# How I Got #4 on Product Hunt - My First Launch Story

Hi! I’m Alex Cloudstar, founder of CoLaunchly (CoLaunchly.io), a launch co-pilot that helps indie makers and developers market their products better. On May 13, 2025, I officially launched CoLaunchly on Product Hunt. In this post, I want to share how it went, wha...

Tags: product-hunt, startups
Published: 2025-05-14 (updated 2026-10-22)


Hi! I’m Alex Cloudstar, founder of CoLaunchly.io, a launch co-pilot that helps [indie makers and developers](/blog/my-first-real-startup-the-rise-and-flatline-of-colaunchly/) market their products better.

On **May 13, 2025**, I officially launched CoLaunchly on Product Hunt. In this post, I want to share how it went, what worked, what didn’t, and what I learned from the experience.

### The Goal

Before launching, I told myself I’d be happy landing in the top 10. It was my [first time launching anything on Product Hunt](/blog/from-bad-period-to-number-1-on-product-hunt-how-i-built-ph-wrapped-in-24-hours/), so even making the list felt like a stretch.

I ended up doing better than that.

### Prepping for Launch

I started by asking for advice in the Product Hunt and Reddit communities. I got some great tips like:

* Have a working product.
    
* Record a demo video.
    
* Add an interactive demo. I used [Arcade](https://arcade.software) for that, and I believe it made a huge difference. People could try the product instantly, without creating an account.
    

I scheduled the launch for May 13. Based on what I read, Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to perform better. So I picked Tuesday and committed.

### A Rough Start

I thought the launch would start at 10 PM in my timezone, but it actually started at 10 AM. I had no idea.

About 20 minutes in, I got a notification. People were already upvoting and commenting on my product. I was confused at first then I realised the launch had already gone live. I checked the page and saw I had over 50 upvotes. Not a bad way to start.

### The Battle for the Top

For a while, I was in second place. That felt unreal. Then another product pushed me to third. Later, Notion launched a new module and eventually claimed the top spot. For part of the day, I was actually ahead of Notion, which still blows my mind.

By the end of the day, I landed at **#4**. At first, I was a bit disappointed not to make top 3, but then I reminded myself my original goal was just to reach the top 10. I did this alone, with no team, no launch experience, just code, persistence, and a bit of marketing (thanks to my own product, CoLaunchly).

That’s a win.

### What Helped

Here’s what I think made the biggest difference:

* I scheduled the launch early and picked the right day.
    
* I built relationships with other makers. Some I had supported in the past returned the favour.
    
* I promoted it everywhere. Twitter, Reddit (I got a 7-day ban for being too active), Slack groups, Discord, Indie Hackers, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Facebook.
    
* I emailed my small waitlist. Only a few opened the email, but it was still worth it.
    
* I replied to every comment on the Product Hunt page and gave awards to the best ones.
    

### What I Could Improve

* I didn’t realise how early the launch would start. Next time I’ll be ready.
    
* I should’ve pre-written more content and outreach messages.
    
* And I’ll try not to get banned from Reddit.
    

### A Big Surprise

Someone actually bought the Founder plan on launch day. That was the first sale. That felt amazing.

If you’re that person thank you. You gave me a huge boost of confidence.

### The Impact

The launch brought more traffic, more feedback, and more visibility. People really liked the idea, and that still surprises me in the best way.

### What’s Next

CoLaunchly did not become the long-term product. The launch problem did. I worked on that next at [makers.page](https://makers.page), which aimed to get indie startups featured and planned a Marketing Assistant MCP. **Update (October 2026):** makers.page is now paused. Submissions and rankings have stopped, it is a browsable archive, and the Marketing Assistant MCP is not live.

If you’re prepping your own Product Hunt launch, I later wrote up [what actually happens to your SEO when you submit to startup directories](/blog/startup-directory-submissions-seo-2026/) beyond just Product Hunt itself, since most of the "submit to 1,000 directories" advice going around is a decade out of date.

### Thank You

To everyone who upvoted, commented, or shared CoLaunchly thank you. This was a big moment for me, and I appreciate every bit of support.

Let’s keep building.

\- Alex