However, the perception of some naive entrepreneurs is that being on Product Hunt is a one-way ticket to success, which is why there are tons of blog posts on Reddit and Medium about success stories: https://www.reddit.com/r/startups/search?q=Product+hunt&rest...

Another trend in those stories is "I had a strong network upvote my product!" which entrepreneurs think is a good thing (the hustle!) and obviously does not matter in the real world.

I think PH is a negative externality on the startup ecosystem.

But you have to remember, PH is another source of exposure for people's startups. They are a funded, YC company. Products on the homepage get a viral lift (via Twitter, votes, comments, etc.).

Also, it is well known that VCs and angel investors frequent PH and IIRC some have even admitted to sourcing deals on there. For someone who dreams of getting funded and moving to SV/SF, that's a very big deal.

https://pando.com/2014/05/30/sv-angel-closes-seed-deal-sourc...