Karol Polubinski
The goal of Hardly Hustle is to provide inspiration, drive and motivation in a 10 minute read or less. What you see is what you get. This is hot off the press without an editing team.
By complete coincidence, I stumbled upon an old friend who told me about Webflow. I started reading more about this technology and more about the no-code environment. I knew that in the United States this market was growing very fast, but in Poland it was a novelty.
Karol Polubinski is up.
Who are you and what do you do?
Karol Polubinski: Head of design and founder of Cary One - Digital agency focused on Webflow development. We build websites using modern, scalable no-code technology.
What did it take/how did you get started?
I created Cary One 5 years ago. Our services mainly consisted of Wordpress implementations, Digital design (UI/UX) and custom software development. I am a Digital designer with 25 years of experience so I was a Designer and Project manager and I have 3 fellow workers who were a frontend and backend developers. This was the beginning of Cary One.
4 years of this type of business journey was very difficult. We were a company competing against many others in the market... After all, Wordpress is the most popular platform to build websites around the world.
In Poland, where we come from, the competition is also still huge. I tried to find our competitive advantage but kept feeling that price pressure on the market was something that continued to make our development very difficult. So, by complete coincidence, I stumbled upon an old friend who told me about Webflow. I started reading more about this technology and more about the no-code environment. I knew that in the United States, the market was growing very fast for no-code, but in Poland it was a novelty. I realized that this could be my business opportunity and was very much something I was looking for: a service that was still not very popular in Poland, but very popular in the US. I felt that I had to jump on this train as soon as possible.
One year ago I started the transformation process from a traditional Digital agency to No-code Digital agency focusing on Webflow development and digital design. I've parted ways with my former co-workers and began cooperation with my friend Dawid who is Webflow developer.
I am a UI/UX designer and Dawid is a Webflow developer = great base to start transform Cary One into the no-code company. We started to explore and learn about a niche that was completely exotic in Poland. It was a new beginning for Cary One - Digital agency and Webflow Experts!
What does the future look like for you and your business?
We see the future in bright colours. The amount of customers is growing for us and we are expanding our reach to global markets by creating an English-language version of our website. We realize that the "no-code" market is much larger, even outside of Poland. So we have built up experience in the Polish market, but for future, we want to take that out in global expansion. We have a strategy and are implementing it step by step.
What drives / motivates you on a daily basis?
My work is my passion! I love be independent, work in creative environment and have a great co-workers around me. Self-fulfillment should be our goal, not money.
What advice would you give someone interested in doing what you do?
Try to find your niche. The IT industry is tough and highly competitive. Creating small, efficient teams can be very rewarding.
What has been the hardest part of your business journey?
First four years was very hard. We try to find our niche, something what helps us to create unique offer.
How have you managed burnout thus far?
I had a big problems with that :( I believe and I know this that burnout is extremely dangerous for any entrepreneur. Now, looking back, I know that I made a lot of mistakes in managing burnout. If you love your work, it is very easy to forget about many other activities that are extremely important in our lives: spending time with family and friends, physical activity, time to relax (watching, reading, sleeping). "Doing nothing" is not wasting time, it's providing power.
What are a few resources that you'd recommend?
https://www.nngroup.com/ - for UI/UX designers
https://www.youtube.com/@ZSZ - for founders (sorry in Polish)
"A Promised Land" Barack Obama - in general
The STATS
List the founders
Karol Polubinski
How many hours a week do you work on this hustle?
40
# of Employees?
2 + freelancers
When did you start?
2019 with business transformation a year ago, when I started from scratch.
How much did it cost to launch?
$10,000
What were your funding methods and ballpark amount raised?
Bootstrapped.
Annual revenue?
< $100,000
Projected revenue?
Not provided.
What's the number one thing you need right now?
Going global (: