The Unfiltered Story of AICamp ProductHunt Launch

Hi folks,

I'm Shreya, co-founder of AICamp, and I'm excited to share the story behind our recent launch on Product Hunt.

On August 8th, as we hit the 'launch' button, we were filled with hope and anticipation. However, our journey quickly turned into an unexpected rollercoaster ride filled with challenges that tested our resolve and creativity. In this post, I’ll take you through our launch day, the hurdles we faced, and the valuable lessons we learned that ultimately led us to achieve the incredible feat of landing at #2 on Product Hunt.

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1. Why We Chose to Launch on Product Hunt

Nishchit and I share a common trait: we believe in launching fast, learning fast, failing fast, and repeating the cycle. Our main motivations for launching on PH included:

• Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone: We wanted to present AICamp on a larger stage.
• Gaining Validation: We were eager to see what the community thought about our product.
• Testing Our Potential: This launch was a personal challenge for me as a founder.
• Experience: We were curious about the process of launching and aimed to see if we could break into the top ranks.

We scheduled our launch for August 8th, and I'm grateful to KP, a fantastic mentor and friend, who hunt AICamp on PH.

2. The Launch Day: A Rollercoaster Ride

We went live on Thursday, August 8th, at 12:30 PM IST. However, things didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped.

Facing the Unexpected

Within the first 30 minutes, we noticed that AICamp wasn't featured on either the "Featured" or "All" categories on Product Hunt. To make matters worse, we couldn't even find our product through the search function.

This was a strange and disheartening moment for us. Thankfully, friends reached out to encourage us to contact the PH support team. I tried every possible channel—chat support, email, Twitter—to get in touch with them. Meanwhile, Nishchit learned from the community that the PH team might have flagged our launch due to concerns about spamming.

Maintaining Our Momentum

Despite the initial chaos, I was determined to stay focused on our launch. I refused to let negativity deter us. My instinct was to push through and shine brighter than ever. I tweeted about our launch, and my Twitter community rallied to amplify our voice to the PH support team.

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After five hours of waiting, we finally received an email from the PH support team, which was a turning point for us. I firmly believe in hard work and trusting your instincts, and I'm grateful for the support from our community on that crucial day.

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The Power of Community Backing

After overcoming the initial hurdles, our persistence paid off. As the day progressed, our community support began to show results. We actively engaged with users, answered questions, and shared our journey on social media. This engagement helped us gain traction, and before we knew it, we had climbed the ranks on Product Hunt.

By the end of the day, we were thrilled to see AICamp land at #2 of the day on Product Hunt!

"Success is not just about what you accomplish in your life, but what you inspire others to do."

This quote resonated deeply with us as we received encouragement from our community, which fueled our momentum.

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3. Planning Our PH Launch as a Two-Person Team

With just two of us on the team, we had to be strategic in our approach. Here's how we organized our efforts in just three days:

1. Define Responsibilities Clearly
   • I took the lead on the launch strategy, while Nishchit focused on execution. This strategy allowed us to work efficiently:
     • Graphics & Product: Nishchit
     • Plan, Content, Distribution: Shreya
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2. Focus on a Minimal and Effective Launch
   • Many founders overcomplicate their PH launches. We aimed for a natural approach, allowing the community to pick up our product organically.
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3. Content, Graphics, and Distribution
   • Content Preparation: We identified our distribution channels and prepared a list of content types in advance, including social media posts and email send to customer
   • Graphics: We kept our graphics minimal to avoid overwhelming our audience.
   • Distribution Channels: We leveraged various platforms, including social media, community groups to spread the word.

4. The Numbers: Our Launch Impact

The results of our launch were encouraging:

1. Website Visitors: 2,500 in 2 days
2. Sign-Ups: 150
3. Demo Bookings: 10
4. Paying Customers: 2
5. Affiliates: 4
6. Newsletter Features: 6

We also received an outpouring of love and support from the community, which was incredibly motivating.

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5. The Results

Our launch on Product Hunt yielded incredible results that exceeded our expectations. We were thrilled to be featured in the Product Hunt daily newsletter, which significantly boosted our visibility. By the end of the day, AICamp achieved the remarkable feat of landing at #2 of the day, #2 of the week in the SaaS category, and #5 of the week in the AI category.

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The support from the community was overwhelming, with over 650 upvotes and 180+ comments filled with encouragement and feedback. We truly felt the love from users, which made all the hard work worthwhile.

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6. Lessons Learned: Our Mistakes

Reflecting on our experience, here are some mistakes we made that I wish we had known to avoid:

              1. Product Review Awareness: We didn't realize that our product needed to be reviewed before going live. Last-minute changes to graphics and content caused delays in this process. Don't edit your content once your product is reviewed, incase you want to edit, ask PH support team to review it again before going live.

               2. Featured Badge: Ensure your product has the featured badge in your dashboard before launching. This is crucial for visibility.
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           3. Shipping Features Early: We released our "Talk to Your File" feature just 10 hours before the launch, which was cutting it too close. It’s better to have all features ready well in advance.

             4. Utilizing Vanity Metrics: While Product Hunt metrics can often be seen as vanity metrics, they can still be leveraged to your advantage. Use the visibility and engagement data to inform your marketing strategies, understand your audience better, and build credibility within your community.

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As a founder, I've learned that mistakes are an inevitable part of the journey. The key is to embrace them, learn from them, and use them as stepping stones to grow and improve. Our Product Hunt launch experience has taught us valuable lessons that we'll apply to future launches and marketing efforts.

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7. Conclusion: A Successful Launch and Looking Ahead

Despite the hurdles, AICamp became #2 of the day and #10 of the week on Product Hunt. This experience has shown me that while some may say Product Hunt is losing its relevance, it can still serve as a valuable platform for early-stage startups to gain recognition and distribute their products.

I want to express my gratitude to my team—Nishchit, Dharam and Harsh—and to everyone who supported us during this launch, including Rohan, Iuliia, Neel, Mehul, Elias, Punit, Krunal, and many others. Your encouragement made a significant difference.

As we move forward, we'll continue to learn, adapt, and grow. Thank you for being part of our journey! As a founder, I believe that sharing our experiences, both successes and failures, is crucial for personal growth and for inspiring others who are on a similar journey. I hope our Product Hunt launch story has provided valuable insights and encouragement for fellow entrepreneurs.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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Best,

Shreya

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