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Ship Something They Can Touch (Not a Waitlist)

Ship Something They Can Touch (Not a Waitlist) is a launches & ph/hn tactic for getting your first users: Only post a Show HN when there's a working thing readers can immediately try, ideally a live demo or a public code repo. A signup gate is disqualifying.

It's a strong fit for Dev tools / technical and Newsletters / media teams, and works especially well for dev tools, open-source projects, technical products. As a launches & ph/hn play, plan for medium effort and expect results to show up quickly, all grounded in 5 linked primary sources.

Launches & PH/HNMedium effortFast

Why does launches & ph/hn work for this?

HN readers explore and poke at things; giving them a real artifact converts skepticism into upvotes, and open code earns disproportionate goodwill. Several founders credited an open-source repo for landing on the front page.

The exact steps (5)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Dev tools / technicalNewsletters / media

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Ship Something They Can Touch (Not a Waitlist)" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for Dev tools / technical and Newsletters / media — pick it when your product looks like one of those, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Ship Something They Can Touch (Not a Waitlist)" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 5 primary sources — real founder write-ups and interviews, not generic advice. They are linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original accounts yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is medium effort, and results tend to be fast.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via HN posting guide and HN marketing for dev tools, is in the paid library.

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