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How could we encourage more women to start businesses and see more of them on Product Hunt?

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I really like seeing how many enthusiastic male founders are here, but sometimes I find myself looking for more female founders and their stories.

I’ve personally faced some of the stereotypes around this – that women are usually more cautious, don’t take as many risks (including business risks), and that the “ideal path” is to have a stable job and follow a more traditional way.

But I genuinely enjoy building things, learning, experimenting, and feeling that adrenaline when you’re running a business and figuring things out as you go.

I would love to see more women like that represented in this space.

What do you think we could do to encourage more women to enter entrepreneurship, build products, and share their journeys?

I think it could help to create a Women's Product Hunt week.
Where women founders would contribute AMAs, webinars, interviews with a women founder in a newsletter, etc. 

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- The thing I haven't seen named yet: launching on PH is a skill with an unwritten playbook. Line up a hunter, warm your list beforehand, be present in the first hour, know which comments actually move things. That knowledge travels through networks — and networks are exactly where the imbalance lives. A themed week doesn't transfer it. A written-down playbook plus someone who's already launched walking you through your first one does.


Two things I'd try:

Publish the number. What share of launches in the last 12 months had a woman founder? Right now this whole thread is people guessing. The number would also settle the disagreement between you and , whether this is a pipeline problem or a visibility problem, because the fix is completely different depending on the answer.

Pair, don't platform. Match a first-time woman founder with someone who's launched twice, tied to a specific launch date. Mentorship with a deadline attached beats mentorship in the abstract, and it scales without PH having to run programming.

And to not just be theorising - if you're a woman founder planning a launch this quarter, reply here and I'll show up on launch day.

     
Hi Sharun, I agree about the unwritten playbook - it took me a while to work out what gets through here and what does not, and none of that is written down anywhere. But there is one caveat - working out how Product Hunt operates is hard for anyone new here, women or not.

I am a co-founder and I am planning a launch at the end of September, possibly October. I would like to take you up on your offer. I will send you the date once it is fixed. Thank you :)

      Fair correction and I'll take it. The playbook is opaque to anyone new - it's less that the barrier is gendered and more that it's a network effect, and networks are where things compound. Someone with three founder friends who've launched gets it in a phone call. Everyone else works it out the hard way, like you did. That's a wider group than I framed it as.

Deal on September/October. Send the date once it's fixed and I'll be there in the first hour, not a drive-by upvote.

Useful timing, too: we're live with Ctruh Studio right now, so all of this is unpleasantly fresh rather than remembered. I'll write up what actually worked versus what we burned effort on and send it over well before your date - including the parts that flopped, which are usually the more useful half. If I'm going to complain that nobody writes the playbook down, I should probably write it down.

Ours is here if you're curious: — AI no-code tool for building 3D and XR product experiences in the browser, in minutes. Probably a different world from what you're building, but the launch mechanics transfer.

     

Thank you, that is more than I asked for. A written playbook that includes what did not work would be useful to a lot of people, and I have not seen one anywhere.

We are building something that helps people get clear on their own core values and see whether their work and life actually line up with them. You are right that it is a different world from 3D product experiences, but the launch mechanics are the part I am missing.

You have my support today :)

 Thank you, appreciated.

And your product fits this thread better than mine does, honestly. A lot of what opened with - the "ideal path" pressure, the stable-job default, the sense that wanting to build things is the odd choice - is a values-misalignment problem that people can't name while they're inside it. Naming it is most of the work.

One thing now as a down payment, since it's what most first-timers get wrong: the launch isn't the work, the two weeks before it are. Specifically, a list of actual humans you'll message individually on the day. Not a broadcast post, individual messages. Everything else is optimisation on top of that one thing.

The rest, warts included, before your date.

    Product Hunt is a pretty deep platform. And I honestly do not think one playbook would ever be enough. I actually started writing a book about the entire launch process some time ago, but over the last few months I have kept discovering new layers, patterns, and edge cases around the platform.

People who are active there every day (makers, hunters, and regular community members) will naturally understand it far better than someone who opens Product Hunt twice a year to upvote a friend. Feel free to ping me a message on X/Linkedin and we can chat more about the launch.

One practical recommendation: if this is your first launch, I would plan for at least 3–6 weeks of preparation.

Building relationships, identifying the right people, becoming visible in the community, preparing the assets, and creating a real outreach network. It is very difficult to do properly from one day to the next.

On the men versus women point: I think there may be another distinction behind what Nika is observing. There are many women on Product Hunt and many women who are part of product teams, but very few women who independently launch new products week after week. There are male makers who launch constantly (sometimes 20–30 products in a single year). I cannot think of many women operating at that frequency. It would be great to see someone emerge and completely prove that observation wrong, though.

      I agree with Alex. I could see predominantly male makers/people launching here (of course, there were some exceptions when women launched or were a part of the team). But I am an optimist and hope that this platform will be discovered by ambitious women soon :)

     Sharun, this whole comment is sharp, “pair, don’t platform” and “mentorship with a deadline” are the kind of ideas that actually move the needle instead of just sounding good. And I’m going to take you up on the last line. I’m a woman founder launching on Product Hunt August 18th, T2 HQ, a marketing platform for small business owners. It’s my first launch and I’d genuinely love to have you show up. No expectations beyond that; your comment already showed me you get it. Thank you for making the offer real instead of theoretical, that’s rare.

I don’t fully agree with the premise, Nika. There are tons of women entrepreneurs, they’re often just building in different industries. The software world itself is still mostly male-dominated, so naturally we see that reflected on Product Hunt too.

But there are already some amazing women founders here. And once you include the build-in-public community on X, there are quite a few really positive examples. Honestly, I’d even say that in many cases women make better founders than men.

I definitely support initiatives like this, though. Maybe we could start with a dedicated launch day for women founders, and then build toward something bigger over time. Even a few founder interviews, AMAs, or newsletter features would already be a great start.

 On X, they are more visible, that's for sure, e.g. you collaborated with her :) Tho I am missing them a little bit here on this platform :)

    Absolutely. Elitza is a fantastic example. I really admire her grit and the range of skills she has. And I’m sure she’ll achieve a lot in the years ahead.

And agree: Maybe women founders are slightly less visible on Product Hunt, but initiatives like the ones you mentioned could help change that. Sharing more of their stories and journeys could give others examples to relate to and inspire more women to start building.

   Hopefully, it will change in upcoming months/years :)

Hi Nika, thank you for this Anastasiia's point about geography is the one I feel most. I'm a woman building in tech from Iran. Alongside the "ideal path" pressure, we deal with things that have nothing to do with courage: most international payment rails are closed to us, common founder tools are blocked, and the internet goes dark for days. So the honest answer to "why don't we see more women launching" at least for my part of the world is that many of us are building. Being seen is just the hardest part. That's why a lasting resource matters more than one week: a searchable directory, stories still there months later. Adana said it best we believe it's possible once we see someone like us do it, and that someone hasn't shown up here yet for a lot of women where I am. For transparency, I work in growth at Everview but I'm replying as myself. If a Women's PH week happens, I'd love to help it reach founders in the places Product Hunt doesn't usually travel to 👀

 Hi Melika. The same is true in Ukraine. Power and internet go out for hours or days, and people plan work around a schedule they do not control.

That reaches the launch itself. A launch here runs on a single 24 hour cycle and you are expected to be present for the first hours of it. It assumes electricity at a particular hour on a particular day, which not everyone can promise. A directory does not have that problem, which is another argument for it.

Ukraine and Iran are far apart on a map, but you just described our exact days — power you don't control, a schedule someone else sets. Ours is sanctions, yours is a war none of you chose, and war leaves nothing but ruin. I hope it ends soon, and that your next launch runs on a day you actually get to choose. Your point about the 24-hour cycle assuming electricity at a fixed hour is the strongest argument in this thread for building something that doesn't 💙

 Hey Melika, my colleague's wife is from Iran, and she described the situation (also about closing the border and a very high-priced phone package to call someone, especially outside the country). Her mother spent a fortune for a 1-minute call to announce to her daughter that she was safe.

I agree that in some parts of the world it is not a question of "being courageous", but having the resources needed to be seen. Do you have in mind any ways how we could be helpful for the eastern side of the world?

 That story about the one-minute call landed hard! that's the texture of it exactly. The thing worth understanding is that almost nothing here is stable by design: the networks we work on, the tools we pay for, the ways we move money — any of them can be switched off overnight by a decision that isn't ours, sometimes literally mid-task. So "being seen" isn't only about visibility; it's about whether the door is even open that day :)

On how you could help the eastern side of the world, three things that would actually move the needle:
– Make participation async. Anything that assumes "be online and loud for these 24 hours" quietly excludes people on unreliable power and internet. A directory, or a launch window measured in days not hours, fixes that.
– Don't make payment the wall. The moment something needs an international card or a service that's geo-blocked, a lot of us are simply out. Free or no-card-required entry points matter more than they look.
– Amplify from the inside. People here can build, but reach is the missing piece. Someone with a foot inside the platform resharing one founder's story does more than any amount of us shouting from behind the wall.

Happy to help pressure-test any of this against what's actually workable from here, you clearly care about getting it right, and that's already rare 🌍

 Hopefully, we can globally encourage more women to run businesses and be visible in general.

Hi Nika, thank you for raising this. I am a woman co-founder and I have not seen the subject come up here often.


One thing I would add is time. Most of the women I know who have children have very little of it that is their own, and a business is the first thing that does not fit. Live formats like AMAs and webinars are hard to attend on that schedule. Something that is there whenever someone has a free hour works better. The most useful thing for me here has been the few people who answered questions directly when I asked, so a searchable list of founders open to that would do more than a themed week, and it would still be there after the week ends.

The other thing is geography. The audience here is concentrated in a few countries, and large parts of Europe are barely present. I am in Europe, and Product Hunt is not something that comes up in the circles I am in. Growing outside the places it already reaches would bring in more founders, women included.

 Same for me, European-based (and also without any entrepreneurial background. I think that something inspiring could awaken the business spirit in more women.


BTW, I know that WebSummit has some female-dedicated discounts for the conference. Normally, the ticket price is around 1,5k €. With a friend, we paid 149€ (so 75 € each) when they had that special discount. And I have to say, it was a very encouraging, inspiring and most valuable experience to meet all the founders and also women in Portugal. :)

 Thank you, I will look into that :)

One in return: the Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit in Warsaw, 16 and 17 June next year. Tickets are open now, about €235 in person and €70 online, and students can apply for free ones. The in-person price has been lower in the last month, so it is worth waiting for a discount window.

 Cool, I am considering that, have never been in Poland :) Thank you!

A Women's ProductHunt week (or at least day) sounds like an amazing idea. Unfortunately, this is also just reflective of gender stereotypes and the fact that STEM is still very male-dominated.

 I am aware of that a dedicated occassion could polarise even more people tho still missing some chance to encourage female to contribute to the space.

 that's always a risk when you create a dedicated space/event (whether it's to encourage women, PoC or any other historically marginalized group) but imo the benefits can be bigger than the backlash considering how big the gender imbalance in tech is. the polarisation is def real though and a real downside

 It is a challenge I should work on :D

Love this thread. I'm a solo female founder and just launched my product on Product Hunt today. It's been a wild ride building it alone but super rewarding. The stereotype that women play it safe couldn't be further from my experience. I've gone all in on this.

I think the biggest thing that would help is just seeing more of us do it openly. Not waiting until we have a perfect success story to share, but being visible during the messy building phase too. Representation isn't just about the wins, it's about normalizing the grind.

Would love to connect with more women builders in this space! And would appreciate any upvotes or support on my !

 Congratulations, hopefully, I will see you more often here. :) Gonna support your launch :)

 Thank you so much! I really appreciate the support! :) Followed and will be on the lookout for future threads!

 Looking forward to that! :)

The problem is real and, in many countries, it comes from stereotypes that have been built over decades.

At the same time, in some places women founders are already breaking barriers and moving ahead, while in others there is still a long way to go.

I think one of the most powerful ways to encourage more women is by showing real examples. We often start believing that something is possible when we see someone similar to us achieving it. More visibility of women founders, their journeys, challenges, and successes can inspire others to think: “If she can do it, maybe I can too.”

A Women’s Product Hunt Week sounds like a brilliant idea. AMAs, webinars, and founder stories could create exactly this kind of inspiration and connection.

 That is something I would like to see there more. Just because I could see successful people, I was more inspired to do something on my own as well :)

 Where do you think would be a better place to connect with and inspire more women? Linkedin? or other socials? I’d love to hear from you.

From my experience, many women prefer building in collaboration and often look for strong support before taking bigger risks. That’s why I think the best way to encourage more women to start businesses is to create environments where they don’t have to build alone.

Things like women‑focused launch weeks, mentorship circles, or shared building groups could give them the confidence and structure they need.

I really enjoy seeing women succeed because their projects often come with a unique mix of creativity and resilience. With more visible examples and supportive spaces, I think many more women would feel comfortable entering entrepreneurship.

 Should they be paired with other women or male founders? :)

 It depends on the person. From my experience, mixed pairs male and female founders together are often the strongest combination. Different perspectives balance each other and make it easier to push through difficult phases.

 I always worked best solo tho :D

Great initiative, Nika! Representation really matters.

Beyond a dedicated 'Women's Product Hunt Week,' we could also:
1. Feature a weekly spotlight on female-founded products in the PH newsletter.
2. Create dedicated AMA sessions or mentorship spaces specifically for early-stage women founders.
3. Partner with women-in-tech communities (like Women Who Code, Female Founders Fund, etc.) to help them navigate launching on Product Hunt.

Looking forward to seeing more inspiring women founders here!

 I think I need more women to make this happen! :D

, that "ideal path" pressure you mentioned that's the real blocker. Not confidence. Not risk tolerance. I've seen women take massive leaps in life, only to have the same move called reckless if it's a business. And that kind of framing does quiet damage long before anyone even thinks about building in public.

The Women's PH Week concept is solid. But I'd nudge it further: pair it with something that sticks around after the week ends. A single event? Easy to attend. Easy to forget. But if those AMAs and interviews fed into an ongoing resource a searchable directory of women founders who've launched here, or a newsletter people can stumble on months later it becomes something with lasting value, not just a week's buzz.

One more thing worth asking, Nika: are there women already building here who feel overlooked because PH's culture leans toward a certain loud, hustle-heavy voice? Some of the strongest founders I know don't perform confidence like that. And if the format stays centered on AMAs and webinars, it might still tip the scales toward the same personality type. Maybe the key is designing the whole setup so quieter, more low-key builders get the same spotlight not just a different set of guests.

 To be honest, I am not aware of "loud women" here, but it should be in the interest of the platform as well to help them discover, once such an initiative is performed. And I am pretty sure there still would be someone who could represent them each week :)

 fair pushback, I didn't mean women specifically lean quieter, more that PH's format (AMAs, webinars) tends to reward one type of presence regardless of who's behind it, and a themed week built on the same format risks amplifying the same voices with a different label on the door.

Agree completely that the platform benefits either way and if someone's already stepping up to represent that range each week, that's honestly the harder and more valuable part to get right, format aside.

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