Product Hunt is one platform. But it's not the only way—or even always the best way—to launch your startup. Here's your complete launch strategy for MENA founders.
The Multi-Platform Launch Strategy
Smart founders don't launch once. They launch repeatedly, across multiple channels, to different audiences.
The approach:
- Week 1: Launch to your network and early community
- Week 2: Product Hunt or Hacker News
- Week 3-4: Media outreach and PR
- Week 5-8: Industry-specific platforms and communities
- Ongoing: Content and SEO for continuous "soft launches"
Platform 1: Your Own Network
Why start here:
Your network knows you, trusts you, and wants to support you. They're also your best source of early feedback.
How to launch:
LinkedIn:
- Personal post from founder(s) sharing the journey
- Vulnerable, authentic storytelling
- Clear call-to-action
Example post structure:
"For the past 6 months, I've been building [product] to solve [problem]. Here's why...
[Personal story]
[What you've learned]
[What you're launching today]
[CTA: Try it, give feedback, share if you know someone who needs this]"
WhatsApp/Telegram:
- Personal messages to close contacts
- Group messages to communities you're active in
- Frame as "I'd love your feedback" not "please buy"
Email:
- Personal emails to your closest supporters
- Newsletter if you've been building an audience
Expected Results:
- 50-200 visits
- 10-30 signups
- Valuable early feedback
- Social proof to use in later launches
Platform 2: Reddit
Best subreddits for launches:
General:
- r/SideProject (200K+ members)
- r/EntrepreneurRideAlong (700K+ members)
- r/startups (1.5M+ members, stricter rules)
- r/IMadeThis
Niche:
Find subreddits specific to your industry. A targeted audience of 10K beats a general audience of 1M.
How to post:
❌ Bad: "Check out my awesome new tool!"
✅ Good: "I built a tool to solve [specific problem] after [personal experience]. Here's what I learned."
Reddit values:
- Authenticity over polish
- Story over sales pitch
- Learning and transparency
- Responding to every comment
MENA-Specific Tip:
Post during US business hours (evening/night in MENA) for maximum visibility.
Expected Results:
- 500-2,000 visits (if post gains traction)
- 20-100 signups
- Direct feedback in comments
Platform 3: Indie Hackers
Why it works:
Community of indie founders and bootstrappers. Supportive, engaged, high-quality audience.
How to launch:
Product page:
Create detailed product listing with metrics, story, and milestones.
Community post:
Share your journey in the forum. Indie Hackers loves transparency:
- How you validated the idea
- Your tech stack
- Early revenue/user numbers
- Challenges you're facing
Best practices:
- Post consistently leading up to launch
- Engage with other makers' posts
- Share revenue/user updates monthly
Expected Results:
- 200-800 visits
- 15-50 signups
- High-quality feedback from experienced founders
Platform 4: Hacker News
When to use:
Developer tools, technical products, or anything with an interesting technical story.
How to post:
Format: "Show HN: [Product Name] - [Short Description]"
Example: "Show HN: We built a database that automatically optimizes queries in real-time"
Best practices:
- Post early morning US West Coast time (7-9 AM PT = evening MENA)
- First comment should explain the technical approach
- Be ready to answer technical questions immediately
- Don't be promotional—HN hates sales pitches
Expected Results:
- If you hit front page: 5,000-20,000 visits
- If you don't: 100-500 visits
- High-quality technical users
Platform 5: LinkedIn (At Scale)
Your personal post was Phase 1. Now amplify it.
Tactics:
Founder content series:
Post consistently about your building journey:
- Day 1: "Why we're building this"
- Day 3: "Biggest challenge so far"
- Day 7: "First 10 customers story"
- Day 14: "What we learned from user feedback"
Employee advocacy:
If you have a team, have everyone share the launch from their networks.
Paid promotion:
Boost your best-performing organic post ($50-200 can reach 10K-30K targeted people).
Engagement pods:
Find 10-15 other founders who will comment on and engage with your posts (and you'll do the same for them).
Expected Results:
- 2,000-10,000 impressions per post
- 50-200 website visits
- 10-30 signups
- Builds long-term brand presence
Platform 6: Twitter/X
Strategy:
Build in public leading up to launch:
- Share progress screenshots
- Share challenges and learnings
- Build anticipation
Launch thread:
- 8-12 tweet thread telling your story
- Include visuals, demos, or video
- End with clear CTA
Tactics:
- Tag relevant accounts (careful not to spam)
- Use hashtags: #buildinpublic #indiehackers #startups
- Quote tweet with added context when sharing
- Engage with everyone who comments
Expected Results:
- Depends heavily on your following
- 500-5,000 impressions
- 20-100 visits
Platform 7: MENA Startup Media
Target publications:
- Wamda (regional startup news)
- MENAbytes (tech and startup coverage)
- MAGNiTT (ecosystem insights)
- TechCrunch (if you have a strong angle)
- Gulf News / Arab News (business sections)
What makes you newsworthy:
- Solving a regional problem
- Impressive early traction
- Unique founder story
- Funding announcement (even small amounts)
- Notable partnerships
How to pitch:
Don't: Send generic press release
Do:
- Research the journalist's beat
- Personalized email with clear news angle
- Offer exclusive if needed
- Include founder photo, product screenshots, data
Example pitch:
"Hi [Name], I noticed you covered [similar company] last month. We just launched [product] to solve [regional problem]. We've already signed up 200 users in 2 weeks, including [notable customer].
Would you be interested in covering our story? Happy to provide exclusive access/data."
Expected Results:
- One article can drive 500-3,000 visits
- Strong credibility boost
- Investor and partner attention
Platform 8: Industry-Specific Communities
Find your niche:
If you're building for:
- Developers: GitHub, Stack Overflow, DEV.to
- Designers: Dribbble, Behance, Designer News
- Marketers: GrowthHackers, Inbound.org
- SaaS founders: SaaStr community, MicroConf Connect
- E-commerce: Shopify Community, eCommerceFuel
How to engage:
- Contribute value for weeks/months before launching
- When you launch, frame it as "built this for people like us"
- Offer special pricing or early access to community members
Platform 9: YouTube and Video Content
Why it works:
Undervalued in MENA startup ecosystem. Video content gets higher engagement.
Content ideas:
- Product demo and walkthrough
- Behind-the-scenes of building
- Founder story and why you're building
- Tutorial or educational content related to your product
Distribution:
- Post on YouTube (even if you have zero subscribers)
- Share as native video on LinkedIn
- Embed in blog posts and landing pages
- Share in relevant Facebook groups
MENA Opportunity:
Arabic-language video content for your product is massively underserved.
Platform 10: Offline/In-Person Events
Where to launch:
UAE:
- Hub71 events
- DIFC Innovation Hub
- AstroLabs community events
- Startup Grind Dubai
- In5 Innovation Centers
Saudi Arabia:
- Riyadh startup events
- KAUST Innovation events
- MiSK Foundation programs
Egypt:
- Greek Campus events
- Rise Up Summit
- Cairo startup community
Morocco:
- StartupYourLife
- Emerging Business Factory events
Format:
- 5-minute pitch at demo night
- Booth at startup festival
- Workshop or talk where you mention your product
- Networking and one-on-one intros
Why it works in MENA:
Relationship-driven culture. One in-person connection can open entire networks.
The Continuous Launch Strategy
Don't think of launch as a one-time event. Launch continuously:
Monthly:
- New feature announcements
- Customer success stories
- Milestones (users, revenue, partnerships)
Quarterly:
- Major product updates
- Entry into new markets
- Partnership announcements
Annually:
- Year in review
- Product 2.0 launches
- Rebrand or pivot announcements
Launch Calendar Template
Week -4: Prepare assets, build audience
Week -2: Soft launch to network
Week -1: Tease on social media
Week 0: Official launch (Product Hunt, Reddit, LinkedIn)
Week 1: Media outreach and PR
Week 2-3: Industry platforms and communities
Week 4: Retrospective and lessons learned
Ongoing: Content marketing and SEO
Measuring Launch Success
Metrics that matter:
Traffic:
- Unique visitors
- Traffic sources
- Bounce rate
Conversion:
- Signups / trials
- Activation rate (users who complete key action)
- Free-to-paid conversion
Engagement:
- Social media engagement (comments, shares)
- Email list growth
- Media mentions
Business:
- Paying customers acquired
- Revenue generated
- CAC for launch traffic
The Bottom Line
There's no single perfect launch platform. The best strategy is multi-channel, repeated over time, with authentic storytelling at the core.
From MENA, you have access to:
- Growing regional media ecosystem
- Strong in-person communities
- Underdeveloped markets (opportunity)
- Global platforms with timezone advantages
Use all of them. Launch often. Learn constantly. Your next launch will always be better than your last.
