The Real Story of How We Hit #1 on Product Hunt
So, this happened. On July 11th, 2025, our little project, Intervo.ai, somehow ended up as the #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt. It’s still a bit surreal. We’d devoured all the "how-to" guides and growth hacks, but honestly? We weren't just chasing a shiny badge. Our real mission was to get Intervo into the hands of real people and hear what they thought. The #1 spot? That was just the cherry on top of an already incredible sundae.
But let's be clear: Intervo.ai wasn't some overnight success. Its story actually begins with another product, codedesign.ai, and a whole lot of struggle. For anyone who thinks this came easy, let us pull back the curtain. This is the story of how being completely overwhelmed led to our biggest breakthrough.
Where It All Started: A Solution Born from Chaos
Long before we even dreamed of a Product Hunt launch, we were just a small team trying to keep our heads above water with codedesign.ai. Picture this: a tiny team building, marketing, and supporting an AI website builder. We were passionate, but we were drowning. Leads were slipping through our fingers overnight because we couldn't be online 24/7, and simple support questions were piling up into a mountain of backlog.
We frantically looked for a tool to save us, but everything out there was either a frustrating black box or way too basic for what we needed.
So, we did what any slightly desperate team of developers would do: we decided to build the solution ourselves. And right from the start, we knew it had to be open-source. We've all felt the pain of being locked into a platform we can't control, and we vowed never to do that to our own community.
The first version of Intervo was built for us, by us. It was our secret weapon, handling support chats and qualifying leads while we slept. Soon, we shared it with a small, trusted group of power users from our codedesign.ai community. We jumped on Discord calls and had endless direct chats, and their feedback was pure gold. They helped us shape the first public features, and it was only then, with a product forged in real-world use, that we looked at each other and said, "Okay, maybe it's time for Product Hunt."
Our One and Only Launch Day
(And yes, we got that #1 badge!)
The "Secret Sauce": What We Got Right
1. We Found a Hunter Who Cared.
Forget chasing the big names on the leaderboard just for the sake of it. We looked for someone who genuinely got excited about our mission—open-source AI. We found a hunter who believed in what we were doing, and that passion was infectious. He wasn't just posting a link; he was championing a cause.
2. We Zigged When Everyone Else Zagged.
All the guides say to launch on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. We saw that as jumping into a shark tank of perfectly polished competition. Instead, we chose a Friday at the stroke of midnight (00:01 PST). Our strategy? Build momentum all day and catch people as they headed into the weekend, ready to explore something new. Being a team split between Europe and India, this gave us a massive 8-9 hour head start before the US woke up.
3. "Open-Source" Wasn't Just a Feature; It Was Our Battle Cry.
We put "open-source" right in our headline. It was in our tagline, our GIF, and the first thing we talked about in our comments. We knew this would hit home with developers and teams who, like us, hated being trapped in proprietary ecosystems. This wasn't just a technical detail; it was a declaration of our values, and it built instant trust with the exact people we wanted to reach.
4. Our codedesign.ai Community Was Our Superpower.
This was, without a doubt, our biggest advantage. We didn't show up to the party alone. We brought our incredible codedesign.ai community with us. They were our first upvotes, our first cheerleaders, and our first wave of thoughtful comments. That initial, authentic buzz is what caught the Product Hunt algorithm's eye.
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5. We Paid It Forward with Shoutouts.
We believe in lifting up the tools that lift you. On our Product Hunt page, we made sure to give official shoutouts to three products that were absolutely essential in building Intervo.ai. We used ElevenLabs for its incredibly human-like AI voices, Cursor as our go-to AI-powered code editor that sped up development immensely, and Gemini for its powerful models that helped shape our core features. It wasn’t just about being nice; it was about acknowledging that we stand on the shoulders of giants and are part of a bigger ecosystem of makers helping makers.
6. We Tapped into Niche Communities (the Right Way).
Beyond our own users, we were active members of a LinkedIn founders community. We shared early versions of Intervo with them, not begging for upvotes, but honestly asking for their brutally honest feedback. These were other founders who felt our pain. By launch day, many of them were our loudest supporters because they'd been part of the journey.
7. We Were Already Part of the Furniture.
This wasn't a smash-and-grab launch. Our team members are genuine, long-time Product Hunt users. We're talking 300+ day streaks and serious 'kitty points'. Because we were already part of the community, our engagement felt authentic, not opportunistic. We believe that history of genuine participation earned us a level of respect.
8. Our Discord Became Mission Control.
Our Discord server was buzzing long before the launch. It was our digital HQ where power users were already living and breathing the product. On launch day, they became an extension of our team, organically jumping in to help newcomers, answer questions, and share their own tips. It was an amazing, spontaneous support network.
9. We Dropped a Killer Video.
Hotel AI-Intervo.ai
Halfway through the day, just as things were heating up, our media team released a fantastic video. It wasn't a boring screencast. It was a high-quality production (made with a little help from our friends at Gemini and Veo, and our own Intervo.ai voice agents!) that clearly explained why we built Intervo. We pushed it everywhere, and it gave us a huge second wind.
10. Our Team's Vibe Was Everything.
Launch day is a pressure cooker. The only thing that got us through was the rock-solid trust and camaraderie within our team. Everyone knew their job, had each other's backs, and kept the energy high from the first minute to the last. It felt less like a product launch and more like a team winning the championship together.
11. It Was All Hands on Deck, All Day Long.
The launch was everyone's #1, #2, and #3 priority. We had teams glued to Product Hunt, social media, and Discord around the clock. Every single comment got an upvote from the team and a personal reply from at least one of us. We kicked things off with two separate "maker" comments—one telling our origin story and another laying out the roadmap. This gave people two different threads to jump into, and we kept both buzzing with updates all day.
12. We Made an Offer No One Could Refuse.
Instead of a measly 10% discount, we went all in. For 24 hours, Intervo was completely free for the Product Hunt community. It removed every barrier to entry. We even built the special landing page using codedesign.ai and put an Intervo agent right on it to answer questions—a live demo of both our products working in harmony
13. We Kept It Simple, Stupid.
No fancy, overproduced page. We made a quick, punchy GIF that screamed "Open-Source AI Voice & Chat Agents." Our tagline was straight to the point. Our first comments were scannable, using bullet points and emojis to tell our story. We focused on getting our message across, fast.
Amarnath Bhat
What We Learned (The Hard Way)
1. You Will ALWAYS Underestimate the Support Load.
Even with our own AI agent deflecting questions, the flood of specific, technical inquiries was massive. We had a support schedule, but we had to pull in more devs to our Discord and Intercom just to keep from drowning. Next time? A bigger, dedicated support army from minute one.
2. Your First Demo Video Is Definitely Too Long.
We were so proud of every little feature that our first demo video was nearly three minutes long. We quickly realized we were asking way too much of people's attention spans. Mid-day, we hustled to record and upload a snappy 60-second version. The engagement shot up immediately.
3. You Can Never, Ever Have Enough Social Content Ready.
We had a plan, but the conversation on launch day has a mind of its own. We found ourselves scrambling to create new graphics and quick videos to react to specific comments and threads. In the future, we’ll have a whole bank of "in case of emergency" content ready to deploy.
Our Advice to You: Key Takeaways from the Trenches
- Community is Everything. Don't show up empty-handed. Build your tribe first. Your existing users, social followers, and niche groups are your greatest asset. Your best advocates are the people who already know and love you.
- Find the Right Hunter (If You Can). You can go it alone, but a good hunter is a massive amplifier. A famous one brings reach, but an enthusiastic one brings passion. Find someone who genuinely loves your product.
- Be a Real Human. Success on Product Hunt isn’t a one-day affair. Be a genuine member of the community. Use the site daily, give thoughtful feedback, and be part of the conversation long before you ever ask for anything.
- Pay It Forward. Your launch isn't the only one that matters. Support other founders. Try their products, give real feedback, and celebrate their wins. The goodwill you create always comes back around.
- Lead With Your "Why". We knew "open-source" was our soul. We made it our headline. Figure out what makes you truly unique and shout it from the rooftops.
- Plan, But Be Ready to Pivot. Have a strategy, but don't be married to it. We swapped our video mid-day because the data told us to. Watch what's happening and be ready to change course.
- Reply to Every. Single. Comment. Make every single person feel seen and heard. It shows you care, and it keeps the conversation alive.
- Make It Effortless to Try. Our "Free for the Day" deal was a game-changer. It removed all friction and let the product's value speak for itself.
- Your Team Is Your Bedrock. A launch is a test of your culture. Make sure your team is supportive, has clear roles, and trusts each other completely. That internal energy is what the world will feel on launch day.
And that’s it. That’s the story behind the badge. It was a wild, exhausting, and absolutely incredible ride. Thanks to every single person who was a part of it. We're just getting started.
Visit intervo.ai to learn more or test it yourself.