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.

Vlad Magdalin (@callmevlad) might just be the most principled founder I've had on the podcast. "When it came to making hard decisions, I've leaned more on my morality rather than my business sense. That's what I regret the least." Sticking to his heart has paid off. Not only has he built a company that's changing and improving lives by the millions, but he's also grown it to millions in revenue and 155 employees. In this episode Vlad and I talk about the ups and downs of raising money from investors, the impact of building something that empowers your customers to create, and the compounding benefits of focusing on people and relationships over profit and product.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/144-vlad-magdalin-of-webflow

Vlad Magdalin, Co-Founder and CEO of Webflow, discusses essentialism, leadership vs. managerial ability, the Freedman Doctrine, fairness in compensation and remote work policies, early iterations of Webflow, lessons from failed entrepreneurship attempts, dealing with an IP lawsuit and obtaining a trademark, starting their own company, building a valuable and supported product, constraints and growth, immigrating to Sacramento and embracing entrepreneurship, interview questions, and gratitude journals.

"Most people underestimate what you can do in 10 years".In this episode we give examples of great startups that took longer than you thought to build. Then, we give tactics on how to overcome this...how to keep going through years of hard work. This is a very special episode. Tweet Sam (@thesamparr) if you want to see more of them.---------* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.---------Show notes:* (1:02) Intro to episode* (5:56) Tim Westergren on Pandora's origins* (7:56) Sam's commentary* (10:48) Vlad Magdalin on Webflow's struggles* (12:44) Sam's commentary* (13:45) Steve Jobs on Passion* (14:27) Sam's commentary* (18:46) Tim Westergren's speech* (19:54) Sam's commentary* (20:52) What drove Vlad to keep trying* (22:13) Sam's commentary* (24:04) Chris Sacca on Travis Kalanick's competitiveness* (25:09) Sam's commentary* (26:43) A story about Travis' first business* (27:13) Sam's commentary* (29:19) Marc Cuban on focusing* (29:53) Sam's commentary* (34:21) What drives Chamath* (36:12) Episode close

Vlad Magdalin, the CEO and co-founder of Webflow, shares his inspiring journey from a Russian refugee to tech entrepreneur. He discusses the vital lessons learned from failures, including a notable rejection that taught him self-worth. Vlad reflects on the role of serendipity in his creative path and emphasizes resilience amid early challenges with Webflow. He also highlights the importance of valuing work, leadership dynamics, and community collaboration in web design, ultimately celebrating growth and gratitude as the platform continues to evolve.