I'm the Product Hunt CEO, and I've launched 8 times on PH. AMA (unfiltered)

Hey @rajiv_ayyangar I have a few questions for you.
1. Do you feel like YC was a critical part of your journey? How would have Tandem played out without it?
2. What do you think is the single most important trait of successful launches on Product Hunt? How do you make it to the top of the upvotes?

Hey! Thanks for sharing your journey. Super inspiring to see how Product Hunt has evolved under your leadership, especially with the launch of Product Forums.

I’m curious, how do you personally stay productive while juggling such a high-profile role? Are there any habits, tools, or systems you swear by to keep things organized?

Also, with so many moving parts at Product Hunt, how do you approach simplifying tasks (both for yourself and your team) to keep everyone focused on what matters most?

And lastly, what’s it really like running a company like Product Hunt? Any unexpected challenges or moments that surprised you?

Thanks again. Excited to see what’s next for Product Forums and beyond!

Hey @rajiv_ayyangar thanks for your time and this AMA.

My question is: I have to launch a new feature of a product I already launched. The feature is completely new and revolutionise how the product works. How can I ensure that PH correctly sees the degree of innovation and doesn't compromise the launch?

For a successful product launch, what are your top tips for integrating and engaging outside audiences—like email lists, Twitter followers, etc.—and how can founders encourage that initial support on Product Hunt? Any specific strategies that worked well for you?

What's your north star for product hunt over the next decade?

Hey Rajiv,

What is the best way for one to market and grow an open-source project?

how does tools like Cursor, fine.dev, replit, etc. impact PH? do you see a significant increase in product launches?

Would ProductHunt launch its venture fund?

How can we make sure our launched product will be featured by your team?
No gibberish. No buzz words. No link to the guidelines. Tell us EXACTLY how to check all boxes.

What to include in the product, tagline, visuals, comments to guarantee a product being featured.

Without a product hunter.

If you can answer that question, your post deserve to be featured. If not....nepotism rules.

I love PH and my product launches have been featured in the past. But today the PH world is different <3

I used to be an active member of the PH community and I loved the discussions I had with other community members, but since the last update, every single discussion I wanted to start just got rejected. It's super frustrating, as I put in some work as well to connect with the community in the first instance, but now it feels like I'm banned. I already looked at the community guidelines, but no matter what I post for discussions, they won't be shown and I only receive an email that says "your thread was rejected". Any idea, why it is like that or how I can fix it?