On Post-Launch Blues

An Unspoken Challenge for Product Builders

Years ago, I read about a strange phenomenon: you plan a trip with huge excitement, but the moment you arrive, you get a weird sad feeling (you'll read many explanations, such as a dip in adrenaline and dopamine).

What I didn't realize was how important it is for product builders to be aware of this, and how much it has affected me as an entrepreneur.

Lately, I noticed myself bouncing between many projects, here’s how it goes:

Idea thrill —> Product development thrill —> Launch —> Depression! —> thrill of a new idea. Even Gemini got used to it and calls it "your excitement cycle."

I remember a comment from a dear friend when I first told him about the Sarahah idea: "You started a new project only to stop it?!"
Turns out, my problem goes way back 😆

Maybe I'm more susceptible to this as I'm someone who feeds on excitement; I’m extroverted to a harmful degree.
But remember, as an entrepreneur, your role is different from a project manager who hands over their project to another department, or a contractor who delivers it to a client. You need to keep going…

It's true that, unlike what my friend expected, I kept going with Sarahah, but the rapid growth (and drama) kept feeding the excitement...
Today, the market is different, and it's rare to get such growth, especially since the last widely adopted social network (TikTok) is over 8 years old!

A final thought: this might explain why dev teams (especially students or fresh graduates) seem down and ask for new tasks after a product launch or, even worse, look for new job opportunities!
The thrill is over, and they’re having post-launch blues...