Matt...there are many ways people approach it.

Some people do a "soft launch" and use this non-formal launch to get stats, do split testing, and things like that. People do this to their list, a segment of their list, with a select few affiliates, or via a WSO or something. After they collect stats, get split testing results, and testimonials or whatever you are doing the soft launch for, then you can plan a full scale launch. Normally you would take the product "offline" while you set up the real launch.

Most often, people recruit affiliates and then do the real launch now that they have stats and an optimized funnel.

Then again, other people don't do any kind of soft or test launch and simply put the product out to the world for the first time at official launch.

So the product can go live before the launch or at launch...different people do it different ways.

I just released a coaching program and did a test launch to get stats and I am going to use the stats to recruit affiliates since they were very good. I can also get testimonials out of it and also make sure everything is working technically.

But I have done plenty of cold launches as well where the product was never soft launched.