Hey PH! We've completely revamped GrowSurf to 2.0.
Back in 2015 we wanted a refer-a-friend program for our startup, and so we looked at the out-of-the-box referral platforms available. The options were not the right fit, or were outrageously expensive.
Years later, many referral platforms kept their focus on to eCommerce (online stores), Enterprise (big $$$), or non-tech businesses. A lot of lightweight growth hacking products and viral tools emerged as well.
In a sea of 55+ referral platforms, we built GrowSurf because we couldn't find what we were looking for: an affordable, scalable, and modern referral marketing platform built for startups.
Turns out we were not the only ones who wanted this. With our massive 2.0 update, GrowSurf is used by companies large and small today, from established enterprises to YC-backed startups.
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@kevinyun I love this idea! I have a product I am building that I think will help this scale. Is there someone I can talk to about this some more?
Looks great. I'm curious to hear more about what made you stand out against "+55 referral platforms"...what is your differentiating features that customers can't find anywhere else?
@lnchoi Hey Ellen, great question.
If you google 'referral software', you'll see that there are solutions for online stores (ReferralCandy, Talkable), Enterprise (Ambassador, Extole), and other solutions that are either clunky and non-modern. Others are focused on SMB/non-tech (customer lists are non tech startups).
None of these guys offer a freemium plan.
If you go on ProductHunt, you'll see a ton of list-building tools (ViralLoops, UpViral, ).
If your startup is the next Dropbox/Uber/Robinhood/Airbnb, you don't have a lot of good options out there. And typically speaking, you are you building your referral program in-house. What that entails is a lot of building, trial-and-error, and management. You then lack tools for performance measuring, customer support, anti-fraud, and more. It's a rabbit-hole of building. We felt there should be a referral marketing cloud service specifically for startups/SaaS of this nature.
- A modern solution. Our focus is on UX/UI (simplifying complex software --> everything from signup to integration). A lot of our customers note this experience compared to other solutions out there.
- A complete toolkit: Webhooks. A comprehensive REST API w/ good docs. 1-line-of-code embeddable elements to paste. 100% customization.
- Fully featured referral platform. Not just for gathering email leads, but for any referral situation. Double-sided/Milestone/Leaderboard reward types.
- Freemium. Scalable pricing. Affordable.
- For tech startups and internet businesses.
@lnchoi No problem. I took a look at LarkApps and the products look awesome. Have you considered running a referral program to drive more growth? Would be happy to chat -- kevin (at) growsurf.com :)
Hi @kevinyun@demelvin, congrats on #1 Product! My name is Malik and I’m a fellow maker. I’m trying to learn more about how products successfully launch on Product Hunt. Would you mind sharing some of your tactics and tools for preparation that contributed to your success of over 350 upvotes?
@malik_rivers2 Sure thing. I'll list out what I think worked for us:
1. Scheduled the post for 12:01am PST. Some of our team stayed up to upvote and ensure we got some visibility from the start.
2. We reached out to friends/family a day ahead to let them know about our launch. In the morning, we provided the direct link and asked to show us some support on PH.
3. We were a part of online communities that we shared to, asking for support and feedback.
4. We got lucky there were no other major products on our launch day
We planned all the above out meticulously (not #4) and read up on the latest PH launch advice articles. We were also made aware that you do not need a top Hunter to hunt your product anymore.
Hope this helps!
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@kevinyun Great! Thanks for the actionable insights!
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