Chris Messina Chris Messina Inventor of the hashtag

👋🏻 Hey, it's me, Chris Messina!

Helping founders nail their launches.

  • Inventor of the Hashtag
  • #1 Product Hunter
  • Investor & Product Designer

Most of my work lives at the intersection of product strategy, positioning, and launch. A couple of calls, a clear diagnosis, a sharper message.

I use Acuity — it's painless.

Portrait of Chris Messina

Since 2005

Making things on the internet.

I've been making things on the internet since 2005 — blogging, building open standards, advocating for an open social web, and eventually coining the hashtag, which turned out to be one of those ideas that got away from me in the best possible way.

After years at Google, Uber, and in and around the startup world, I now spend my time doing something I'm genuinely good at: helping founders understand why their product isn't landing, and how to fix it before it's too late.

Most of my work lives at the intersection of product strategy, positioning, and launch. I'm one of the most experienced Product Hunt hunters alive — I've launched hundreds of products on the platform and watched patterns emerge that most founders never see coming. When something I've hunted reaches #1 Product of the Day, it's rarely an accident.

I work with a small number of founders at a time, typically in short, focused engagements. A couple of calls, a clear diagnosis, a sharper message. That's usually enough to change the trajectory of a launch.

A few things that might tell you something about me

  • 2007I invented the hashtag.
  • Open social webI helped advocate for ActivityPub adoption at Ghost.
  • The open webI care deeply about the open web and what gets built on it.
  • Since 2005I've been blogging since 2005.

Book Your Strategy Call

If you're preparing to launch — or trying to understand why a recent launch underperformed — I'd like to hear about it.

Book a call Want to work together? I use Acuity, it's painless.