Vlad Magdalin, Co-founder and CEO of Webflow, shares his entrepreneurial journey, detailing his three attempts to start the company and the evolution of Webflow into a leading no-code platform. He emphasizes the significance of timing in startups, citing advancements in browser technology that made Webflow possible today. Vlad discusses the clear distinction between no-code and low-code solutions, advocating for the accessibility no-code offers to users. He also reveals future opportunities for entrepreneurs as the no-code movement expands.
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Webflow's Early Days
Vlad Magdalin started Webflow as a side project in 2005, initially as a visual logic builder for Ruby on Rails.
It went through several iterations and failed attempts, with different co-founders each time, before succeeding.
insights INSIGHT
The $100,000 Invoice
Vlad observed the high cost of custom CMS development for agencies, even for simple data objects.
This sparked his idea to automate the process and empower design teams.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Trademark Troubles
Webflow's third attempt failed due to trademark issues with a Florida company.
This led to rebranding efforts and discouragement among the co-founders.
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In his talk 'Inventing on Principle', Bret Victor challenges the audience to rethink their approach to work by focusing on principles rather than passions or skills. He emphasizes the importance of creators having an immediate connection to their work, illustrating this with examples of live coding tools and other interactive technologies.
We're joined by Webflow's Co-Founder and CEO, Vlad Magdalin, talking about how he started the company (over a decade, trying three times), how to nail the timing of your startup, and the future of the "no-code movement."
Vlad took his company through YCombinator in 2013, and raised only $3m in the following six years, before closing a $72m Series A from Accel earlier this year. He gives his perspective on why now is the only time Webflow could have worked (not in 2009, the last time he tried to start it), what's changed in browser technology, and how he was inspired by one of the original designers of the iPhone software. Vlad also shares his wisdom for other founders and opportunities he thinks will be available for entrepreneurs in the next five years when robust "no-code" infrastructure is built out.
“The differentiator between No-Code and Low-Code is that Low-Code makes this implicit admission that in order to really finish a project, I’m going to need a developer. Or I am going to need to know how to take it across that last mile. In No-Code, the aspiration is that for the vast majority of cases, you will not that. Or, if you do, that one or a few developers that can create the No-Code version that abstracts away the Low-Code version and put it into the hands of millions.” -Vlad Magdalin, @callmevlad
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