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After over 2-years since first having the idea, I'm now full-time on @frontendmentor 
It's been an amazing journey and I'd love to share some lessons I've learned along the way.
If you're working on a business idea, hopefully, you'll find something here useful!
A thread
It's been an amazing journey and I'd love to share some lessons I've learned along the way.
If you're working on a business idea, hopefully, you'll find something here useful!
A thread
No matter how small your idea is, launch it. Frontend Mentor started as a resource list for front-end developers. Nothing groundbreaking, but it got the ball rolling. Putting it live online gave me a massive motivational boost.
This boost sparked the idea for design-led challenges to help developers practice and build a strong portfolio.
If I hadn't launched the resource list, I probably wouldn't have had the idea for what Frontend Mentor currently is.
If I hadn't launched the resource list, I probably wouldn't have had the idea for what Frontend Mentor currently is.
Launch in small, incremental chunks to validate your idea.As soon as I had the idea for the challenges, I built and launched the first version in a day.
Nothing compares to seeing people interacting with what you've built and giving positive feedback.
Once I knew people found the format useful, the next step was making it look good. Up until that point, I had designed the website myself and it didn't look great (screenshot below) 
Massive thanks to @beemistry for creating the current brand and initial website designs!
Massive thanks to @beemistry for creating the current brand and initial website designs!
I kept with the small, incremental approach launching first with Wordpress as a headless CMS. There were no sign-ups or solution submissions at this point. Just a static site to download challenges and a Slack community to get help and share solutions.
The Slack community helped me refine ideas for what would be needed for a platform.
Luckily, once I started building the first Node.js API for Frontend Mentor @mickyginger asked if I wanted a hand...
...I did!
Luckily, once I started building the first Node.js API for Frontend Mentor @mickyginger asked if I wanted a hand...
...I did!
If you can, find a co-founderFrontend Mentor would be absolutely nowhere near where it is today without Mike's input.
Working with someone else also has many other benefits, including accountability, camaraderie, and diversification of opinions.
Don't force finding a co-founder. But, if you can, working with someone you know and trust will do wonders for your idea.
Have a clear idea of why you're creating your businessThis sounds obvious, but I've known people who start businesses but don't know their "why". Mine is freedom. Freedom to choose how I spend my days. Freedom to choose where I live. And, hopefully, financial freedom!
Having a clearly defined "why" has helped find a business model that fits.
For example, an early candidate was to add paid mentorship. It was something I had some requests for and it made sense given the overall purpose of the platform. But would add a lot of complexity.
For example, an early candidate was to add paid mentorship. It was something I had some requests for and it made sense given the overall purpose of the platform. But would add a lot of complexity.
My idea of my perfect business is one with as few moving parts as possible. The complexity of building a two-sided marketplace didn't appeal, so it was a clear "no".
Think of your business as a "stayup" as opposed to a startupBe patient. There will always be a desire to launch something and have it immediately take off and achieve hyper-growth. The reality is that it will be a slow burner...
...but this is completely fine! The fact that the numbers are so small in the beginning means that the stakes are extremely low and you can spend your time constantly talking to your users and refining your offering.
Key questions I asked myself at regular intervals were:
- Do I still enjoy working on this?
- Does it seem to be serving a purpose?
- Does it feel like it's moving in the right direction?
As long as my answers to those questions was "yes" I was happy to continue working on it.
- Do I still enjoy working on this?
- Does it seem to be serving a purpose?
- Does it feel like it's moving in the right direction?
As long as my answers to those questions was "yes" I was happy to continue working on it.
By being patient a business model presented itself over time:
1. After launching challenges with JPGs people asked for the design files
2. People started getting interviews based on their FEM projects. Premium challenges could allow the community to create even better portfolios
1. After launching challenges with JPGs people asked for the design files
2. People started getting interviews based on their FEM projects. Premium challenges could allow the community to create even better portfolios
I added both as one-off purchases to experiment, but requests soon came in for subscriptions. So we moved to subscriptions.
All of this took time. I spent £5K over a year and a half before the site was profitable. I paid the bills by doing contract work to keep the project alive
All of this took time. I spent £5K over a year and a half before the site was profitable. I paid the bills by doing contract work to keep the project alive
Whatever you do, don't kill your project because it's not hitting some arbitrary goal you've set.
As long as you can answer "yes" to the 3 questions above, try keeping it alive for as long as you can.
It takes time. You never know when the numbers will start growing faster.
As long as you can answer "yes" to the 3 questions above, try keeping it alive for as long as you can.
It takes time. You never know when the numbers will start growing faster.
I hope you've enjoyed this thread and found it useful. I've written an article to go through these points in more detail.
If you'd like to check it out, here's the link https://www.indiehackers.com/post/ive-gone-full-time-on-my-project-here-are-5-lessons-i-ve-learned-over-the-past-2-years-working-on-it-2395a2bfcd
If you'd like to check it out, here's the link
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/ive-gone-full-time-on-my-project-here-are-5-lessons-i-ve-learned-over-the-past-2-years-working-on-it-2395a2bfcd
