What was your 1st product?
Sometimes I have a problem to have a look at my past milestones or things I have achieved so far.
When I think about it, even creating my first product was a success for me. I’ve always been a bit shy and afraid to show what I was working on, or I just didn’t know how to present it properly, so it took me a really long time.
My first product was an online workout program with a payment gateway, and the monthly price was ridiculously low. But I managed to monetise it and had my first customers. I was probably around 20 at the time. 😀
What was your first product?
What would you do differently to maintain it and make it successful?
What lesson did you learn from it?
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@rsanchez Is it like Udemy + Facebook? Something like learning from friends?
@busmark_w_nika It has been launched in the app stores for the US before the official launch. Feel free to try it out and send feedback.
The first product I ever built was called OpenHive and I’m saying the name because I never actually released it. It just sat there gathering dust. It was an AI workspace based on advanced prompt engineering. I worked on it for months and it became the starting point for the product I’m building now.
Today I’m working on a boilerplate that’s effectively a near-ready SaaS. The user only needs to focus on their idea, and they already get payments, an admin dashboard, security measures, AWS, SSL certificates, caching, authentication, AI READMEs to help AI agents in vibecoding, and tons of other features.
My biggest challenge right now is marketing and building a network. It might seem simple to many, and I know how important it is, but “build in public” is easier said than done. I have 54 people on the waitlist and I’m trying to figure out how to launch effectively here on Product Hunt, but it’s really hard and I’m not sure how to improve at this point. I feel a bit stuck haha
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@matteo_lombari How does your boilerplate differ from others on the market?
@busmark_w_nika thanks for asking! Unlike most React boilerplates, my setup is full TypeScript with EJS + SCSS views. Security comes first with CSP, CSRF double submit, JWT, OAuth, rate limiting and more. It is AI-friendly via AI-READMEs that act as instructions for agents while they navigate the codebase. And it is already wired end to end, not a folder dump. Run setup and you get a working SaaS, you only add your features!!
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@matteo_lombari Wishing you good luck with the idea! :)
A shut down timer for windows os - made it for a community of p2p downloaders, we wanted to shut down our machines after downloading a reasonable amount of music :P
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@amit_thaker Pirates! :D
@busmark_w_nika hehe, a long time ago though.
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@amit_thaker I do not believe this :D
Tool Finder - Find Productivity Tools
First product was something called Learn Communities, it was a community to help people learn languages through video calls. Not a product perse, but a facilitated community. Hosted on all places but Google+!
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@francescod_ales I think that I joined a similar project for the Russian language, but actually never learnt with them :D
My first product is one I'm actually launching today on Product Hunt, so I'm learning my lessons in real-time!
It's called Map2Lead. I built it to automate the painful process of finding local B2B leads on Google Maps. It's an AI that finds their digital weaknesses so you have a smart reason to reach out.
The biggest lesson so far? Launch sooner! I spent too long trying to make it perfect instead of just getting it out there for feedback.
It's a crazy day! If you're curious to see it, here's our launch page. All feedback is welcome!
https://www.producthunt.com/products/map2lead
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@hiba_essamih We are waiting for your lessons then! :)
My first real product was something I built to solve my own problem. I was constantly overpacking for trips and still forgetting essentials. I wanted a smarter way to plan what to wear and bring, based on the weather and where I was going.
What started as a simple checklist evolved into a complete project that blended weather data, travel planning, and personal style. Looking back, I wish I had shared it sooner with others who could help fine-tune my vision instead of waiting until I felt “ready.”
One of my biggest lessons as a solo creator was learning when to bring others in to help bring the vision to life. I tried to do everything myself in the beginning: building, designing, and marketing. All while figuring out what it means to be a startup founder and creator. If I could do it again, I’d collaborate sooner. It would’ve saved much stress and probably accelerated the journey.
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@stellarcarto47 Can you share the project, Kyle? Or is it something that does not already exist?
@busmark_w_nika Sure! My project’s called ClimaPal. It’s linked in my profile if you’d like to take a peek. I’m just wrapping up the soft launch and preparing for the full release here on Product Hunt sometime next week. Being a solo founder has been exciting (and humbling!). There’s so much that goes into bringing an idea to life. I hope that people find it genuinely useful in their everyday lives. It’s been quite the journey. :)
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@stellarcarto47 I will have a look ;)
@busmark_w_nika Let me know if you have any questions!
Product Hunt Wrapped 2025
My first product was Taskpad, an app for freelancers to manage their finances, clients, and projects in one place.
I built it because I was freelancing at the time and couldn’t find a tool that felt simple enough for daily use.
It never became huge, but it was my first real product and taught me a lot about building something end to end.
The biggest lesson I learned was to talk to users early instead of guessing what they need.
I built a lot based on assumptions, and by the time I launched, I realised how different real user pain points were.
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@alexcloudstar You were working on your need at that time, so naturally, you created a by-product :) but ofc, you had to talk with other people to have a complex image. :)
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@carolinaposma Are those videos submitted somewhere? You could share them with current students.
Our first product on Product Hunt is LIUPAG.
Although we've been doing web development since 2008, this is actually our first public launch! Until now, we’ve mostly built internal tools — our own CRM, project management services, and even a unique SEO automation app (we haven’t seen anything quite like it out there yet). That SEO tool will actually become our second SaaS product next year(😂).
Tomorrow we’re officially launching LIUPAG, an admin panel for any website — so you don’t need to install a full CMS or deal with heavy systems.
We’ve been using LIUPAG for our clients for a while, and now we’re opening it up for everyone. If you have a small website, landing page, or portfolio — you might find it really handy.
It’s been a challenging journey so far — we’re fully self-funded, haven’t started any ad campaigns yet, and are focusing all our time on improving the product day by day. But we’re excited to finally share it with the community 💪
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@liukit I have my fingers crossed for you! :)
Alai
I started a product called "Tooler" when I was 19. Basically it helped blue collar apprentices track their progress digitally. Also helped potential sponsors to easily find vetted apprentices and track their growth.
Key learnings:
Solve your own problem: I did not know anything about blue collar workers and so it was hard to understand the key issues
Talk to the customer first: Provincial government bodies in Canada were the only possible customer. Working with government was slow and had strict compliance requirements that I did not understand at the time.
Long way from there to @Alai
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@krishna_gupta51 How was their progress measured? How did it work?
Alai
@busmark_w_nika they carry a log book. For example, a construction worker apprentice will have tasks on equipment handling, wiring etc. Every time they complete a task under supervision, their mentor physically signs their logbook. (similar to how pilots also carry logbooks). Once enough hours or competencies are verified, they move to the next level of certification.
Tooler basically digitized it as right now it's all paper based. If they lose their logbook then its a hassle to fix their records.
On the other side, a construction company is always looking for candidates who have completed 70-80% of their hours and just need placement. So the platform also helped connect sponsors with potential candidates
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@krishna_gupta51 What motivated you to create that? It is so specific.
Alai
@busmark_w_nika I don't even remember why I chose something so specific and outside my domain lol