There isn't really one answer for this. Let's say you're trying to build a new product and need 20 beta testers, then a launch is successful if you got 20 beta testers. Are you launching for PR/third party product validation? Then you should end up in the top 3 or 5. Metrics can either be internal or external (or a combination of both) depending on where in the lifecycle your launch is: - Internal: Website visits, signups, feedback, beta users, paid users etc. - External: Leveraging Product Hunt as 3rd source validation for PR and news: top 3-5

Incidentally, I'm wording the same thing. Do let me know if you figure it out.

top 3 or 5

I actually recently answer a similar question on Quora: https://qr.ae/pve87g It depends on what you mean by “success”. Being the number 1 product of the day is quite difficult and there is always a random part to it, as you never know who will be your competition. However, you do not need to be 1st product of the day to be successful. You can also get interesting results even if you finish in the top 20: - at least 200 visits on you website - a do follow link from product hunt, which is always nice for SEO.