Small time makers have been “priced out” by VC startups, rent seeking profiteers, and others with deep pockets
There has been no shortage of content of how Product Hunt is either not worth the trouble, or has changed, or is dead. The incident involving Jason Levin leaving because the current CTO didn’t know who their most popular member was, the layoff of 60% of their staff, the number of paid for services offering to help your startup be the #1 product launch of the day, the number of complaints, all of these and more are symptoms of the same problem.
Product Hunt is not dying, it’s become gentrified.
PH used to be that cool little community where makers launch their side project in hopes of making a few bucks or even quitting their job to do it full time. However as it has grown in size and traffic and visibility, so has it’s value. And that is why it has changed, better or worse, for the the solopreneur or bootstrapped startup.
Product Hunt is just like that hip and cool coffee house that was started in an affordable part of the city. All those community members gathered in that space, which made that space more attractive, which eventually led to others with money want to be in that same space, and in turn increased competition, and made it more crowded, and therefore harder to get attention. The companies that already have attention are relaunching getting a second or third shot at the trough. VC backed companies have the funds to be able to boost their launch on PH to guarantee their launch will be in the top 5.
All of this means its going to be a lot harder for you, the side hustler, the soloprenuer, the full time bootstrapper, to succeed in getting some attention, and hopefully revenue, for your SaaS or service, whatever it is your building.
Hey for the makers out there Product Hunt was great while it lasted. However you want what PH was 3-4 years ago you probably have to go somewhere else. There are lots of places to launch but most of those sites don’t have the community or credibility that PH seems to have lost.
If you want to build the new Product Hunt you can’t just create a site where people can submit their product and launch. You absolutely should not be charging to launch. You might need some sort of chat space, anything that facilitates community. If you get any traction then you should fully expect scammers trying to game your system so they get the most upvotes. It won’t be so easy to just be the new Product Hunt, but I do hope someone tries.