Why the best AI products feel less like tools and more like teammates
I've been thinking a lot about what separates AI products that people actually stick with from those they try once and forget. The pattern I keep noticing is that the ones that win aren't necessarily the most powerful — they're the ones that feel like they understand your context. Think about it: most AI tools today are essentially fancy command lines. You give them an instruction, they spit...
What actually gets a product to the top of Product Hunt?
The market has never been this crowded. AI has made it possible to go from idea to shipped product in days which means Product Hunt is now flooded with launches every single week. More products, more noise, more competition for the same front page. So I've been thinking about this a lot: what actually separates the products that make it to the top from the ones that quietly disappear by noon?...
Nobody talks about the products that survived because they shipped slow.
The builder internet has one dominant religion: ship fast, learn fast, iterate. And honestly? It's mostly right. I'm not here to argue against iteration. But I've been noticing a pattern in products that actually lasted and it's uncomfortable: A lot of them were embarrassingly slow at the start. Not because the founders were lazy but because they were obsessive about the wrong thing to ship...
From one prompt to a full AI-generated video in under 2 minutes
I tried to type one prompt into Claude. 40 seconds later: a fully rendered, narrative-driven video complete with scenes, transitions, glitch effects, and a synthesized soundtrack. The prompt: "Can you use whatever resources you like, and python, to generate a short 'youtube poop' video and render it using ffmpeg ? can you put more of a personal spin on it? it should express what it's like to be...
I stopped asking AI to do tasks. I started asking it to think with me. Here's what changed.
Most people are using AI wrong and I was one of them. For the first year, I used AI like a fancy Google. "Write me a product description." "Summarize this." "Give me 10 ideas for X." Useful? Sure. Transformative? Not really. Then I tried something different, and it rewired how I work entirely. The shift: From "do this" → "think through this with me" Instead of: "Write a go-to-market strategy...
Content created by you or decided by AI, which one is higher quality?
While building a product, I’ve also been trying to run content on social media to bring in more traffic. I experimented with creating AI-generated characters and producing UGC-style videos around them. During this process, I realized something interesting: there are hundreds of tools that can generate virtual characters and UGC-style videos. But what actually makes a video engaging isn’t the...
What have you been able to build with AI as a non-technical person?
Before AI, I always thought I would NEVER learn how to code. I genuinely admired technical people, watching them code felt like watching magic. I remember wishing that maybe one day, I could do something like that too. I’ve never had any formal education in programming, and I had zero experience building apps. But with AI, I was able to start from just an idea and slowly figure things out on my...
Telling your own story is just as important as telling the story of your product.
When I first started, I believed that as long as I built a great product, it would naturally become popular. But as I zoomed out, I realized the market is incredibly competitive. Having a good product alone isn’t enough to truly convince users. That’s when I began building my presence on social media creating content about myself, sharing my journey, and talking about the product I’m building....
What matters most when choosing a long-term teammate beyond skills and experience?
When I interviewed for my current company, I had a conversation with the Founder and PM that lasted more than an hour. Interestingly, only about 30% of the discussion focused on my experience which made sense, since my background wasn’t directly related to the role I applied for. The remaining 70% of the conversation was about how I approach real-world problems, my mindset toward the work I...
How long does it usually take to upgrade your product before releasing it on Product Hunt?
After our first launch on Product Hunt, our team spent a little over a month upgrading the product. There were major changes to the UI and several new features added, so the process took time from discussions and redesigning the interface to testing, fixing bugs, and updating AI prompts. We’re also a very small team, so everyone had to push themselves to give 200%. Time and resources are...
What do we need to prepare before launching on Product Hunt?
Our team is planning to launch a new version of our product on Product Hunt next week, after a period of optimization and improvements. As we get closer to launch day, I realize there’s a lot to prepare, and I’m curious about how other teams usually approach this process. So far, here’s what we’ve been focusing on: Most importantly, making sure the product works well and delivers real value...
What kind of music do technical folks usually listen to?
I’m curious. Do you usually work with music on? Do you have go-to songs or playlists that help boost your energy and creativity while working? Personally, I like starting my mornings with chill instrumental piano music to ease into the day. Later on, I switch to R&B, pop, or something more upbeat to keep the momentum going. Recently, I’ve been vibing with: Love - Keyshia Cole So Easy (To Fall...
The layoff wave and how we can move past the fear
Many people have told me that being part of Gen Z comes with advantages we have time, energy, and plenty of opportunities to shape our careers in the AI era. And I do feel lucky to have grown up with technology, to have had early exposure and opportunities to learn and explore it. But the AI era feels different. The shift is not only new, it’s happening at lightning speed. Before I’ve even...
Beyond Coding: Solving the problems we haven’t seen yet
Learning to code or learning how to use AI is important, but what matters even more is learning how to solve problems we haven’t even discovered yet. Recently, I read an article featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, where he said: “Nothing would give me more joy than if none of our engineers were coding at all, and they were just purely solving undiscovered problems.” That idea really stayed with...
What’s on your daily checklist (outside of work)?
We’re usually very good at creating to-do lists for work. But what about everything outside of work? I’ve started turning my personal habits into a checklist to build discipline and make these habits non-negotiable over time. Here’s mine: 15 minutes of meditation Read at least 10 pages of a book Read one English article (any topic) Take notes on new vocabulary from that article Go for a run or...
What helps you become a CEO? Start by asking questions.
In the past, my thoughts were often stuck in small, daily things like: “Is there any drama on Facebook today?” “Did anyone like my story?” “Did my crush drop any hints?” “Is anyone asking me out today?” “Does my best friend have new stories to tell me?” Looking back, I can’t help but laugh at myself. None of these thoughts really helped me grow, yet they always gave me that emotional,...
We can do so much more in the Product Hunt community
I joined Product Hunt about 2 months ago, and ever since receiving my first compliments and comments on our recent product launch, I’ve truly felt how nice and supportive people here are. Everyone seems open to discussion, willing to help, and genuinely curious about what others are building. At first, I thought it would be really hard for a newcomer like me to join such a big community. But it...
