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They can, but for open-source startups I recommend they do a Show HN first, for the following reasons:

(1) If the Show HN succeeds, then they can save their Launch HN card to play later; if it doesn't succeed, they can go ahead and do a Launch HN soon afterwards.

(2) Show HN is more about the project/tech, especially when it's open-source. Launch HN is more about the startup/business.

(3) Nowadays many startups offer an open-source (or open core) version for free, then make money with a hosted version. For these, it's a good fit to first do a Show HN about the open-source offering, and then later do a Launch HN about the cloud product.

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0xbadcafebee 2 days ago | parent [-]

There needs to be a new term for this grassroots astroturf... Grasstroturf? Get the nerds' attention with free tech, down-playing the fact that it's a business, so later they can pump them for money easier. The pig doesn't want to see the knife, they just want the free trough.

	▲	dang 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		FWIW, I've spent time at YC open-source events where later-stage founders advise earlier-stage ones, and this isn't the kind of advice they give. In fact they would describe that as a terrible strategy and tell startups to avoid it. If I were to give an example of actual advice I've heard, using the terms of your comment, it might be: keep the nerds happy with free open-source software that actually works, then charge money for things that companies (especially enterprise companies) actually prefer to pay for. The "paid hosted offering" pattern is the most common of these, since nerds might want to run their own instances but many IT departments do not.