What Launching Next does

Launching Next is a privately held, bootstrapped startup directory and discovery platform founded in 2013 in Chicago, IL by Alex Robb. The platform maintains a curated, human-reviewed database of 45,000+ tech startups, side projects, and business ideas, organized across 200+ category tags and accessible via browse, search, trending lists, and RSS. It serves two primary audiences: early-stage founders seeking initial visibility, feedback, and high-authority SEO backlinks (DR 51+), and early adopters/investors seeking a curated feed of new tools before mainstream discovery.

The platform's technology stack is conventional web directory infrastructure augmented by a human curation workflow and an AI feature layer. The notable proprietary technical component is an LSTM neural network (implemented in TensorFlow) trained on 90,000+ submission records, packaged as a free Startup Name Generator tool. Distribution is owned-audience-based: an 18,000+ subscriber newsletter, 25,000+ social followers, and an educational blog covering startup strategy, PMF, and launch planning. The tech stack includes Stripe for payments, Google Analytics for site measurement, and Microsoft Advertising UET for remarketing — all commodity integrations.

The business model is product-led and self-serve with three monetization layers. Standard startup submissions are free (freemium) and seed the directory. Express Approval is a $149 one-time payment for guaranteed 1-business-day review, newsletter feature, and social blast. Promoted Listings is a subscription/recurring product with impression guarantees (campaigns run free until impression goals are met). Customer concentration is structurally low given low-ticket, transactional pricing across a long tail of SMB founders. There is no disclosed revenue, no institutional funding, and a minimal operating footprint consistent with a lifestyle/small-team business.

Name

Launching Next

Legal name

Launching Next

Website

https://launchingnext.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Launching Next is a bootstrapped, human-curated startup directory founded in 2013 in Chicago, featuring 45,000+ tech startups across 200+ categories. It monetizes via $149 Express Approval submissions and Promoted Listings subscriptions, serving early-stage founders and early-adopter readers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Directory and Discovery Platform

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Startup directory platform
• Product launch listing
• Curated startup discovery
• Startup promotion service
• Daily startup newsletter

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Free Startup Submissions: Standard submission is free for startups to be listed in the directory with organic discovery through browse, search, and trending features.
2. Express Approval: Paid expedited review service ($149 one-time) providing 1-business-day publishing guarantee with immediate newsletter and social media distribution to 25,000+ followers. Full refund if submission not accepted.
3. Promoted Listings: Sustained growth and SEO-focused paid placement with guaranteed impression counts. If impression goals are not met, campaign stays live for free until goals are achieved.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Launching Next operates a curated online directory of newly launched startups, products, and websites, indexing over 45,000 startups. It accepts free standard submissions from founders, offers paid promotional tiers (Express Approval at $149 and Promoted Listings), distributes a daily newsletter to 18,000+ subscribers, and provides supporting tools such as an LSTM-based Startup Name Generator. The platform connects startup founders with early adopters, investors, and the broader startup community through web, email, RSS, and social channels.

Product overview

Launching Next is a startup discovery platform and directory offering a curated database of 45,000+ tech startups alongside marketing services for founders. The core offering consists of the Startup Directory, Daily Newsletter, and Trending Lists that work together to help founders gain visibility and early adopters discover new products. Paid services include Express Approval for expedited publishing and Promoted Listings for sustained visibility with SEO benefits. The platform also offers a free Startup Name Generator tool using LSTM neural networks, and maintains an educational blog for startup guidance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Launching Next Startup Directory A curated online directory that catalogs newly launched startups, products, and websites, with human-reviewed submissions and a database of 45,000+ startups. Used by startup founders to gain visibility and by early adopters/investors to discover new products.
• Express Approval Submission Paid submission service priced at $149 that gives founders faster review and approval to appear in the Launching Next directory, compared to the free standard submission flow.
• Promoted Listings Paid promotional upgrade that boosts the visibility of a startup's listing within the Launching Next directory and its distribution channels, targeted at founders seeking additional exposure.
• Launching Next Daily Newsletter Daily email newsletter showcasing newly launched and curated startups, distributed to 18,000+ subscribers. Used by early adopters and investors to track new product launches.
• Startup Name Generator Free AI-powered tool that uses an LSTM-based model to generate startup name suggestions. Targets founders and aspiring entrepreneurs in the ideation phase before they submit a listing.

Quantifiable outcome

• One startup achieved 7.8% freemium-to-paid conversion rate via Launching Next traffic (2x higher than average across other channels)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Product Hunt: Product Hunt is the most prominent startup launch platform, letting founders post products for community upvotes and daily ranking. Launching Next explicitly positions itself alongside Product Hunt as a 'must-post' launch destination, serving the same founders and early-adopter audience.
• BetaList: BetaList is a curated startup pre-launch platform collecting early signups and beta users. It operates a similar human-curated submission model with paid upgrades, making it a near-direct competitor in the early-stage launch distribution niche.
• Indie Hackers: Indie Hackers is a community of independent founders sharing revenue, products, and lessons. It serves the same indie/side-project founder segment and overlapping early-adopter audience, with similar community-led discovery and content marketing.
• KillerStartups: KillerStartups is a long-running startup discovery directory that showcases new products, side projects, and SaaS launches. It competes directly with Launching Next on directory traffic, submission-based listings, and early-adopter eyeballs.
• SaaSHub: SaaSHub is a software discovery platform aggregating and ranking SaaS products and alternatives. It overlaps with Launching Next on the software-startup discovery side and competes for SEO traffic from founders evaluating new tools.
• F6S: F6S is a global founder network combining startup profiles, accelerator applications, and deal flow. It serves the same founder and early-adopter audience and provides comparable directory-style discovery of newly launching companies.
• StartupStash: StartupStash curates tools, resources, and startup directories for founders. While more resource-focused than Launching Next, it competes for the same founder SEO keywords and adjacent early-stage discovery traffic.

Broad incumbents

• Wellfound (formerly AngelList Talent): Wellfound operates a broader startup and talent marketplace combining job listings, startup profiles, and fundraising tools. It overlaps with Launching Next on startup discovery but operates at materially greater scale and with institutional backing.
• Crunchbase: Crunchbase is a comprehensive startup and funding database serving investors and operators. While it indexes startups at later stages than Launching Next and emphasizes investor-facing discovery, it competes for the same organic-search keywords around new-company listings.

Emerging players

• SideProjectors: SideProjectors is a marketplace for indie makers to showcase and sell side projects. It targets a narrower side-project subset of the same founder and early-adopter audience Launching Next serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LaunchingNext
• Facebookfacebook.com/launching-next-1638177256452477

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Launching Next