The Cursor way to launch

#showdev #startup #marketing

Last month, Cursor launched for the fifth time on Product Hunt in 2025.

The 2024 Product of the Year still hits the charts. They have launched web and mobile agents, a visual editor, and 2.0, consistently ranking in the Top 5 Products of the Day.

I had a look at their recent launches. Here's what I found.

What Cursor did right

Straightforward tagline. The 60-character tagline might be the most important part of a launch. It's the first thing you see on the front page. What makes Cursor stand out? They highlight the features, not the benefits.
Minimalist visual assets. The image gallery is the first impression of your product. It sets expectations. Cursor's recent launches highlighted 2 to 4 images. No stock images, no marketing fluff, just product screenshots. They show the product.
Found a Hunter. Ben Lang was the hunter of their latest launches - an established user with 50K+ followers, among the 2022 Community Members of the Year (runner-up). It might help increase their reach.
Feedback first. Like the tagline and visual assets, the first comment is the simplest. No looooooong background stories, they're just genuinely curious about what the community thinks of the release.
Riding the tailwinds. Last but not least, the launch timing. They first announced the product updates on X, gained momentum, and then launched on Product Hunt the next day, riding the tailwinds.

Final thoughts

For context, Cursor has 20K+ followers on Product Hunt. It certainly helps get more exposure. However, IMHO it's only part of the formula. Straightforward tagline, minimalist image gallery, simple comments... It all resonates with developers, their target audience. To quote Lee Robinson on what great developer marketing looks like:

Great marketing values your time; every word matters. Show them how to build interesting things; don’t fill a post with 1,000 words of garbage.

-- Lee Robinson (Vercel, Cursor)

Developers are resistant to anything that looks, sounds, or smells like marketing. Cursor keeps it simple, and it works.