Miko Kącki

Miko Kącki

Instruct
Product-curious engineer

About

Engineering at Instruct, previously worked on marla.blue and UserTesting.

Badges

Top 5 Launch
Top 5 Launch
Tastemaker
Tastemaker
Tastemaker 10
Tastemaker 10
Tastemaker 5
Tastemaker 5
View all badges

Maker History

  • InstructThe most capable way to automate your work.
    Oct 2025
  • 🎉
    Joined Product HuntMay 15th, 2024

Forums

How I spent ten years on 18 projects to understand the fundamental rule of startups

My journey in startups began 10 years ago, and I've launched 18 startups, most of which failed. Briefly on why they failed:
1. Contract Online my first startup in 2015, which was supposed to be an online service for remote signing of contracts for any transactions between individuals. A kind of analogue of a secure transaction. For this startup, I even managed to attract a business angel who invested $16,500.

Reason for failure: I had two lawyers on my team who discovered in the process that the legal framework at the time could not provide reliable grounds for protecting our users in remote transactions. The contracts would not have been considered legally signed.
2. Natural Products In 2015-2018, I became very passionate about healthy eating, but in the process, I discovered that products in all chain stores are full of chemicals, and stores with truly natural products are inaccessible to the majority. Hence, the idea emerged to create my own online platform where you could order natural products directly from farmers at affordable prices.

Reason for failure: For several years, I tried to launch this project, even trained as a baker of natural bread and tried to create my own farm, but in the process, I found that few people are willing to pay for truly natural products, even if these products were only 20-30% more expensive than market prices, and not 2-3 times more, as in premium stores. Hence, the market was so small that all my attempts were doomed.

When you launch a product on other platforms, do you use the same launch plan as you do on PH?

Several of you launch your products on multiple platforms that are alternatives to Product Hunt.

  • Do you proceed with preparation and promotion in the same way as when launching on PH, or do you have a slightly "chill" approach and take it less seriously?

  • What is the gap between launching on PH and launching on an alternative platform (+ where do you launch earlier?)

View more