Posted at 12:01am PT
First-2-hours engagement window critical. Founder needs to be on-call for replies.
Pick the launch date and the day-of slot
30 min decision
Pick a hunter (or self-hunt)
1-2 hours of outreach if hunting; 0 if self-hunting
Tier 1 supporters notified (Slack + Twitter)
30 ICP supporters who pre-committed. Aim for 50% engagement in first hour.
Write the tagline, description, and topic tags
2-3 hours
Mid-day check: rank #4, 180 upvotes
On track for top 5 of the day. Continue replying to every comment.
Build the gallery: video, GIFs, and screenshots
1 day
Day close: rank #2, 420 upvotes
Top-5 finish achieved. Email sequence to all hunters tomorrow.
Draft the maker comment (the first comment on your own launch)
2-3 hours
Build the soft-supporter list without violating the no-upvote-asking rule
1-2 days
Set up launch-day analytics and the war room
2-3 hours setup
Pre-write the X / LinkedIn / Bluesky launch threads
3-4 hours
Launch hour: 12:01am to 4am Pacific
4 hours, live
Launch day daytime: 6am to 6pm Pacific
12 hours, live
Launch night: 6pm to 11:59pm Pacific
6 hours, live
Post-launch: ride the press cycle and ship the post-mortem
1 week