Marc Lou is one of the clearest examples of what consistent distribution can do for a solo founder.
Here's the original video this article is based on:
He used Hacker News - with no audience and no ad budget - to drive more than 25,000 visitors to his products.
I have been paying close attention to Marc's approach because, as someone building PythonStarter for Python and Flask developers, I care just as much about distribution as I do about building the product itself.
Here's the original guide this article is based on: How to launch a startup on Hacker News.
Who Is Marc Lou?
Most developers spend years waiting for the right idea. Marc Lou just kept shipping.
Over two and a half years he built and launched 21 products - software tools, AI apps, habit trackers - while living in Bali on a tight budget. Most went nowhere. He launched them anyway.
Then came ShipFast. One Product Hunt launch brought 3,000 visitors and $6,000 in 48 hours.
By the end of 2024, ShipFast alone was generating over $100,000 per month, Marc had crossed $1 million in lifetime revenue, and Product Hunt had named him Maker of the Year in both 2023 and 2024.
The thing that changed everything was not just the product. It was distribution.
What Is Hacker News?
Hacker News is a tech news aggregator run by Y Combinator - the startup accelerator behind companies like Dropbox, Airbnb, and Stripe.
Its audience is unusually valuable for indie makers: developers, designers, technical founders, and people who actually build and buy software.
That is why traffic from Hacker News can convert so well.
Marc's results over roughly 2.5 years included:
- "Mood to Movie" - 5,000 visitors in a few hours
- "Habits Garden" - 10,000+ visitors after hitting the front page
- ZenVoice - customers and revenue from a single post
- More than 25,000 visitors across multiple launches in total
Not every post went viral. But the formula was consistent enough that it kept bringing traffic, feedback, and customers.
Tip 1 - Post in the Right Category
Hacker News has several submission categories, but the one that matters most for indie developers is /show.
This is where makers share products they built themselves. To post there, start your title with:
Show HN:
That prefix automatically tells Hacker News what kind of post it is.
Here is the promotion ladder:
- New submissions start in
/newest - If they get traction, they move into more visible feeds
- The biggest goal is the front page, where the traffic spike can be massive
Marc says getting into Show HN consistently is already worthwhile. That is where most of his traffic came from.
Tip 2 - Be Personal
Hacker News readers are skeptical of marketing language.
What they respond to is a real person telling a real story.
Start with first-person language:
- "I made..."
- "I built..."
- "After 6 months of coding..."
You are not a faceless startup. You are a developer who hit a problem and built something to solve it.
That framing matters on Hacker News because the audience is full of people who have done the same thing themselves.
Tip 3 - Speak the Language
Hacker News is a technical community. Generic consumer language gets ignored.
Words like "course", "coaching", "e-commerce", or "productivity app" are too broad to create curiosity with this audience.
Technical framing works better because it signals what is actually novel.
Marc's best example was Habits Garden. At a basic level it was a habit tracker. But instead of describing it that way, he framed it like this:
"I gamified a habit tracker to fight procrastination"
That angle was specific, slightly technical, and easy for Hacker News readers to understand at a glance.
Other examples of the same idea:
- Instead of "invoice tool" -> "a tool to ditch the Stripe invoicing fee"
- Instead of "AI writing assistant" -> "an LLM-powered copy generator"
- Instead of "starter template" -> "a pre-wired developer boilerplate"
Find the technical word or angle that accurately describes what makes your product different, and lead with that.
Tip 4 - Give the Outcome in 60 Characters
Your title is competing with dozens of other posts. You only have a moment to make someone click.
Marc's formula is simple:
Show HN: I made [product with a tech word] to [outcome]
Here are a few examples:
- Show HN: I made a tool to ditch the Stripe invoicing fee
- Show HN: I gamified a habit tracker to fight procrastination
- Show HN: I made PythonStarter to ship Flask apps without touching React
The outcome is the part that matters most.
Do not just describe what the product is. Tell people what they get out of it. Why is it worth their time? What problem disappears if they click?
Tip 5 - Write the First Comment
As soon as your post is live, go straight to the comments and write the first one yourself.
This is where you tell the story behind the product.
Marc's template is simple:
- Introduce yourself by name
- Explain the specific problem you kept running into
- Describe what it was costing you in time or money
- Explain why you built the solution
- Mention two or three concrete features
- Invite feedback or questions
His ZenVoice comment opened with a very relatable line about paying Stripe $1,600 just to generate PDF invoices.
That works because it is specific. It makes the pain real immediately.
If the post gets traction, you will start getting comments back. Reply to them. Hacker News can be blunt, but the feedback is often useful.
Tip 6 - Three Mistakes That Get You Ignored or Banned
There are a few mistakes Marc warns against very clearly.
Don't use emojis
Marc says emoji-heavy posts seem to perform badly and may even get buried.
Don't ask for upvotes
This is the biggest mistake.
Unlike Product Hunt, Hacker News explicitly discourages vote manipulation. If you blast a direct link to friends and ask them to upvote, moderators can spot it.
Posts get flagged. Sometimes they get removed entirely. Repeat it enough and you can get banned.
Don't waste energy on link-blasting
Instead of trying to force momentum from the outside, spend that energy on the headline and first comment.
On Hacker News, that is where most of the leverage is.
Tip 7 - Don't Overthink It
Once you have a strong headline and a genuine first comment, post it and move on.
Hacker News is much more random than Product Hunt. You cannot really engineer virality.
Some posts take off. Most do not.
The best thing you can do is keep the framing honest, specific, and outcome-led, then keep shipping and keep posting.
Tip 8 - Make Sure You Get Whitelisted
This was one of the most useful practical tips in the article.
If you have only just created a Hacker News account, you may not be able to post a Show HN right away.
The fix is simple: email hn@ycombinator.com, explain what you want to post, and ask to be whitelisted.
When I did this myself, I got a reply in about two days.
Without that extra step, your post can get automatically blocked before it has a real chance.
The Compound Effect
Marc's first Hacker News post was not a breakout success. Neither was his second.
But he kept using the same formula:
Show HNprefix- Personal framing
- Technical language
- Outcome-led title
- A genuine first comment
Over time, each launch built his reputation, brought in more customers, and gave him better feedback on what to build next.
Marc puts it simply: "There is very little you can do to influence the reach of your post. Craft a good headline, post it, and move on."
That is the bigger lesson here.
He went from zero income to $1M in revenue without paid ads, without a team, and without an audience. He just kept shipping, submitting, and compounding the results.
Summary Checklist
Before you post on Hacker News, make sure you have:
- A title that starts with
Show HN: - A first-person angle like "I made" or "I built"
- At least one technical word that makes the positioning sharper
- A clear outcome in the title, not just a product description
- A short first comment ready to post immediately
- No emojis
- No plan to ask friends for direct upvotes
- A whitelisted account if it is brand new
I usually write about building web apps with Python and Flask. If you are a budding Python developer and want a starter kit that helps you ship faster, check out PythonStarter - which I recently launched on Hacker News myself.