My issues with the launchpad products pushed me to build a better one...

Over the past few days, I’ve been exploring several product launch platforms. I wanted to get my newly built product in front of people, so naturally, I started looking at platforms like Product Hunt and other directories where indie developers launch and promote their products.

But the more platforms I explored, the more frustrated I became.

Some wanted me to verify ownership before submitting. Others wouldn’t let me launch unless I completed certain tasks on their websites. And then some platforms required me to embed their badges on my own website just to get a listing.

I understand that these platforms have their own business models and reasons for doing things. But it got me thinking:

Aren’t these platforms supposed to make product discovery easier for founders? Why does getting listed feel like another marketing task in itself?

I started wondering whether there was a better way to approach product discovery and what I’d want from a platform if I were building one myself.

And that’s what this article is about.

I am not ungrateful

I understand that these platforms solve a real pain point for indie hackers. I also understand that building and maintaining these platforms takes time, effort, and money. They deserve credit for that.

But goddammit, a platform is supposed to make someone’s life easier, not harder.

Today, founders aren’t launching on just Product Hunt or one or two other directories. They’re submitting their products to dozens, sometimes hundreds, of launch platforms.

Now imagine if every single one of them asked founders to embed their badge on their website before allowing them to launch.

What would your homepage even look like? A wall full of launch badges?

And how many deployments would you need just to get your product listed everywhere?

At some point, the entire purpose of these platforms gets lost. Instead of helping founders distribute their products, they’re adding another set of chores to an already long launch checklist.

A quick note on dofollow and nofollow links
If you’re unfamiliar with these terms, here’s a quick explanation.

When one website links to another, search engines can use that link as a signal when evaluating the linked website.

A dofollow link is simply a regular hyperlink without a nofollow attribute. It can pass link equity (often called link juice), which may contribute to the linked website's search engine rankings.

A nofollow link includes the rel="nofollow" attribute. It tells search engines that the website doesn't necessarily endorse or want to associate itself with the linked page. Search engines generally treat it as a hint rather than an absolute instruction.

So, why does this matter?

Some product directories offer dofollow backlinks as a premium feature, while free listings may receive nofollow links. In other words, founders sometimes have to pay extra to get a link that may provide additional SEO value.

Why I built Rebupl

That’s where Rebupl comes in.

As I explored these platforms, I found myself appreciating what I’d built even more.

Unlike some platforms, I don’t sell dofollow links at different price points. I don’t ask founders to embed badges on their websites just to launch a product. Every product launch gets its own dedicated launch card, even if it’s a free launch.

I also don’t believe founders should have to wait weeks, let alone months, just to get their products listed.

Here’s a funny example. I submitted Rebupl to Uneed for a free listing. And guess what launch date I got?

May 5th.

Can you believe that? I have to wait more than six months just to get a free listing!

I understand that platforms have their own launch schedules and curation processes. But six months? By then, who knows what the product will look like, or whether the launch will even be relevant?

That’s the kind of friction I wanted to avoid with Rebupl.

Most indie developers are bootstrapping their businesses, building in their spare time, and trying to make their first dollar. They shouldn’t have to pay multiple platforms just to get noticed. Paid promotions are fine, but basic product discovery should be accessible to everyone, regardless of budget.

That’s the principle I wanted to build Rebupl around.

What exactly do you get on Rebupl?

So, what does Rebupl actually offer?

I wanted to keep things simple. You shouldn’t have to pay just to get your product listed. That’s why Rebupl has a free launch option, and it isn’t just a basic listing with half the features locked away.

Free — $0, forever

You can launch up to five products per weekly drop, and every launch gets:

• A permanent, public product page with a dofollow backlink.
• An automatic share card for your launch.
• Community upvotes and leaderboard placement.
• Click and referral analytics.
• Access to 15 free launch tools.
• Unlimited creator enquiries.

And yes, the product page stays public and indexable. You don’t have to pay to keep your listing alive.

Premium Launch — $34.99 (one-time)

If you want more than a product listing, there’s Premium Launch.

It includes everything needed for a launch in the next weekly drop, along with an editorial article covering your product, the problem it solves, and who it’s built for.

The article is also cross-posted to Medium and Substack, giving your product additional exposure. You also get priority placement and a feature in the weekly recap.

It’s a one-time purchase. No subscriptions, no recurring charges.

Launch Story — $99.99 (one-time)

This is for founders who want a more dedicated promotional push rather than just a listing or editorial feature.

It includes everything in Premium Launch, plus:

• A dedicated X post from the Rebupl account.
• A LinkedIn post and newsletter mention.
• One dedicated post in a named community.
• Content written and published by hand within five business days.
• Again, it’s a one-time purchase.

*One thing worth highlighting
*
Remember our discussion about dofollow and nofollow links?

Here’s something I deliberately did differently.

The free launch actually gets a dofollow backlink. The paid tiers, on the other hand, use sponsored nofollow links.

Why?

Because I don’t want to sell link equity as a premium feature. The paid plans are for additional distribution, editorial work, and promotional effort, not for buying a better backlink.

I think that’s a much fairer approach. Everyone gets a proper product page and a backlink, regardless of whether they spend a single dollar on Rebupl.

Rebupl is not only a Launch Pad

Another problem founders often face is finding the right people to help get their products in front of a larger audience.

Getting listed on a launch platform is one thing. Finding creators who can actually help distribute your product is another.

Keeping that in mind, I added a creator discovery feature to Rebupl.

The idea is simple: why limit distribution to X when there are so many other platforms out there? Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Medium, Substack, and plenty more.

Creators can create public pages, list the platforms they work on, and optionally showcase their past work. They can then share these pages with potential clients or get discovered by founders through Rebupl Creators directory.

You might wonder why a product launchpad needs this feature. Well, I’ve seen indie developers promote other people’s products on X to fund their own projects.

I wanted Rebupl to make it easier for these creators to connect with founders who need help with distribution.

After all, it shouldn’t just help founders get discovered; it should help them find the right people to grow their products too.

Can I keep this running if the product never makes any money?

Honestly, I think so.

At least for now, I’m running Rebupl on Cloudflare’s free tier. And looking at the kind of traffic and usage I’m expecting initially, I don’t see myself hitting those limits anytime soon.

Cloudflare gives you 100,000 Worker requests per day on its free plan, and if you’re using D1, there’s a 500 MB limit per database. That’s plenty of room for a small product directory like Rebupl, at least at its current stage.

And there’s another thing: I don’t necessarily need hundreds of paid launches to keep this going.

If even one person purchases an editorial feature or a promotional package occasionally, that should be enough to help cover the infrastructure costs.

Of course, that might change as the platform grows. More users, more traffic, and more data will eventually mean higher infrastructure costs. But that’s a problem I’d be happy to have.

For now, I don’t want to overcomplicate things or introduce subscriptions just to cover costs that I don’t even have yet.

I’d rather keep the platform accessible, see how people use it, and figure out monetization as it grows.

The goal isn’t just to make money. The goal is to provide value, because providing value is what makes you irreplaceable.

Published on Medium as well, by Gaurav Kumar aka @itstheanurag