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26 days on Product Hunt after 22 years of building only in Japanese

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I've run a freelance marketplace in Japan since 2004, but all of it in Japanese. I joined Product Hunt in September to figure out how to reach English-speaking users, so today is day 26 for me.

I knew about selling through places like AppSumo, but I'd never really been part of a community like this one. A few weeks in, I can see two kinds of people here. Some just want to promote their stuff. Others actually want to help each other, and I'd like to be in that second group.

and were the first to really talk with me. Yesterday remembered I'd applied to AppSumo and asked me for news in one of 's threads, and it turned into a long back and forth. I don't know many people in the English-speaking world yet, so that kind of thing surprised me in a good way.

For those of you who've been here longer, what made Product Hunt click for you?

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thanks for mentioning! For me, it started with my co-founder . She joined Product Hunt first and came back with really positive feelings, so I decided to join too.

Then we launched our product, and our Hunter, , had a big influence on how we experienced the platform. His attitude showed us that Product Hunt is more than just a place to promote your product, there’s a real sense of kindness and people being willing to help each other.

And just yesterday, I made my first post here myself, and honestly, I really enjoyed the experience. It made me want to interact even more with people in the community and get to know more members.

So for me, Product Hunt has really "clicked" through the people and interactions. 🙂

thank you for sharing this! Wait, was the AppSumo thread your first post? That's the one I mentioned, and it turned into one of the best conversations I've had here. Really glad I got to be part of it ☺️

 Yep, It was my first one and glad you enjoyed it :)

I'm in a similar spot, based in Croatia and building for an English-speaking audience, so I know the feeling.

What's clicked for me isn't the reach or rankings, those have been modest. It's the conversations with people who actually read what you wrote and reply like humans. That's rarer than it first looks, but worth more than any launch-day spike. Sounds like you've already found a couple of them :)

 thank you! I just had a look at , and the Family example on the front page hit close to home lol. I turned down VC money mostly to keep my time with my family, so that one made sense to me right away. What got you started on it?

 Thank you for checking it out :) And your own example is a perfect one, choosing family time over VC money is exactly the kind of values-based decision the guide is about.

It started as my husband's idea, after some coaching sessions at work. The thought was that we're already making most decisions based on our values, we just rarely name them clearly, so he wanted to make that more structured and turn it into concrete steps. He's the technical co-founder, and I handle business development and the administrative side.

   thanks for sharing the story! Starting from real coaching sessions makes a lot of sense. I'd really love to see this reach people in Japan someday. We're known for working too much, and a lot of people here live with heavy stress. When my daughters went to school in Australia, mindfulness and well-being were just a normal part of what they were taught, and that really moved me. Japan could use more of that.

Appreciate the mention! :)

You will love this place; the people are very supportive! :)

 Thank you! I already do ☺️ You and were the ones who made me feel that way from the start.

   that's so encouriging :)

   Thank you, Nika! It really has been ☺️

Thanks for mentioning =) On our launch day, I felt how cool this community was, and I couldn’t let it go.. Everyday conversations became a part of our team’s life. And it doesn’t matter if someone is a long-term or new member - if someone has an input, tries to help, or gives feedback, it’s immediately visible, even in hundreds of comments <3

  that's so true. I've only been here a few weeks, and you were one of the first people who actually noticed what I wrote and replied. That's a big part of why I keep coming back. Thank you, really ☺️