Why we shut down our app

Product Hunt pro tip: Launches that inspire the most engagement tell a story.

Products that tie into culturally relevant moments like this new startup from Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams, viral surprises like Facebook-acquired tbh, and big releases from well-known companies like GitHub often attract the most interest.

We (the Product Hunt team) try to learn from the community and build for things they do (not just what they say). So, back in late 2017 we started exploring how we might deliver tech news and stories in our own unique way.

By early 2018, we launched Sip, a tappable, no-spam tech news digest app that surfaced the most interesting and important tech stories via silent notification every day.

By all accounts, the launch went well:

• It received 2,375 upvotes
• It became the #1 Product of the Day
• It reached #4 Product of the Month

TechCrunch wrote about it. The Next Web wrote about it.

The community seemed to like it, too:



We were off to a good start. But starting is the easy part.

In January 2019, we quietly discontinued Sip. 💀

What happened? We decided to share some takeaways in this post mortem.

We also tease a new project we’ve been working on. Here’s a hint. 🥞

P.S. We want to hear your post mortem stories. Submit them to Maker Stories here.

This home camera lets you play laser tag with your pets, dispenses treats and has Alexa built-in. 🐶