ok so weird backstory - ive been building products for startups for like 8 years now and i got obsessed with this question: why do products that KILL IT on product hunt just... die?

like were talking #1 product of the day, 1000+ upvotes, features in newsletters, the whole thing. and then 6 months later? dead or making $300/month

After hours of reading best practices, crafting the perfect assets and assembling what felt like a bulletproof plan, we were ready to launch on Product Hunt. We worked so hard and genuinely believed we d wake up to thousands of sign ups and the Product of the Day badge.

The reality was very different. We saw a tiny boost in sign ups, got stuck at around 200 upvotes, and to top it off, finished below a food blender.

After launch day, something interesting happens. You start seeing clearly all the things you should have done before it.

The most common regrets I hear:

I noticed this question in one of my discussions and thought it would make sense to share my approach if I were to get in touch with more active users of this platform.

Here s how I would find them and connect with them (via X, LinkedIn or other channel) You can find them :

1. Check people who log in daily (Streaks).

2. Look at users who actively comment under discussions and launches.

3. Connect with active hunters.

4. You can try reaching out to the internal Product Hunt team.

5. Explore WA, Telegram, and Signal PH groups where people are active and reach out to them.

6. Check users who launch a few days before you they re likely to put effort into the platform too, so they still have that "launching vibe".

Hey all - Troy McAlpin, CEO and co-founder of atono here.

In our last $70M ARR SaaS venture, we learned the hard way: the customer is not always right.