Fernando Pessagno is an Argentinean product designer living in Tallinn, Estonia. He created ResumeMaker.Online in 2018 as a side project to help his sister create her résumé. Since the launch of version 2.0, more than 700,000 resumes have been downloaded from ResumeMaker.Online, which now earns an average of $1,500 a month. The concept came from Fernando’s desire to rediscover the fun aspect of being a designer and to create an easy-to-use web application that would allow non-technical users to quickly and easily construct an eye-catching resume. Let’s read his product developement success story!
Created by Fernando, ResumeMaker.As a side project in 2018, the simplest resume builder is available online. Since the launch of version 2.0, more than 700,000 resumes have been downloaded from ResumeMaker.Online, which now earns an average of $1,500 a month.
Fernando Pessagno: The Story of Burnout, Innovation, and Personal Success
I’m a 35-year-old Argentinean product designer presently residing in Tallinn, Estonia. My name is Fernando Pessagno. After accepting a fantastic full-time position with an AI firm in late 2020, I relocated to Europe. During my leisure time, I concentrate on my personal business, ResumeMaker.The easiest resume builder to use online.
I was running a small digital design firm in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the beginning of 2018. Life was nice, but after working only for clients for more than ten years, my love for design had faded. I knew I had to take action because I could sense burnout approaching.
I used to spend my days and nights creating Dragon Ball websites when I was in my early teens, back in the practically ancient days of Geocities. There was simply too much pleasure! I yearned for that sensation and desired to rediscover the fun aspect of being a designer.
I couldn’t decide what I wanted to make because I wanted to build *something*, not just anything. One day, when my sister requested for assistance in creating her résumé, I was unable to locate an easy-to-use internet resource to recommend to her. The tiny number of websites that were successful had too many features, which rendered them confusing to regular users. In addition, a lot of the premium choices required consumers to sign up before they could even use the service, while a few others used dishonest and opaque pricing practices.
Then I had the idea to develop ResumeMaker.Online, a WYSIWYG web application that would allow even non-technical users to quickly and easily construct an eye-catching resume.
A win-win situation existed here. On the one hand, I might be able to support them in a crucial endeavor like their job hunt. On the other hand, it was a fantastic opportunity for me to test my design and coding abilities in a difficult and enjoyable side project that I had wanted to accomplish for years.
From Burnout to Success
It was great and freeing to work on a personal side project. Without any clients who had a deadline for the task to be completed, I was tempted to add superfluous cool features only to boost my ego. Because the product’s key selling point was meant to be its ease of use, I had to be picky and determine which features would actually benefit the user.
Fortunately, I had a two-month backpacking trip to Europe set up for later that year as part of my strategy to prevent burnout, and I made the most of it. I was able to interview potential customers every day, find friction areas, and better understand their demands because I slept in several hostels.
For instance, ResumeMaker.Online offered a variety of resume templates early on in its growth. People who are aware of or appreciate design would choose the most appropriate choice for them. But I was surprised to find that the ability to completely change the template was causing confusion and aggravation for the majority of customers.
When I went back home, I cleaned up the UI, deleted all the elements (including the option to select other templates) that did not properly support the basic concept, and I was sure the product was prepared for release.
I placed ResumeMaker.Online on Product Hunt on launch day in August 2018 without having any serious expectations. Even though I was pleased with the outcome of my first product, it was a complete shock to me when it was chosen as the top product of the day and the top product of the week.
I found it rather simple to draw in the first users since during the first month, more than *20,000* resumes were downloaded from more than 100 countries, and it snowballed into many websites and people sharing and tweeting about it. Maybe just beginner’s luck?
ResumeMaker.Online was initially only intended to be a lighthearted side project. But the launch was far more successful than I could have ever imagined, and that made it possible to start thinking about how to make money from it.
I still needed to determine whether people would be prepared to pay for it, but getting highlighted by Product Hunt was a significant first step.
I was hesitant to include a premium edition at first because I thought it may impede growth. I substituted a contribution form with predetermined amounts.
I wasn’t expecting users to donate up to $20 each résumé. This was the best approach to validate the product and, in addition, a practical technique to determine what the average price point that consumers would be prepared to pay.
I maintained this growth-oriented strategy for the first two years of ResumeMaker.Online, provided a 100% free download, and intermittently compensated the product through sponsored connections to other websites who were interested in connecting with my audience.
The contracts with my sponsors suffered last year when the pandemic hit, therefore I decided it was time to instead provide a “PRO” download. All users continue to have access to the free version (particularly now), but they also have the option to utilize the premium version, which has superior quality and no watermark.
The Journey from Free Product to Profitable Business
A snowball effect resulted from it being chosen as the first product of the day and the first product of the week in the Philippines, with various websites and individuals sharing on social media and writing stories about it.
It’s reasonable to suppose that maintaining the product completely free for over two years helped to maintain a consistent rise in word-of-mouth traffic, and the perceived altruistic character of it gave consumers an additional motivation to share it on social media.
Naturally, SEO was quite helpful as well, reaching the third position globally for “resume maker” at one time. Although 85% of traffic still travels to the English edition, adding support for seven more languages did assist.
The fact that users now have to share a link in order to access the free version (which includes a little watermark with a link) is undoubtedly beneficial.
Numerous things have altered in the modern era. My work life has been greatly impacted by ResumeMaker.Online. After accepting a position with a fantastic AI startup in Europe in August 2020, I relocated there while continuing to work on my side projects in my spare time.
Since the launch of version 2.0, more than 700,000 resumes have been downloaded from ResumeMaker.Online, which now earns an average of $1,500 a month.
I won’t pretend that I never consider how awesome it would be to return to or migrate to southeast Asia. I could simply cut my costs and focus just on my items while relaxing in a hammock with a drink in my hand. Although it’s an impractical thought that doesn’t fit with my own objectives, knowing that I could *theoretically* quit my job today gives me comfort. It increases my motivation to create new goods and create different streams of income in order to realize the European version of that ideal scenario.
Fortunately, I enjoy my work, which keeps my risk profile low as I live in a first-world nation and work on building my own business in my spare time.
Once pricing localization and a newsletter subscription have been implemented, I will transfer my attention away from product development and onto marketing because I am so pleased of the product’s new features and enhanced performance.
How Sharing Early Development Can Save Time and Money
I’ll share what I did that worked for me rather than offering advise since, as a single entrepreneur, I understand how difficult it can be to consider developing a successful product when you’re just getting started.
The “proper” developer is not me. It was only natural for me to underestimate myself and think tiny when I first started developing ResumeMaker.Online because I’m more like a designer who understands how to code. Although it seems contradictory, I never considered making money while working on it. In hindsight, I believe that using a simple, unassuming approach to develop a useful product was the key to avoiding aggravation, not taking on more than I could do, and finally selling the product.
Even though I understood that creating an MVP was the best course of action, I could have shared the work much earlier, saving time and money. I distinctly recall feeling a bit apprehensive about showcasing my early development since I thought the finished result was still lacking. I struggled a lot to gradually overcome my shyness about it. Big error! Later, it was far more difficult to remove all the things I had previously developed and spent a lot of effort on. Lesson learned: If you don’t feel slightly uncomfortable discussing your work in progress, it’s obvious you should have done so much earlier.
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