Navigating Fame and Vulnerability

Thousands of new products launch each year, but very few make it. Ryan Hoover has seen thousands of products launched over the course of his time running Product Hunt, and through his investing, and in this episode you’ll hear what Ryan has learned about launching products, growing products, and raising capital. Plus, we play a made up game called “What would you rather upvote?” Join us.

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Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-launch-and-grow-your-product-ryan-hoover-of-product-hunt-and-weekend-fund/#transcript

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Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:

• RevenueCat: https://www.revenuecat.com/

• Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny

• Lenny’s Giveaway Bonanza: https://lennyspodcast.com/bonanza

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Where to find Ryan Hoover:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rrhoover

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrhoover/

• Website: https://www.ryanhoover.me/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

[03:23] On being a tech celebrity 

[09:02] Using Twitter DM’s as a content machine

[11:15] The questions most founders ask 

[14:48] When should you start a company?

[18:28] Would Ryan raise money for Product Hunt if he could do it again?

[21:48] When should companies launch products?

[24:52] What makes a launch successful versus not?

[26:27] How to get to the top of Product Hunt

[30:01] What skill is most helpful for moving into investing and venture capital?

[31:39] What Ryan would do differently if he could re-build Product Hunt

[38:57] What matters most in life

[43:13] Which ideas Ryan would upvote

[48:05] What founders of consumer companies do to succeed

[55:33] Deciding to serve a niche or broad market

[58:03] The surprising parts of angel investing

[1:02:12] Advice for folks wanting to get into angel investing

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