Are More Products Launching Now?

· product-design, business

The Idea

Browsing Mobbin, I notice what feels like a surge in new products being catalogued. Is this real — more companies launching — or perception (checking less frequently, Mobbin growing its coverage, selection bias)?

Possible Explanations

It's real:

  • AI lowered the barrier to build — smaller teams shipping faster
  • Design tools democratized (Figma, Framer, v0) — more products look "good enough" to feature
  • Indie hacker / solo founder moment
  • Post-ZIRP: fewer mega-rounds, more small bets

It's perception:

  • Checking less frequently → more accumulates per visit
  • Mobbin expanded coverage (web patterns, more curators post-Wonder acquisition)
  • Primed to notice (actively studying products right now)

Verification

Data Found

US Business Applications (FRED/Census):

  • Nov 2025: 535K applications/month
  • Pre-pandemic baseline: ~300K/month (2019)
  • COVID spike: 450K+ starting mid-2020
  • Sustained elevation: Still 50-75% above pre-pandemic levels

This suggests yes, it's real — structurally more businesses forming since 2020.

VC Funding (Crunchbase 2024):

  • Global VC: $314B in 2024 (+3% YoY)
  • AI captured 1/3 of all funding ($100B+, up 80% YoY)
  • Mega-rounds ($1B+) increased share: 19% of funding vs 15% in 2023
  • Seed funding actually declined in Q4 2024 (-16%)

Interpretation:

  • More businesses forming overall ✓
  • But VC concentrated in fewer, larger bets
  • Seed decline suggests harder for new startups to get funded
  • AI is sucking oxygen from other categories

Still Unknown

  • Product Hunt launch volume (would be most direct signal)
  • Mobbin cataloging velocity (internal metric)
  • GitHub new repo creation trends
  • App store submission volumes

Sources

Why This Matters

If true, implications for:

  • Competition: More noise, harder to stand out
  • Opportunity: Lower barrier = more experiments = faster learning loops
  • Hiring: Talent spread thinner across more companies
  • Investment: More seed deals, smaller checks?

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