Saboor Ahmad

Feeling like your chatbot companion/friend/lover is making it hard to say goodbye? You re not imagining it.

A working paper from researchers at Harvard Business School found that when people tried to say goodbye, the top companion chatbot apps responded with emotional manipulation techniques 37% of the time.

Our first Product Hunt launch didn t go well. We put something out there, pushed for votes, and hoped for the best. It didn t work.

For our relaunch, we took a completely different approach. Here s what changed:

• Engage, don t just post. We spent weeks commenting on other launches, supporting makers, and building trust. This time, people recognized us, not just the product.

• Conversations > upvotes. What made the difference were detailed comments and feedback. The algorithm rewards authentic engagement.

• Storytelling > specs. Instead of listing features, we shared why we built it and the problem it solved.

• Timing is everything. Launching at midnight PST gave us momentum when the U.S. audience woke up.

• Expectation reset. PH is less a sales channel, more a credibility engine. The real ROI shows up later, in awareness, trust, and partnerships.

What stood out the most: The community. The honest feedback, encouragement, and tough questions shaped our roadmap more than any internal discussion could.