On today’s episode we have Ryan Hoover, founder of Product Hunt and an investor at Weekend Fund. I’ve been a fan of Ryan for a while. When AngelList bought Product Hunt back in 2016, I said “I really like like Ryan Hoover and Product Hunt.” I still do. Even if he hasn’t aged a day.
You can listen to the podcast here on Spotify or Apple and now all the episodes are on my YouTube channel as well.
For more details on today’s conversation read on below…
Guest: Ryan Hoover
Profile: Founder of Product Hunt, Investor with Weekend Fund
Where to Find Him: Twitter
What’s Ryan Panicked About?: Having kids.
The Takeaway:
We cover the early days building Product Hunt in the Tenderloin district, his move to Miami, and raising money naked in the age of Zoom. Growing up in a middle class family of entrepreneurs in Eugene, Oregon – they owned a video store – gave Ryan a view of the world through an entrepreneurial lens. After a stint at a video game company in Eugene, Ryan found his way to San Francisco where he worked at a startup called Playhaven. He spent three and a half years building a network, relationships, and blogging. He was curious about discovering great products and wrote a newsletter, which led to Product Hunt.
Once he sold Product Hunt to AngelList, Ryan switched hats to become an investor. He’d thought of venture investing before; he loved the idea of talking to founders and discovering new companies, but the time wasn’t right. Fast forward to 2017 and Ryan charged right in with Weekend Fund. We talk a little crypto, building communities, and round out our conversation with the three favorite public companies he’d buy tomorrow, regardless of price.
Favorite Quote:
“How do I buy a stock Howard? I don’t even… just kidding!”
