Building in Public: The Early Days of Perxify

A look back at the initial decision to build Perxify in the open, sharing our progress, challenges, and lessons learned with the community.

Looking back at the early days of building Perxify, I'm struck by how much energy and optimism we had - and how little we knew about what we were getting ourselves into. The journey from stealth mode to building in public captured that raw excitement of creating something we believed could change how brands and customers connect.

Breaking Stealth Mode

May 28, 2024, was the day we finally decided to break our silence. After months of building in stealth with Alvar, we were bursting with excitement to share what we'd been working on, even if we couldn't reveal everything yet.

We launched with a simple but bold message: we were building something revolutionary in the loyalty program platform space, and we wanted people to be part of it. We invited brands to be among the first businesses to leverage our game-changing loyalty solution, with a limited number of spots available. For everyone else curious about what we were building, we asked them to sign up and stay in the loop.

The energy was infectious. We set up join.perxify.com as our landing page and asked people to spread the word. Looking back, this post feels almost quaint in its simplicity, but it perfectly captures where we were: bursting with excitement yet still figuring things out behind the scenes.

There's something magical about that moment when you transition from building in stealth to building in public. The vulnerability of sharing your progress before you have all the answers is terrifying, but the energy it creates is incredible.

The Market Opportunity We Saw

Within a week of our initial announcement, we dove deeper into the fundamental question driving our work: were consumers really becoming more disloyal to brands? The conventional wisdom suggested they were, but we saw something different happening.

The real issue wasn't consumer disloyalty - it was that the tools and strategies brands were using to build loyalty were becoming less effective. Traditional marketing was evolving rapidly. Third-party cookies were fading (a trend that continues), AI was creating content, and ad networks were becoming too expensive to rely on. The old playbook wasn't working anymore, and we saw an opportunity to write a new one.

We believed that investing in genuine relationships with clients was key and that those who prioritized loyalty would outshine the rest. The timing felt perfect for a new approach. Customer acquisition costs were skyrocketing, and brands that could build authentic relationships with their customers would have a massive advantage.

This insight became the foundation for everything we built. We weren't just creating another loyalty platform - we were building a solution for the fundamental shift happening in how brands and customers connect in a post-cookie, AI-driven world.

The Momentum Kept Building

By early June, everything was falling into place. My wife even commented that I had been glowing lately - there's something about building something you believe in that energizes you completely. The momentum was real and tangible.

We had assembled our whole team, with over 15 people interested in joining us. Our first clients were on board, and we had talks in progress with a dozen more brands. We'd set both short and long-term roadmaps, and our first product was nearing launch. Investors were reaching out, and the feedback we were receiving was overwhelmingly positive.

Looking at this progress now, it's funny how optimistic we were about timelines. That "first product nearing launch" in June 2024... well, let's say we learned a lot about the realities of building complex software over the following months! But the momentum was genuine, and it attracted incredible people who became crucial to our success.

The team we assembled was extraordinary. Each person brought unique skills and perspectives that shaped not just what we built but how we built it. The brands showing interest weren't just looking for another loyalty solution; they were seeking partners who understood the fundamental shifts happening in their industry.

The Power of Transparency

Building in public forced us to articulate our vision clearly and concisely. When you know people are watching and following along, you must be able to explain not only what you're building but also why it matters. This transparency helped us refine our messaging and understand what resonated with our audience.

The feedback loop was immediate and valuable. People reached out with questions, suggestions, and genuine interest. Some became early customers, others joined our team, and many became advocates who helped spread the word. This community of supporters became one of our most valuable assets.

There's vulnerability in sharing your progress before you have all the answers, but there's also incredible power in it. Building in public created accountability, attracted the right people, and helped us stay focused on what truly mattered: solving real problems for real customers.

What We Got Right (and Wrong)

Looking back at those early days, we got a lot of things right. We correctly identified that traditional marketing was evolving and that brands needed new ways to build genuine relationships with customers. We saw the opportunity in the evolving digital marketing landscape and positioned ourselves at the intersection of several significant trends.

What we underestimated was the complexity of building the solution. The technical challenges were more significant than we anticipated, and the market education required was substantial. That "first product nearing launch" took much longer than expected after multiple pivots and a complete rebuild of our technical architecture. As we explore in our analysis of the reality of building startups, scope creep and strategic pivots became valuable learning experiences rather than setbacks.

But that's the beauty of building in public - you get to share not just the victories but the learning process as well. The journey ultimately proved to be much more interesting and valuable than we had initially planned. Every challenge taught us something important about our customers, our market, and ourselves.

The evolution from a simple loyalty platform to a comprehensive commerce cloud platform happened through this process of building, learning, and adapting in public. Our community watched us grow and provided valuable feedback that shaped our direction. As we detail in our story of building our first marketplace from demo to reality, this journey from concept to working product taught us invaluable lessons about both technology and customer needs.

The Foundation for Everything That Followed

These early days laid the foundation for everything that came after. They established our voice, our mission, and our commitment to transparency. They attracted the people who would become crucial to our success - team members, customers, advisors, and supporters.

Most importantly, they captured the energy and optimism that would carry us through the inevitable challenges ahead. Building a startup is hard, and there are moments when you question everything. Having these memories to look back on reminds us why we started and how far we've come.

The "glow" my wife noticed wasn't just about early success - it was about the deep satisfaction of building something meaningful with people you respect for customers who genuinely need what you're creating. That sense of purpose and excitement became our north star through every pivot, every challenge, and every breakthrough.

Building in public has taught us that transparency isn't just a marketing strategy - it's a way of building that fosters stronger relationships, produces better products, and leads to more sustainable businesses. The community we built in those early days continues to support and challenge us as we grow and evolve.

That glow has carried us through every challenge since, and it continues to drive us as we build the future of commerce, one relationship at a time. The early days of building Perxify taught us that the journey is just as important as the destination and that sharing that journey with others makes it infinitely more rewarding.

Today, our comprehensive platform reflects the lessons learned during those early days of building in public. From our e-commerce solutions to our marketplace functionality, every feature embodies the transparency and customer-first approach that defined our early journey.