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Webflow is a no-code/low-code startup valued at over $2.1B.
Over 2 million non-technical users have created websites on their platform.
Yet it almost didn't happen. The hardships CEO Vlad Magdalin faced would've caused most to give up. This is a story about refusing to quit
Over 2 million non-technical users have created websites on their platform.
Yet it almost didn't happen. The hardships CEO Vlad Magdalin faced would've caused most to give up. This is a story about refusing to quit
Webflow dates back over 17 years. @callmevlad had tried & failed to build the company three times before this latest attempt.
His fourth try pushed him to the brink:
- Pulled money out of his 401k
- Sold two cars & moved to leases
- $60K+ dollars in personal credit card debt
His fourth try pushed him to the brink:
- Pulled money out of his 401k
- Sold two cars & moved to leases
- $60K+ dollars in personal credit card debt
But the story goes back further still. At age 9 his family fled Russia as religious refugees.
Vlad shares this story and the lessons it taught him here.
A warm highlight: They bought their first computer when the airline paid them for lost luggage https://twitter.com/callmevlad/status/1118592072561250304
Vlad shares this story and the lessons it taught him here.
A warm highlight: They bought their first computer when the airline paid them for lost luggage https://twitter.com/callmevlad/status/1118592072561250304
Through all the setbacks Vlad says the thing that kept him going was blind optimism. He always felt their big break was "right around the corner"
The other thing that kept him going: his belief that no-code would remove barriers and unleash a golden age of software
The other thing that kept him going: his belief that no-code would remove barriers and unleash a golden age of software
The idea for Webflow dates back to his college senior paper. He talks about a "high-level, user-powered (as opposed to programmer-powered) web application framework"
He launched Webflow a year later. This was 2005. He launches two more times after this but fails each time.
He launched Webflow a year later. This was 2005. He launches two more times after this but fails each time.
Zooming ahead we're now in 2012. For Vlad's fourth attempt at starting @webflow he recruits his Intuit coworker Bryant Chou & his brother Sergie.
Web browsers had matured and suddenly you could do a lot of advanced things that Webflow required. The timing was finally right...
Web browsers had matured and suddenly you could do a lot of advanced things that Webflow required. The timing was finally right...
Except again it almost didn't happen. Their plan to fundraise on Kickstarter failed. YC rejected them. It was proving hard to build the app.
Close to giving up, they decided on a whim to post on Hacker News which went viral. Reinvigorated they prepared to apply to YC yet again.
Close to giving up, they decided on a whim to post on Hacker News which went viral. Reinvigorated they prepared to apply to YC yet again.
This time YC invited them to interview.
They didn't take any chances.
They hired speech coaches to grill them and even coded an app to cycle through interview questions every 10 secs to train them on short responses.
They didn't take any chances.
They hired speech coaches to grill them and even coded an app to cycle through interview questions every 10 secs to train them on short responses.
The YC interview day is its own saga. Sergie tells the story here.
The punchline is that they got an acceptance call & rejection email at the same time. Eventually the confusion cleared and they got their answer: They were in!
The punchline is that they got an acceptance call & rejection email at the same time. Eventually the confusion cleared and they got their answer: They were in!
Now in YC, Vlad felt they finally made it. "We thought we were a golden child."
But no one wanted to fund them. Half thought Webflow was too complicated, the other half said it wasn't powerful enough.
Also this was 2013 & mobile was all the rage. Who needs a website builder?
But no one wanted to fund them. Half thought Webflow was too complicated, the other half said it wasn't powerful enough.
Also this was 2013 & mobile was all the rage. Who needs a website builder?
70 pitches later they found a few believers and managed to close a $1.4M round. Growth was slow and steady as they built out the product with early adopters.
“I think Vlad saw the market coming. We pushed them early on to go for bigger customers or add marketing tools. But they felt they needed to spend their time developing a reputation with the community.”
- @ericbahn (one of Webflow's first angel investors)
- @ericbahn (one of Webflow's first angel investors)
The patience paid off. Webflow hit profitability and growth took off after launching their new CMS.
Suddenly Vlad was flooded with inbound by VCs. When Webflow decided to raise again in 2019 it was on their terms. They had finally made it.
Suddenly Vlad was flooded with inbound by VCs. When Webflow decided to raise again in 2019 it was on their terms. They had finally made it.
Today Webflow powers more than 100,000 business websites from Dell, Rakuten, and Lattice to small businesses and solopreneurs.
Each time a new business starts using Webflow, they not only get a better website but also a better way of working.
Each time a new business starts using Webflow, they not only get a better website but also a better way of working.
“Getting the power of programming into vastly more hands...it means much faster better solutions....So to me that's the magic of no-code. That's why I think no-code is needed and why I'm so inspired to keep working on it and making it better."
- @callmevlad
- @callmevlad
Link back to the top of the thread https://twitter.com/pejmanjohn/status/1382012806053040129
https://twitter.com/pejmanjohn/status/1382012806053040129
