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Currently preparing to launch my first MVP — Aubrie — after returning to coding 8 years later. Big foodie 🍜

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Reverse-engineering Kilo's recent Product Hunt launch

Last week, @Kilo Code launched for the fourth time on Product Hunt, introducing a new VS Code extension. The product ranked #1 Product of the Day and #1 Product of the Week.

I had the opportunity to work on this launch. Here's a breakdown of what we did and how to apply it to your launch.

Nika

24d ago

Build your brand before your product, or launch first and reveal yourself later?

  1. I've always been on the personal brand side. More and more founders are building it now (sometimes even before the product is ready while it's still in development, before seed fundraising). The CEO builds their position so the product sells more easily at the official launch.

  2. But I have experience with people who built the product, scaled it, and only then did we discover who was behind it.

Honestly, with the first approach, I'd be concerned that people invest more in me as a person than in the product. People would idealise the founder and overlook the product's flaws (which could hurt development and constructive feedback).

+ I noticed the most common mistake that many people who started building a personal brand first, connected their product to their personal accounts (emails, social media, etc.) and started having a problem selling these things, because they cannot "give someone keys" to their personal profiles.

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