????胡佛及其9人團隊的積極態度成功地感染了整個網站和社區。他們經常在討論中插入一些正面的回應，策劃不同主題的新聞通訊，主持輕松幽默的個人播客，還召集影響力人士聚餐。你可以看出他們是發自真心地熱愛應用程序，并因此吸引了另一批應用程序的愛好者。

????Product Hunt的發展也在Hacker News上引起了關注。Hacker News上一個公布Product Hunt上線消息的帖子里，評論者們對其網站設計進行了抨擊。在公司在加入Y Combinator時，Hacker News上被頂到首位的評論質問道：“Product Hunt竟然也能算得上是一項業務？”并稱這一決策為“又一次令人失望的行動”。

????永遠保持積極態度的胡佛表示，大家提到的業務問題是“一條有意義的批評”。他承認，Product Hunt只是為科技界和初創界的小規模社區提供服務，這聽起來確實不像一個價值百萬美元的創意。不僅如此，“（Hacker News的用戶）可能把Product Hunt看作是山寨貨，”他說，“我們并不是在解決一項清晰明確的需求，類似于‘這能拯救生命’或者‘這能在每個月創收幾百萬’等等。這自然會引發外界的質疑。”但是他反駁道，包括Facebook和Twitter在內，任何投給面向消費者的科技初創公司的投資，在最初都是比較盲目的。“這是很受情感驅使的決定。”他說。

????他計劃進一步拓展Product Hunt，涉足其他數個領域，其中也包括游戲。作為一名消費者和手游平臺PlayHaven的產品總監，他對這個行業十分熟悉。至于具體的商業模式，胡佛的設想是，Product Hunt會通過相當直接的廣告模式來實現貨幣化。目前，該網站是通過發布招聘信息獲取投機收入的。胡佛表示，他希望Product Hunt到最后能夠實現站內推薦產品的交易環節，讓人們能在站內直接購買他們在這里找到的數碼產品。

????不過胡佛目前還不必為錢的事發愁。他在8月21日公開宣布，Product Hunt已經募得了100萬美元的資金，投資方有A級投資（A-Grade Investments，阿什頓?庫徹創立的投資基金）、牛仔風投（Cowboy Ventures）、CrunchFund、谷歌風投（Google Ventures）、格雷洛克發現基金（Greylock Discovery Fund）、慢風投（Slow Ventures）、天使投資公司SV Angel、創業工廠兼風投公司Betaworks、Tradecraft、Vayner RSE和勒德洛風投（Ludlow Ventures），此外還有天使投資方阿卜杜勒?喬杜里、陳春、布倫登?穆里根、杰克?奧爾特曼、納瓦爾?拉維坎特、尼爾?厄雅和Y Combinator（2014年夏季入駐；總額中包括標準的YC投資額）。該公司還發布了一款iPhone應用，開發方為iOS開發人員戴維?麥金尼，讓該網站的功能在移動設備上也能正常使用。

????Product Hunt之美在于一切從簡，而這意味著該網站很容易遭到復制。胡佛認為，Product Hunt的真正價值在于他所吸引來的高質量用戶社區。在試圖打入主流領域的同時繼續保持社區的高質量水準，這或許就是他所面對的最大挑戰。他相信Product Hunt能夠打入應用愛好者的市場，這些愛好者并不把自己視作早期采用者（譯注：指具有冒險精神、喜歡嘗試新產品的人），但不管怎樣他們的確就是。鑒于智能手機如今已是如此無處不在，“所謂的早期采用者已經越來越少了，”他說道。（財富中文網）

????The infectious positive attitude of Hoover and his nine-person team comes through on the site and in its community. They chime in frequently with positive feedback, curate themed newsletters, host personal, jokey podcasts, and gather influencers together for brunch events. You can tell they genuinely love apps, and in turn, they’ve attracted a community of app-lovers.

????Product Hunt hasn’t gone without notice on Hacker News. A post on Hacker News announcing the site was met with criticism of its design. When the company joined Y Combinator, the top comment on Hacker News asked, “How is Product Hunt even a business?” calling the decision “another disappointing move.”

????Ever positive, Hoover says the business question is “a valid piece of criticism.” He acknowledges that a business catering to the small tech and startup community doesn’t seem like a billion-dollar idea. Further, “[Hacker News members] might see Product Hunt as a copycat,” he says. “We’re not solving a clear, obvious need, like ‘This saves lives,’ or, ‘This has X million in revenue per month.’ Obviously there is skepticism.” But he counters that any investment in a consumer-facing tech startup, including Facebook and Twitter, is less obvious in the beginning. “It’s very much based on emotions,” he says.

????He has plans to expand Product Hunt into other categories, including gaming, an industry he’s familiar with as a consumer and as director of product at PlayHaven. As for the business model, Hoover imagines Product Hunt will monetize with a fairly straightforward advertising model. Today the site makes opportunistic revenue through job postings. Eventually, Hoover says he’d like to see Product Hunt own the transaction part of its recommendations, allowing people to directly buy the digital products they find on the site.

????But Hoover doesn’t have to worry about money just yet. Today, he will reveal that Product Hunt has raised $1 million in venture funding from A-Grade Investments (the investment fund of Ashton Kutcher), Cowboy Ventures, CrunchFund, Google Ventures, Greylock Discovery Fund, Slow Ventures, SV Angel, betaworks, Tradecraft, Vayner RSE, and Ludlow Ventures as well as angel investors Abdur Chowdhury, Andrew Chen, Brenden Mulligan, Jack Altman, Naval Ravikant, NirEyal and Y Combinator (summer 2014 batch; its sum includes the standard YC investment.) The company also announced an iPhone app, built by iOS developer David McKinney, which adapts the site’s functions for mobile devices.

????Product Hunt’s beauty is in its simplicity, which means the site can easily be copied. Hoover believes its real value is in the high-quality community he’s attracted. Keeping the community’s quality high as he attempts to break into the mainstream may be his greatest challenge. He believes Product Hunt can tap into a market of app-lovers who don’t consider themselves early adopters but are anyway. Given how pervasive smartphones are today, “the early adopter thing is shrinking,” he says.