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#35January 8, 20201:00:16

#33 - Pioneering The No-Code Movement

The history and false starts of WebflowY Combinator application and acceptance storyThe philosophy of visual developmentBuilding a company culture focused on longevity and retention

About This Episode

Vlad Magdalin, founder of Webflow, discusses the resilient journey of building a no-code giant, including four failed attempts and a near-rejection from Y Combinator. The episode explores the 'direct manipulation' principle in software and how visual development tools are democratizing the ability to create complex digital products.

Episode Description

We're back with Season 3, brought you by Microsoft: The latest episode of My First Million, Shaan sits down with Vlad Magdalin (@callmevlad), Co-Founder & CEO of Webflow: a visual tool to build web apps. Vlad shares the several attempts in 6 years to get his no-code brainchild going. Persistence paid off as it quickly got to $20MM in revenue and raised a monster $72M Series A round led by Accel. He talks about the emotional rollercoaster of getting into Y-Combinator, the video that made him quit his high paying job immediately, kickstarter kicking him off their platform and the trick to get investors interested without changing anything.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Key Takeaways

1

The 'Direct Manipulation' Principle: Building tools where users interact directly with the medium (like sculpting clay) is more intuitive than the traditional 'code-save-refresh' loop.

2

Don't wait for perfection to charge: Webflow reached $1.5M in ARR before building the CMS feature the founders originally believed was a 'day one' requirement for customers to pay.

3

Strive for 'Default Alive': Focusing on stability and getting to break-even allows a company to build for the long-term (50+ years) without being forced into the unsustainable cycles of hyper-growth.

Business Ideas Mentioned

Mobile-Flow for Native Apps

SaaS

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Featuring

VM

Vlad Magdalin

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Quick Stats

Duration1:00:16
Guests1
Ideas Discussed1
Topics4