Iñaki Tajes
@inakitajes.me
I build things. Software engineer turned full-stack entrepreneur. I share my wins and loses along the journey. Also http://calisteniapp.com cofounder.
inakitajes.me
inakitajes.me
If you’ve made it this far, congrats—you’ve survived quite the ramble. If you don’t follow me yet and want to see how we move forward in the coming months… what are you waiting for?
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
If you’ve made it this far, congrats—you’ve survived quite the ramble. If you don’t follow me yet and want to see how we move forward in the coming months… what are you waiting for?
Every now and then I look back and think about all the opportunities I missed, all the trains I didn’t board simply because I didn’t know better. But none of that matters now, because things happen when and how they’re meant to. The only thing I care about is the trains that are still coming.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Every now and then I look back and think about all the opportunities I missed, all the trains I didn’t board simply because I didn’t know better. But none of that matters now, because things happen when and how they’re meant to. The only thing I care about is the trains that are still coming.
But the most important thing is that we’re still laser-focused on the ultimate goal: building the best tool to help people achieve their health and fitness goals. The product is everything. Our values guide the path toward building something we’re proud of.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
But the most important thing is that we’re still laser-focused on the ultimate goal: building the best tool to help people achieve their health and fitness goals. The product is everything. Our values guide the path toward building something we’re proud of.
Where are we now? We’ve got speed, a solid team, and lots left to improve. Since last Christmas, we’ve been fixing all the “obvious but hard” issues in the product. We’re slowly growing again and steadily improving and optimizing all our metrics.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Where are we now? We’ve got speed, a solid team, and lots left to improve. Since last Christmas, we’ve been fixing all the “obvious but hard” issues in the product. We’re slowly growing again and steadily improving and optimizing all our metrics.
I’m not one of those people who looks back and tortures themselves over what they could’ve done differently. At every point, we made the best decision we could with the information we had. Sometimes, we just take the only path available.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I’m not one of those people who looks back and tortures themselves over what they could’ve done differently. At every point, we made the best decision we could with the information we had. Sometimes, we just take the only path available.
Finally, I wasn’t alone anymore. Finally, I started to delegate. Finally, we could begin phase three.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Finally, I wasn’t alone anymore. Finally, I started to delegate. Finally, we could begin phase three.
Then we moved to the next step: finding a partner in crime. I tend to believe things happen when they’re meant to—or maybe I just got lucky. But after just a few interviews, I found
@achamorro_dev, who joined the project last December.
@achamorro_dev, who joined the project last December.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Then we moved to the next step: finding a partner in crime. I tend to believe things happen when they’re meant to—or maybe I just got lucky. But after just a few interviews, I found
@achamorro_dev, who joined the project last December.
@achamorro_dev, who joined the project last December.
I did it. We did it. It wasn’t easy—maybe the toughest period physically and mentally since co-founding the app. But it launched. There were hiccups and some friction from resistance to change, but after a few weeks, we stabilized everything.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I did it. We did it. It wasn’t easy—maybe the toughest period physically and mentally since co-founding the app. But it launched. There were hiccups and some friction from resistance to change, but after a few weeks, we stabilized everything.
If there’s one truth, it’s that time is limited. And for now, I can’t split myself in two. That said, we learned a lot (I’ve shared more about these events and initiatives in other posts).
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
If there’s one truth, it’s that time is limited. And for now, I can’t split myself in two. That said, we learned a lot (I’ve shared more about these events and initiatives in other posts).
As always, I thought I could juggle everything. In reality, it just diluted our focus and slowed us down.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
As always, I thought I could juggle everything. In reality, it just diluted our focus and slowed us down.
We also made the mistake early on in the migration of trying to do other things in parallel—like brand identity work. We figured we’d hibernate product-wise, but start building community, hosting events, launching initiatives, etc., while the big migration was underway.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
We also made the mistake early on in the migration of trying to do other things in parallel—like brand identity work. We figured we’d hibernate product-wise, but start building community, hosting events, launching initiatives, etc., while the big migration was underway.
A time when everything tells you things aren’t looking great, but you have to keep pushing.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
A time when everything tells you things aren’t looking great, but you have to keep pushing.
The whole year, we pretty much didn’t grow (flat flat). Acquisition was down, organic channels were saturated, no updates, campaigns paused due to product issues bleeding money, interest in calisthenics declining, and competition in health & fitness rising…
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The whole year, we pretty much didn’t grow (flat flat). Acquisition was down, organic channels were saturated, no updates, campaigns paused due to product issues bleeding money, interest in calisthenics declining, and competition in health & fitness rising…
So last year, I decided to pause everything and focus 100% on rewriting Calisteniapp. Not the easiest call—we were sacrificing growth—but I had to go all in. It was rebirth or bust. We had to accept the opportunity cost.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
So last year, I decided to pause everything and focus 100% on rewriting Calisteniapp. Not the easiest call—we were sacrificing growth—but I had to go all in. It was rebirth or bust. We had to accept the opportunity cost.
If it worked out right away, great. If not, it would’ve cost time and money (recruiting, negotiating, onboarding, and waiting to see if value is delivered takes months), only to end up in the same spot.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
If it worked out right away, great. If not, it would’ve cost time and money (recruiting, negotiating, onboarding, and waiting to see if value is delivered takes months), only to end up in the same spot.
You might think hiring a team first would’ve been faster. But if you’ve ever hired, you’ll know it would’ve been risky in my situation.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
You might think hiring a team first would’ve been faster. But if you’ve ever hired, you’ll know it would’ve been risky in my situation.
That’s why it was necessary—or at least the smartest move—to go all-in on unlocking that bottleneck, through two main actions:
a) Rewriting the app in a faster, cleaner stack. Laying a solid foundation to scale.
b) Talent. I needed to stop being the bottleneck, no matter what.
a) Rewriting the app in a faster, cleaner stack. Laying a solid foundation to scale.
b) Talent. I needed to stop being the bottleneck, no matter what.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
That’s why it was necessary—or at least the smartest move—to go all-in on unlocking that bottleneck, through two main actions:
a) Rewriting the app in a faster, cleaner stack. Laying a solid foundation to scale.
b) Talent. I needed to stop being the bottleneck, no matter what.
a) Rewriting the app in a faster, cleaner stack. Laying a solid foundation to scale.
b) Talent. I needed to stop being the bottleneck, no matter what.
I’ve talked about this before—Calisteniapp had serious technical debt (code that was hard and slow to change) and a huge bottleneck (me, as the only developer and wearing every hat).
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I’ve talked about this before—Calisteniapp had serious technical debt (code that was hard and slow to change) and a huge bottleneck (me, as the only developer and wearing every hat).
We still had some clear opportunities to grow, but they weren’t easy anymore. That’s when we entered the cave mode phase.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
We still had some clear opportunities to grow, but they weren’t easy anymore. That’s when we entered the cave mode phase.
The first step was to fix all the low-hanging fruit—things that were fast, easy, and obvious. Like a beginner in the gym, the first few months of work bring obvious, quick wins. Until the obvious stuff runs out.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The first step was to fix all the low-hanging fruit—things that were fast, easy, and obvious. Like a beginner in the gym, the first few months of work bring obvious, quick wins. Until the obvious stuff runs out.
The plan? Three steps:
1. Clean up and organize our house (we did this, with solid results).
2. Go into cave mode.
3. Scale.
1. Clean up and organize our house (we did this, with solid results).
2. Go into cave mode.
3. Scale.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The plan? Three steps:
1. Clean up and organize our house (we did this, with solid results).
2. Go into cave mode.
3. Scale.
1. Clean up and organize our house (we did this, with solid results).
2. Go into cave mode.
3. Scale.
Until… we got stuck. Why? Mainly for the most obvious reasons. I’ll break down some of them here.
Honestly, it wasn’t a surprise. It was actually the most likely scenario in our roadmap.
Because yes, to some extent, it was all part of a “master plan.”
Honestly, it wasn’t a surprise. It was actually the most likely scenario in our roadmap.
Because yes, to some extent, it was all part of a “master plan.”
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Until… we got stuck. Why? Mainly for the most obvious reasons. I’ll break down some of them here.
Honestly, it wasn’t a surprise. It was actually the most likely scenario in our roadmap.
Because yes, to some extent, it was all part of a “master plan.”
Honestly, it wasn’t a surprise. It was actually the most likely scenario in our roadmap.
Because yes, to some extent, it was all part of a “master plan.”
The results were amazing. We multiplied active users, boosted acquisition, went viral on social media (from 30k to 150k organically in under a year), doubled our monthly revenue, and the market was looking good (rising interest in calisthenics). It was all pretty wild.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The results were amazing. We multiplied active users, boosted acquisition, went viral on social media (from 30k to 150k organically in under a year), doubled our monthly revenue, and the market was looking good (rising interest in calisthenics). It was all pretty wild.
To recap, about two years ago we decided to turn everything upside down. We officially registered the company, got the basics in order, implemented some processes, and tried every quick win we could find.
May 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM
To recap, about two years ago we decided to turn everything upside down. We officially registered the company, got the basics in order, implemented some processes, and tried every quick win we could find.