Why We Walked from AppSumo & Launching on Product Hunt Instead

Hey Product Hunt,

I’m Adam Martelletti. I’m still finding my feet here, but I wanted to share our story, not to throw stones, but to offer a warning I wish someone had given me.

This isn’t a smear campaign. I can’t speak to what AppSumo’s terms looked like years ago, maybe this is just what happens when a platform outgrows its mission. But if this post saves even one founder from signing something they’ll regret, it’s worth it.

Why am I writing this?

I shared a version of this story on Reddit recently. I expected a few replies. What I didn’t expect was 45,000+ views, DMs from founders I’d never met, and even a message from AppSumo’s CEO, Noah Kagan.

Apparently, it wasn’t just me.

Some people sat on the fence. Others defended AppSumo.

But the overwhelming response?

Disbelief that these terms exist, and quiet thanks for calling them out.

The Preparation

We’d spent over a year building EazySites, a publishing platform for creators.

Small team. Self-funded. No BS.

When AppSumo accepted us, we thought we were set:

• QA passed

• Licensing integrated

• Copy and pricing approved

We were ready to launch.

But we weren’t doing this for the payout; that was just a bonus. What we really needed was:

• Real users

• Real feedback

• Real pressure on the product

AppSumo seemed like the perfect fit.

We did our prep:

• Ran revenue scenarios

• Modelled long-term support costs

• Mapped out our path to MRR

• Asked the right questions — and got reassuring answers

• Accepted the 120-day listing lock as a reasonable risk

The one thing we didn’t do?

Read all five legal agreements line-by-line.

The Turning Point

That changed when I took a planned family holiday.

It was the first time I had space to breathe… and actually read.

And the deeper I went into the final Promotional Agreement, and the five others tied to it, the worse it got.

I kept asking myself: “Am I reading this right?”

Here are just a few of the terms that made us walk:

• An irrevocable global license giving AppSumo the right to sell, modify, copy, and reproduce your product indefinitely
  

• A 3× clawback if you ever raise, sell, or exit - because leaving the platform is considered breach. Good luck finding an acquirer willing to assume terms with an IP lien attached.
  

• AppSumo gains a security interest in your IP and future code - which exists solely to enforce that clawback
  

• You’re required to hand over source and object code under vague “release conditions” - even for try to delist yourself
  

• A non-disparagement clause that prevents you from speaking publicly - especially once the 3× clawback kicks in
  

• A listing that never expires - you can’t remove it, but AppSumo can. And if you try to exit, you’re still expected to pay back the revenue
  

Wait, hang on… what?

You’re telling me that:

If I list with AppSumo, I’m handing over a perpetual license for them to use my product however they want

• I give them claim to my current and future IP

• We can't sunset any features.

• I can’t remove my product unless I pay them 3× the revenue they paid me

• And they keep 60% of the revenue, before discounts, refunds, and fees?

By that point, I thought, “Surely this is just legal overreach to scare off bad actors.”

So I emailed our BDM, laid out my concerns, and asked, Is there room to negotiate?

A few days later, I got this:

“There may be some flexibility depending on the request, but the Partner Terms as a whole are pretty set in stone… Are these all dealbreakers for you?”

I responded.

And got nothing.

I followed-up

No reply. Just silence.

That’s when the closing line from one of their policies hit me like a joke:

“We take all the preceding policy measures extremely seriously, so please carefully consider your choices while moving through the self-submission flow.”

So I did.

And I walked.

So that’s what we’re doing.

While we know the product’s not perfect yet, that’s exactly the point.

We want users jumping in, breaking things, giving hard, honest feedback.

The good, the bad, the ugly.

And for anyone who wants to be part of that from day one, we’re offering a limited number of lifetime licenses before we move to MRR.

This is our way of supporting the people who support us early.

You can try it free, no commitment, no pressure to buy.

And if you just want to show support or help raise awareness about what founders really sign on AppSumo, you can do that by:

• Upvoting

• Sharing this post

• Or just tagging a fellow builder

If you’re a founder who’s already signed with AppSumo and has second thoughts, or you’re thinking about launching and not sure what to do, feel free to DM me. I’ll share everything we’ve learned.

Let’s show other indie founders there’s a better way.

You don’t need to give up control to get users.

You just need the right community behind you.

Product Hunt is enough.