We've been running the FoodHealth Score Chrome extension for a few weeks across Target, Walmart, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods. We thought we knew what people wanted. We were wrong.

What we assumed: Show people a FoodHealth Score, suggest a better product, done.

What actually happened: People didn't just want a swap. They wanted to know why. A number wasn't enough - shoppers want to understand what makes the alternative better before they trust it. More fiber. Less added sugar. A cleaner ingredient list. Once we added those insights alongside the swap suggestion, we saw a lot more swaps clicked on.

It makes complete sense in hindsight. You wouldn't take a stranger's recommendation at face value. Why would you take an algorithm's?

I posted a random thread on X about the cost of living in the Netherlands. Nothing about what we're building. Just genuine thoughts about life in the Netherlands.

It hit 1M+ impressions. And here's the weird part we got a ton of signups and paid users for Starnus from it. Without ever mentioning the product.

Meanwhile, my "here's what Starnus does" posts? Way less engagement.

This genuinely messed with my head. I'm sharing the actual X post below

I recently saw a marketer with 10k+ followers launch and finish 6th with 348 upvotes. They followed a proper pre-launch and post-launch plan, did everything right, and still the outcome felt unpredictable.

Now I m launching @Curatora next week.

I m not a marketer. I have a little over 1k followers. Of course, asking for support helps. But I also keep hearing that a large part of the Product Hunt community shows up mainly for their own launch, then goes quiet until the next one.

That makes me wonder: how much of success here is strategy, and how much is timing and network effect?