About
Not just a portfolio project
Upfesto was supposed to be a business. Lets see how it all started.
The idea
Hey, I'm Vojta, the brain behind this site. First Upfesto idea was born in 2022 when organizing my birthday parties got trickier. Facebook events worked until we all moved on, and group chats were limiting. Unable to find the perfect tool, I thought it might be cool to do something on my own.
Team up
Fortunately, I was not alone. In February 2023 I pitched the idea during one of the entrepreneurship courses at the University of Business and Economics in Prague and found an exceptional team of five: me (Vojtech Ruzicka), Filip Bartak, Marco Hahn, Martin Selecky and Petr Slapak. Bursting with enthusiasm, we were all set to hit the ground running.
Let's grind
We had a clear goal – get the idea ready for the university startup competition in May. We did it all – shaping the concept, laying out a business plan, doing in-depth interviews and putting our idea to the test with PPC campaigns. The effort was intense, but we found joy in the process.
To the moon
In just three months, we presented our idea to a panel of real VC investors and school representatives at the Startup VŠE competition. Our hard work paid off, as we proudly secured the 2nd place, validating our efforts.
What now?
After the competition, our team underwent a change, and we continued with just three of us – Filip, Marco, and myself. Main critique from the judges was towards our business model. We still were not sure how to monetize the product, so we decided to take a step back and rethink the whole concept and validate the idea further.
Validation to the end
We went all out, doing deep-dive interviews and hunting for untapped markets. The ČSOB validation camp was our stop to fast-track things, but the monetization puzzle stayed elusive. Despite our love for the concept, in October 2023 we've decided to hit pause and turn our attention to different projects.
Farewell to Upfesto
While the Upfesto may be considered a tarpit idea, our journey with it has been a rich learning experience. We invested countless hours in seemingly useless aspects of the business, yet every second was a labor of love. Although Upfesto has reached its end, our passion for innovation lives on.
Why this site exists?
Despite Upfesto's shortcomings, I made the decision to salvage the basic concept and transform it into a portfolio project to enhance and showcase my skills.
Main technologies used on this site:
See the full source code on Github.
