Smash Notes
Ryan Hoover — Products of our Environment

Below the Line with James Beshara

Ryan Hoover — Products of our Environment

Ryan Hoover is the founder and CEO of ProductHunt — the most popular way to discover new products and services on the web. In 2016, ProductHunt was acquired by AngelList, the worlds’ most popular way to invest in startups. It was a match made in heaven, but it’s hard to say the path to that point wasn’t fraught with its share of challenges. Ryan is one of…

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Notes

  1. Where There Any Big Failures at Product Hunt at 6:58

    There have not been any failure to the Product Hunt as we know it, but they have tried to introduce different categories to be hunted (books,gaming,podcasts)… Full answer

  2. What Makes a Good Product Idea at 11:02

    Successful product is a combination of a good idea, and how quickly you can figure out that it is in fact a good idea. Full answer

  3. What Is Success at 13:13

    The goal post is always moving and success criteria is getting more and more ambitious. Full answer

  4. What Makes Self-funded Startups So Attractive to a VC-backed Founder at 16:22

    Control. Full answer

  5. How Can I Validate My Startup Idea at 25:08

    The best VCs will invest into a great idea, but there is no better validation that getting actual users. Full answer

  6. What Should Be the First Thing to Validate About My Startup Idea at 26:10

    Test the most difficult and riskiest part of your business first. Full answer

  7. Can Anyone Be a Founder at 27:24

    "Social Network," the movie, has inspired a lot of people to be founders, and although we should continue encouraging entrepreneurship, we should also be more… Full answer

  8. How Do Startup Founders Sacrifice Their Mental Health at 30:22

    Founder cannot quit their job, unlike their employees. You have to weather through the challenges whether or not you want to. Full answer

  9. How Can a Startup Founder Remain Mentally Healthy at 33:23

    Founder's emotional state often reflects the state of their company. Full answer

  10. How Do Startup Founders Keep Big Goals Motivating Daily? at 41:21

    The bigger your goals, the longer it takes to achieve them, and ambitious goals should not be easy, by definition. Full answer

  11. Can Goal-setting Be Destructive to Your Long-term Performance at 44:37

    There is a psychology study that suggest you can attain better performance by either being in a lead, or a first follower, when the distance between the 1st… Full answer

  12. Should Product Hunt Founder Ryan Hoover Ignore the Haters? at 1:02:59

    On Below the Line, Product Hunt founder Ryan Hoover tells James Beshara about a Hacker News post that called Product Hunt a circle of insiders pushing… Full answer

  13. What Is One of the Big Challenges With Startups at 1:07:12

    The biggest challenge is also one of the biggest appeals. You are never done building a startup, and there is always something else to be done. Full answer

  14. What Is One Great Way to Reduce Stress at 1:08:29

    Wake up at the same time every day. Setting a rhythm for your body sounds so trivial, so how could it be worth it? Full answer

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