Question for hunters: According to what you decide to hunt a product (or collab with a company)?
During the time spent on Product Hunt, there are already quite frequent faces who have profiled themselves as top hunters through their activity.
Their names are prominent among hunters, and they probably have to think twice about what they stand for.
If you are reading this right now, what is crucial for you when hunting for a product?
I'm not an active hunter, more of a community enthusiast, but my guesses are as follows:
What is the motive for hunting?• Breakthrough technology that is new on the market ("This is new and I'll be the first to bring it to attention.")
• Familiarity with the company's vision/product.
• Collegiality and friendly ties with team members.
• Employment contract (someone works for the company and so, understandably, wants to use their role for positioning).
• Money(?)
I'm discussing this because sometimes this status requires you to be cautious. I've come across hunted products that later turned out to be scams and unreliable companies, so I want to know if you even check them out.
For those who are trying to find hunters, let's have a look here.
Replies
I sometimes hunt. And that’s why I’ll share my thoughts on the topic.
The reasons vary, but:
1/ I hunt for people I know and feel somewhat close to. I try to help them because I believe I can contribute to their launch. Sometimes it's through advice, sometimes by helping with the assets, and other times just by lending my name.
2/ Projects I genuinely like. Some of the products I hunt are ones I personally like whether it's the niche, the product itself, or the team behind it. I decide to support them.
3/ Opportunity to connect with more people. I’ll admit, sometimes I act out of pure self-interest and use hunting as a way to meet founders and build relationships. I believe there are many interesting people on the platform, and if I can connect with them while also helping out, that’s a win-win for everyone.
@byalexai I totally forgot about the point number three so I am glad that someone mentioned it! :D
@busmark_w_nika Yesss. There’s just so much incredible talent here, from every corner of the world. And Product Hunt gives us a way to meet (even if it’s virtual) and connect. And sometimes, I take advantage of that.
@byalexai I hope that once we meet in person :)
For me to hunt a product it has to make sense to me
e.g. I'm a user and early adopter of Findable and would have hunted it if tosh hadn't done it himself.
(currently #2 🏆 https://www.producthunt.com/products/findable-3)
It would be cool if the hunters had a way to declare the reason for why they hunted something. I would like to know if a hunter hunted something because they are a user or just because they heard about it. But especially if they get some kind of compensation for hunting I think they should disclose that.
But I guess a comment as part of the hunt could also work.
@je_suis_yaroslav why not B2G? What restrictions/downsides does it have?
Trickle
Aha. Such an interesting topic! It really made me reflect on things from the perspective of a launching team as well.
Sometimes we notice that well-known hunters end up hunting products that are borderline cheating (often unintentionally, of course), and it can end up damaging their reputation. So figuring out which products are genuinely good is definitely a challenge for hunters.🤔
That’s why we’ve also become more cautious when choosing our hunter. We usually go with someone who’s familiar with our product and team, and someone we really trust.
@victoria_wu THIS IS WHAT I MEANT! As soon as someone hunts cumbersome products, he/she can generate a tricky reputation for other products he/she is about to launch.
Trickle
@busmark_w_nika Absolutely agree!! That’s exactly the challenge hunters face today — being exposed to so many products every day, it’s tough to decide which ones are truly worth hunting.
Perhaps what we need are more domain-specific hunters. If a hunter has deep expertise in a particular industry or vertical, they’ll likely be much better at judging the quality and potential of a product in that space.
That said, it does place a pretty high expectation on hunters!🤔
@victoria_wu They should have some badges of categories they are open to hunt.
Trickle
findable.
To be honest I either have a personal relationship with the founders, and they impress me somehow.
Or I see a product that I love.
And of course there are things I build myself, like findable launching today
(https://www.producthunt.com/products/findable-3)
@peterbuch yep, launching and hunting your own product is non-negotiable! :D
For me, the key is domain expertise. I proactively hunt products in fields I know well—specifically the model and application layers of AI, as well as some hardware. I believe you need to be familiar with a space to spot products that are genuinely worth sharing. I decline many hunt requests, usually because it's a field I don't understand, or sometimes because I have concerns about the product's credibility or its business model. This filtering process is the best way to avoid the risk of promoting a "scam" or unreliable product.
My approach in the comments might also be a bit different. I try not to mindlessly praise a product. Instead, I aim for an objective viewpoint and leave the final judgment to the community and, more importantly, to time. A successful launch—even getting a #1 badge—doesn't mean a product is perfect or finished. It's normal for a startup to pivot, and we should be careful to distinguish a "pivot" from "false advertising." We don't need a glorified or rigid view of any product on day one, and most founders understand this.
This leads to my advice for makers: if your product pivots, the best thing you can do is come back to Product Hunt and keep launching! It's the best way to keep your early supporters updated on your journey and, most importantly, to build long-term credibility within the community.
@zaczuo This is a strong message (especially the last 2 lines in the last paragraph). Still cannot get how you are able and have time to launch multiple times per day. Kuddos! :D
Do they charge for hunting on PH? and How much?
FYI you can read this in Product Hunt's official launch guide:
@fmerian oh. I did not know that. Thank you for this information.
@nitin_joshi yep, as @fmerian said. But some can charge for consulting.
I typically hunt 4–8 products each month. Here's what I look for:
1. Committed Founders: I prefer working with makers who are genuinely solving a real problem and are open to feedback from me and the Product Hunt community.
2. Novelty: I hunt products that feel fresh and original, something I haven’t seen on PH before.
3. Craftsmanship: High attention to detail matters. Pixel-perfect design and thoughtful UX always catch my eye.
4. Categories: I mostly hunt in the Nocode, Developer Tools, Marketing & Sales SaaS, AI & AI Agents and Mobile Apps space.
I’ve hunted ~300 products so far, each one carefully selected based on the criteria above. You can check out my hunter profile here: @rohanrecommends
@rohanrecommends Question about the onboarding process in terms of hunting: Do you have with makers any intro calls or do they just write to you?
+ I reckon many people reach out to you... But does it also happen that you reach out to makers that you want to hunt their product?
@rohanrecommends Hi, Rohan, following up here re our past couple emails so we can reconnect re dates. Thanks.
@dmitcha Received, replied. Thank you.
@busmark_w_nika very interesting question, last friday for the launch of GTM Alpha Consultation audit I was looking for a B2B GTM hunter who specialised in Product hunt. Surprisingly I didn't find that kind of specialist. So happy to help anyone looking for such hunters.
@shashwat_ghosh_gtm Have you tried someone I mentioned in the list? :)
@busmark_w_nika had glanced through the profiles...though interesting, I didn't find a close match. Maybe I'll have a deeper relook for future launches.
@shashwat_ghosh_gtm Wishing you GL with finding the right fit! :)