What worked for us. With actual data, screenshots, and tips.
Since January, we've accomplished quite a bit. We've successfully launched two productivity tools that people seem to love. The vast majority of ratings are 5/5. Our userbase is growing steadily by about 2,000 people a day. And we haven't done any marketing yet. I wanted to write abou
What worked for us. With actual data, screenshots, and tips. launched on March 25, 2011 with 78 votes, #12 of 272 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 15 years on.
In plain words
A case study documenting the growth and launch strategies of two productivity tools. The product examines how the creators built and launched their applications, including Groups and Calendar, which gained thousands of users without paid marketing. The resource shares actual data, screenshots, and practical tips from the development process, offering insights into product strategy and user acquisition for those building software.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Since January, we've accomplished quite a bit. We've successfully launched two productivity tools that people seem to love. The vast majority of ratings are 5/5. Our userbase is growing steadily by about 2,000 people a day. And we haven't done any marketing yet. I wanted to write about what we did r
Since January, we’ve accomplished quite a bit. We’ve successfully launched two productivity tools that people seem to love. The vast majority of ratings are 5/5. Our userbase is growing steadily by about 2,000 people a day. And we haven’t done any marketing yet. I wanted to write about what we did right so far, and our decisions along the way. TL;DR : Groups! has over 30,000 users, is growing by 500 a day without any advertising, is being used 6,000x a day by 2,500 users. Calendar was launched 2 weeks ago, already has over 30,000 users, is in the top 25 apps on the Mac, is being used 20,000x a day by 5,000 users. And these numbers seem to be steadily increasing. Calendar…from qbix.com
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wallhop is a free paywall bypass. Paste any article link to read it without paywall popups, ads or clutter. No signup, no extension. A simple 12ft.io alternative.
Growth · 11d ago · wallhop.io
Source: Show HN post ↗
Launched alongside, March 2011
the whole month →- MC
Life & fun · 2011 · zetabee.com
- NW
My buddy paulsingh and I have been working on this for a few weeks, got something up and running and wanted to show you. The problem we're solving: When you need customer service (your flight got canceled, strange fees on your bill, etc) you just want to talk to a real person. Waiting on hold wastes your time AND your concentration; you can't be coding in the zone when part of your brain is waiting for an operator. Our solution: We wanted to make it "one click" to reach a real person. How it works: You click on who you want to talk to (even a specific department, like the billing dept at…
Dev tools · 2011 · fastcustomer.com
- BA
Life & fun · 2011 · clayallsopp.posterous.com
- MN
Work · 2011 · colorapi.com
- RL
Documentation for Diffbot — transform the raw web into structured knowledge.
AI · 2011 · diffbot.com
- IM
I recently decided to try out Google Tasks as my only task management system, and while I find some things about the interface great, it really isn't suited for someone like me who has multiple lists with lots of elements on each. So, I whipped this together real fast and I can't imagine using Google Tasks without it anymore. I realized you might want it too, so I put it on the web. Enjoy :)
Work · 2011 · gtasker.com