getinkspired.com

How Galo Vargas Grew a Million-User Storytelling Platform With No Team

February 14th, 2025

Founded By

Galo Vargas

Founders

Year Started

2014

Customer

B2B & B2C

Founded By
Galo Vargas: Founders
1

Year Started
2014: Customer
B2B & B2C

Who is Galo Vargas?

Galo Vargas, the founder of getinkspired.com, is an Ecuadorian software developer and designer now based in Luxembourg. Before founding Inkspired, he sought international opportunities and participated in the Fit4Start accelerator program.

What problem does getinkspired.com solve?

Inkspired makes it easy for aspiring writers to share their work and build an audience, solving the problem of daunting traditional publishing barriers.

Inkspired Homepage

How did Galo come up with the idea for getinkspired.com?

Galo Vargas came up with the idea for Inkspired while trying to publish his own fantasy book. Struggling to find a way to get his work published and frustrated by the lack of accessible options for new writers, he saw an opportunity. His inspiration came from a love of storytelling, fueled by the impact that movies like "Lord of the Rings" had on him, sparking his creativity and drive to share stories.

Being a software developer, Galo leveraged his skills to create a platform where not only his work could be shared, but also stories from other aspiring writers worldwide. He validated his idea by simply starting with a small website to publish his book and gathered feedback from peers. As he refined Inkspired, he faced the challenge of building a community from scratch and realized the importance of marketing over software development.

One key lesson Galo learned was the importance of getting a product out there quickly, noting that writers could start sharing stories chapter by chapter, enabling them to build a fan base and gain useful feedback without having finished a full book.

How did Galo Vargas build the initial version of getinkspired.com?

Galo Vargas, the founder of getinkspired.com, built the platform as a solo effort, utilizing his skills as a developer and designer. Employing a tech stack centered around Django for the backend and React for the frontend, the development process was heavily dictated by the necessity to manage everything individually. This approach meant that Inkspired had to start as a simple yet functional platform and add complexity over time. The development of the initial version took several months, during which Vargas encountered challenges, particularly around scaling and optimizing the infrastructure to handle a growing user base. Additionally, transitioning from a manual to an automated system for content verification required significant effort, aided by Thoughtworks Ecuador using a Machine Learning prototype to enhance the process, improving story verification capacity from 25 to 1,000 stories per day.

What was the growth strategy for getinkspired.com and how did they scale?

SEO

Get Inkspired utilized search engine optimization (SEO) to boost their visibility and attract more readers and writers to their platform. By targeting relevant keywords and improving the readability and quality of their content, they were able to enhance their search engine rankings, drawing in more organic traffic over time.

Why it worked: SEO is effective for businesses like Get Inkspired because it allows them to target people who are already interested in storytelling and writing. By optimizing for specific search terms, they can connect with users actively seeking writing platforms, resulting in higher engagement and user acquisition.

Get Inkspired employed social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to engage with their audience and reach out to potential users. By sharing updates, writing tips, and promoting writers' stories, they were able to tap into the vast network of social media users and build a community around their platform.

embed:tweet

Why it worked: Social media offers direct communication channels with users. By being active on social platforms, Get Inkspired effectively created a space for writers and readers to share experiences and connect, thereby increasing the platform's visibility and attractiveness to new users.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Get Inkspired partnered with organizations like Thoughtworks Ecuador to enhance their technology and growth strategies. Through initiatives like Prototype.lab(), they were able to improve their product offerings and streamline processes, such as story verification, using advanced machine learning techniques.

Why it worked: Collaborations with established tech partners provide the technical foundation for scaling operations effectively. This approach also provided Get Inkspired with innovative tools to maintain quality content, which attracted more users and enhanced user satisfaction.

Freemium Model with Premium Upgrades

By adopting a freemium business model, Get Inkspired offered basic services for free while providing premium subscriptions with additional features such as ad-free reading and offline access. This model incentivized users to explore the platform freely and upgrade for more benefits as they became invested in the content.

Why it worked: The freemium model allowed Get Inkspired to attract a large user base without an initial barrier to entry. Once users experienced the platform's value, they were more likely to convert to paying customers, resulting in revenue growth.

What's the pricing strategy for getinkspired.com?

Getinkspired.com operates a freemium model, offering free story publishing with ad-supported reading and a premium subscription starting at $4.90 per month for ad-free experiences and additional features.

Getinkspired Pricing

What were the biggest lessons learned from building getinkspired.com?

Launch Quickly for Feedback: Galo Vargas advises launching your product as soon as possible to avoid being trapped in development. Early launches allow for real-world testing and feedback, necessary for iterative improvement.
Prioritize Marketing Over Development: For budding founders, focusing more on marketing strategies than just the software or product development is crucial. This helps attract the right audience and create demand.
Leverage Automation for Scalability: Inkspired used machine learning to automate content verification, improving efficiency and allowing the platform to scale. Automation is key in handling growth sustainably.
Surmount Structural Challenges with Flexible Solutions: Transitioning from manual processes to automated systems, like Inkspired's shift with Thoughtworks, reflects the importance of being adaptable, solving critical obstacles efficiently.
Maintain Resilience Amidst Resource Constraints: Despite being a solo developer, Galo navigated multiple challenges, reflecting the importance of resilience and flexibility, learning to adapt to growth without extensive resources.

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