What hobbies or skills do the founders in the Product Hunt community have?
Whenever I click through to the social media profiles of the makers in the product hunt community, I find that they are quite versatile and are involved in things other than just business.
What other skills do you have besides your work skills?
I turned some of my hobbies into a business a few years ago, but reverted back to just enjoying them as hobbies:
photography/videography/editing
yoga/workouts
photomodeling (yeah, I was paid also for that 😀)
learning foreign languages
I would like to hear what other "super-powers" you have besides coding, marketing or sales. :-)
Replies
I don’t even know what state I’m in right now. All I do is sit with my PC or phone, writing prompts, building stuff. I don’t code, I am not a developer, I just make AI do it for me. That’s how I built @Unrealshot AI, @Threddr, Lexistock and many more.
My inner self knows I’m messing up somewhere. Sitting all day. Ignoring things that matter. My wife isn’t happy with how deep I’ve gone into this. But still… my fingers move on their own. They don’t want to stop. I try to rest, but even while sleeping, ideas keep circling in my head. I wake up, and I build.
It’s not always healthy, but it gives me peace. That feeling when something you imagined turns real, even if it’s small, it’s addictive. I know I should travel, I know I should go with friends, but I can't even if I want. For me, building is hobby, timepass and work. I feel happy when I think something, write it and it comes out beautifully done with words. And maybe that’s the problem… or maybe that’s the gift.
Any suggestion to balance evrything??
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@harvanshchaudhary At least, try to grab your notebook to the nature (and you can say you touched the grass) :P Jokes aside, I would suggest to find a physical activity where your arms are busy, ideally some sport :)
@harvanshchaudhary Don't feel guilty-you're not alone. This is what Chat-GPT said to me
@harvanshchaudhary I am very much this way too. What worked for me was planning and scheduling the work. If I don't plan it, then I will start working on whatever pops into my head, and I can't stop until I see that idea through. But if I add it to a task list and put it on the calendar, then it literally frees me. If I get everything I scheduled done early, then I can do anything else, guilt free.
Thankfully I'm sometimes forced into more social situations and I remember I like people. One of my coworkers at my day job suggested we start going on walks and I realized (remembered?) that I actually enjoy being outside. For me, little things like that along with having my work in a schedule has really helped with the work-life balance.
@harvanshchaudhary Good luck!
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@harvanshchaudhary @appsforhumans "If I don't plan it, then I will start working on whatever pops into my head," Aren't we twins? 🤣
Lancepilot
I think founders often underestimate how much their hobbies fuel their creativity, sometimes even more than business books do.
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@priyankamandal Good you mentioned: Books and travelling are also on my list.
What works for you? :)
Lancepilot
@busmark_w_nika Right now Sneaker Shopping. I have 20+ Pair. Need to shopping more. 😄
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@priyankamandal Shoppaholic? :D I feel we need to earn more money to purchase all of them :DD
Lancepilot
@busmark_w_nika That's why I'm on a quest for the best sneakers, so I can outrun my competitors, dodge feature requests, and cross the finish line before anyone else even hits “deploy". 😄
I see a lot of makers getting good at CapCut, Canva, sales, and writing tweets or posts. I’m still new, but thinking of going deeper into CapCut editing. Do you think it’s a good skill to grow with?
@hien_phan_harry I'm picking it up, not the steepest learning curve and just needs reps! Good luck with it :)
@n_oso_okra nice, I'm learning it, easy than i've thought!
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@hien_phan_harry I think that a video production is worth it. Video is one of the most consumed formats across platforms! :)
@busmark_w_nika same thoughts! let's do it :)
Hey! Trail Running, Karate, Flying! ;-)
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@narratas wait wait wait! What flying? :D How? :D
contactform.dev
I do Muay Thai, read books and have a very cute doggo. Sometime I also go for bike rides. Last not least playing chess.
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@malithmcrdev What good book have you read lately? :)
contactform.dev
@busmark_w_nika currently reading a book called The safe place by Anna Downes. It's not bad so far.
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@malithmcrdev Fiction book?
Do you have any recommendations for non-fiction? :)
Well, that was a nice discussion. I am interested in learning new languages, watching TV, and running in nature.
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@eljo_prifti What languages do you learn? :)
@busmark_w_nika German :) You?
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@eljo_prifti German as well + Spanish and French (But this one is very hard) :D
WebCurate.co
I love football! Actually, I'd wanted to be a pro footballer before stepping into building products :)
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@hosseinyazdi Do you still play (at least for hobby)? :)
WebCurate.co
@busmark_w_nika Yep, that's my main passion!
I'm not yet the founder of my own project, but I find this question quite interesting. Here are some of my daily hobbies:
Coffee: I enjoy both pour-over and espresso-style coffee. I find peace in the process of brewing coffee and love exploring different coffee beans.
Meditation: It has given me a lot of inner strength and helped me navigate through past chaos.
AI: Lately, I've been using AI to create small tools, organize my thoughts, and even structure novel settings and outlines.
Crafts: Wire art and collage journaling bring me a sense of flow and creativity.
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@gin_6078 When you are talking about AI coding/crafting, do you have any programming background? Or are you learning from scratch?
@busmark_w_nika I have no prior coding experience, but I use Cursor and Claude to assist me. I rely on Cursor to write small tools and use Claude to answer my questions. Essentially, I’m learning as I go—rather than focusing on traditional coding, I’m more interested in figuring out how to better utilize AI coding tools.
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@gin_6078 So do you somehow understand the code, or just giving prompts of your visualisation and "rating" the UX/UI result? :)
@busmark_w_nika Most of the time, it's the latter. However, after seeing enough examples, I can roughly understand the structure of the code. I know how to modify specific styles without relying on AI.
What a wonderful thread!
When I'm not working on my product (rare), I:
- run my nonprofit (feeding stray animals at Ukraine's frontlines)
- read (55+ books/year)
- dance in a mosh pit (any punks here?)
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@maia_iva Wow, you have so many books read. What was your fave?
Surfing!
Part of the reason I work so hard is so I can have the freedom to surf all the time as soon as possible
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@emikes919 Where do you surf? My country doesn't have the sea, so it is kinda unreal for me. 😅🙈
@busmark_w_nika new york city baby. rockaway beach.
A holiday trip to a beginner surf destination is worth it for you to give it a try!
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@emikes919 I silently envy. :D
I love working out, as well as volunteering to walk dogs at my nearby pet shop! I find it wholesome to see a dog smile and be released from the 3x3 room they've been locked in for hours at a time!
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@warrenharmon That is a kind gesture from you. Can't you have your own pet? :)
Heey, that's such a cool question!
Outside of Lifetoon and my freelance & consulting work, I've got a couple of hobbies - the thing is I also change them regularly. Right nowww I'd say my main hobbies are:
yoga/pilates
tennis/running
learning Spanish
cooking
digital drawing
I'm off to the comments to check other ideas!
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@ruxandra_mazilu Hey Ruxandra, thank you for sharing your list. :) Any advice or best practices on how you improved in Spanish learning? I am on the same and would love to see any progress :)
@busmark_w_nika Hey Nika! Pfiu, I have a looong backstory when it comes to learning Spanish - I got multiple opportunities to travel to Spain (academics & work) and was lucky to practice the language with the locals from various regions. To make this an ongoing habit, I'm using Preply - I have a weekly chat with a Spanish teacher (locally from Spain too) who helps me learn the language as the locals would.
I tried language learning apps like Duolingo or Babbel, but practicing with someone local through Preply is what actually helps me see relevant progress.
What methods have you used so far? What worked and what didn't?
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@ruxandra_mazilu This is a gold answer! Thank you! :) I am also considering buying a book for learning because I feel more committed when the product is physical. For now, I use only DuoLingo but for Germany I also use course book :)
@busmark_w_nika ohh that's so true! I was also looking for Spanish learning books, but I put it on hold after I started learning with Preply - now that you're saying, I might reconsider. I'm also more committed when the product is physical, so I get you.
What I also did recently was to buy a couple of books for kids in Spanish - it feels both fun and effective :))
I have recently become interested in Open World games. Just finished Assassin's Creed Odyssey and looking for more such games
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@kushagrasinha Gotcha, so games! :)
Our collective interest in games led to machines like GPUs being developed that now are used for training ai models. There are several instances where perusing one thing led to another innovation.
Personally, I just watch YouTube and that curiosity helps me be an all rounder.
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@mubashirullahd and do you have any other hobbies related to notPC? :)
@busmark_w_nika does going out to a restaurant count? XD
I use to read when I had access to the uni library.
I should work on physical activities. Im just so lazy.
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@mubashirullahd Yeah, the gourmet is a kind of hobby :D if you know how to control it :D
Mainly...tennis (not that Padel nonsense :P), dancing Hip-Hop Choreography, music production. Lately getting into reading Manga!
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@n_oso_okra Wow! You have so many hobbies. I should be inspired by you. :)
NEWOLDSTAMP
Yoga, dot-to-dot painting, 35mm photography
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@stefaniya_sparysheva Thank you for sharing. Each time, from these forums, I learn a new activity I haven't heard of before. P.S.: I love photography too <3 (Yesterday, I attended a presentation with some photographers from my country.) :)