I'm seeing more products launch on Product Hunt that require payment to actually use any features. No free trial, no freemium tier, just a download that leads straight to a paywall.

Part of me thinks this makes sense. If your product has real value, why give it away? People on Product Hunt understand they're looking at premium tools. Plus offering free access can attract users who will never pay anyway.

But I also see the argument for temporary free access during launch. Product Hunt users want to actually try what they're upvoting. How can they give meaningful feedback or become advocates if they hit a paywall immediately?

I understand that everyone comes here with the hope of winning the Product of the Day award (at least one of the top three spots).

But so what does that mean for you?

Are you going to sell more products/subscriptions?

I ve noticed that the purpose of people on Product Hunt is always different. Of course, the vast majority want to become the Product of the Day, Week, Month, or Year (or win Kitty Awards).

However, some are there for the community and their success metrics may lie in something else (e.g. the number of discussions created and rated).

On June 14, 2023, the European Parliament officially voted to ban unpaid internships.

This honestly made me happy, because I remember how, during college, I was expected to spend a full 2 months working full-time at an advertising agency as an unpaid intern (Spoiler alert: I fought for and got some pay ), but that wasn t the norm.

Always see people buying .com names and making logos before even building the actual tool.

I used to think you need the whole setup ready to look legit, but buying tech stuff early feels like a waste if the idea flops.

How long do you run on free subdomains or cheap placeholders before dropping money on official branding?

I often met people with the mindset:

"I'll work hard until I'm 30, and then I'll enjoy the fruits of my labour."

Many people wanted to get into the Forbes 30 Under 30.