Hacker News does not dislike startups. It dislikes being handled.
Readers will forgive a plain page, a narrow product, and an awkward edge. They will not forgive a launch post dressed as a conversation.
Bring a working object to the workshop. Leave the billboard at home.
Make the product available
A waitlist asks readers to reward a promise. A working product gives them something to inspect.
Remove unnecessary sign-up barriers for the day. If accounts are essential, make the path short. If the product cannot be opened, provide a real demo or a direct video. Publish the price. Explain any required call or manual step before the click.
Then test capacity, rate limits, email delivery, error reporting, and the account flow. HN traffic can be brief and sharp. A modest launch that works is more useful than a large one that teaches only that the server fell over.
Say what it does in one sentence
Do not begin with the future of an industry. Begin with the thing.
“We built a tool that checks a public product site before launch” gives the reader a handle. The architecture, ambition, and backstory can follow. If the first comments ask what the product does, the sentence failed.
Avoid superlatives. Avoid a list of features. Avoid saying the product is loved, delightful, revolutionary, or simple. Those are verdicts. Let readers reach them.
Tell the technical truth
HN readers like mechanisms. Explain what was difficult, which trade-off you made, what the product does differently, and where it remains incomplete.
If AI helped build it, describe the boundary: what the model produced, what you checked, what broke, and what still worries you. “Built with AI” is not a technical account. It is a production fact without the production story.
Stay for the discussion
Reply promptly and plainly. Answer the hard question first. Thank people for specific reports. Do not recruit friends to manufacture enthusiasm or argue every criticism into submission.
A sharp comment may be wrong about your solution and right about your explanation. Separate the two before replying.
Write down repeated objections. Fix clear defects while the thread is alive, then say what changed. Visible responsiveness is more persuasive than defensive polish.
Measure what remains tomorrow
Traffic is the loudest number and often the least useful. Count successful first runs, return visits, meaningful replies, paid conversions, and people who bring real work into the product.
The launch is successful if it gives you users you can learn from, a clearer account of the product, or a defect you are relieved to have found.
The official Launch HN instructions make the central rule plain: speak to readers as peers. That advice travels well beyond HN. A launch post should sound like a builder opening the workshop door.