We also entered the market at the right time. 2013 was very optimistic as mobile hit mainstream and barriers to build lowered. We’re entering a similar phase with AI today.
I've been doing a lot of self-reflection going into the new year and thought I would share some learnings building Product Hunt over the past 5 years, along with our YC application video (perhaps against my better judgement). :)
We love products, care about people, and thirst to build a community that celebrates making. Our distributed, tight-knit team is headquartered in SF. We're looking for a few fine folks to join us:
Additionally, we're building a small, strong team to work on a new stealth project inside of AngelList. Our mission: to support startups, makers, and those building and shaping the future of tech.
Funny you ask. Jacq on our team is planning our next retreat. Earlier this year we brought everyone to SF. The year prior shortly after the acquisition, the entire team (including AngelList) went to Mexico which was a great opportunity to get to know the broader team.
This time we may do an offsite elsewhere, which might be more fun and affordable.
Sounds awesome! So now, where can I submit my job application? Just kidding xD But if seriously that's cool. I'd suggest Southeast Asia - Chiang Mai, Thailand or Bali for your next retreat which would be fun and definitely affordable in comparison with SF.
Love the idea of connecting makers with specific beta testers that match their target audience. We're exploring this as well.
Re: "spackling of existing services", you're right. We saw so many people piecing various services together (Mailchimp, Typeform, homemade landing pages, etc.) and see an opportunity to simplify and connect all these things together so that makers can focus more of their time building their product.
[1] Time is an important which introduces a "velocity" factor. For example, a product with 100 upvotes that was posted 1 hour ago would generally be ranked above another product with 100 upvotes that was posted 12 hours ago.
[2] We also slightly modify rankings for logged in users based on topics and friends they follow.
We also entered the market at the right time. 2013 was very optimistic as mobile hit mainstream and barriers to build lowered. We’re entering a similar phase with AI today.