed by Y Combinator, it allows users to submit products, and then issue polls much like Reddit. So, how did this innovative idea come to be, and what is the future of Product Hunt?
About the Founder
Ryan Hoover comes from an entrepreneurial household, wherein his parents ran their businesses. This gave him an early start in life as they encouraged him to start new projects and generate new ideas. He held several jobs before founding Product Hunt. This even includes running a gumball machine in his parent’s video game store when he was eleven. It was through such experiences that he learned to manage expenses and save money. He has also worked for a website that makes banner ads, done freelance yard work, and worked at a home improvement store.
After graduating from the University of Oregon, Hoover an internship at a startup which became a full-time job as a product manager in Portland. In 2010, he moved to San Francisco and joined the start-up PlayHaven as their tenth employee. Afterwards, he helped Nir Eyal write his book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Soon after, he founded Product Hunt, and the rest is history.
How it Works
Every day, the product which has the most votes becomes the daily winner and ends the day on the top of the list. Products usually fall under four main categories- hardware and software products, games, books and podcasts. All members of the community can submit products, and all it takes is a title, URL, and tagline. The website also sends out a daily newsletter highlighting the best product of the previous day.
Starting Strong
The website began as a simple mailing list utilising Linkydink. The idea took off, and a week later, the email list had over 100 participants. Two weeks, they had more than 170 subscribers and 30 contributors. A year later, they had Y Combinator backing them, thanks to the uniqueness of their idea. Nathan Bashaw and Ryan Hoover built the website over their Thanksgiving break in 2013. Meanwhile, Hoover was working on a community strategy to build Product Hunt’s online presence.
A year after launching, they went in for a funding round. Andreessen Horowitz helped them raise over $6.1 million. A year later, they won a Crunchie award for being the best new start-up on the block. The same year, the website started their podcast. However, they ended it soon as it was distracting users from the website’s main objective of introducing products.
A Resounding Success
By 2016, Product Hunt was so popular, that it had helped in discovering over 100 million products made by more than 50,000 companies. The same year, AngelList acquired the company for more than $20 million. A couple of months later, they redesigned their homepage and even launched an app for iOS users. In 2017, they launched Ship, which was a set of tools for creating demand for products. A year later, they launched a news aggregator called Sip. Recently, they launched a Launch Day initiative to help makers monitor their product on the website with ease.
Product Hunt has been so successful that the team even published a book, titled How to Build a Career in Tech. Ryan is behind one of the most unique and popular websites in the world, and the future looks bright for him, and his wacky idea. While the initial inspiration was to explore new technology, Product Hunt now helps entrepreneurs around the world launch their products with ease. With over 1 million registered users and more than 20,000 products launched on, it is safe to say that Product Hunt is here to stay!
Being a cinephile with a love for all things outdoorsy, Athulya never misses a chance to chase inspiring stories or poke fun at things, even when the subject is herself. Currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, she is someone innately interested in technical and scientific research. Music reviews and op-eds define her as they allow her to explore different perspectives. Though sometimes she thinks she makes more sense playing the guitar than she does while writing.