Jim Raptis, a Greek designer, software engineer, and freelance programmer, introduced MagicPattern on ProductHunt in August 2020. He has launched 12 products, including The Launch Checklist, CSS Background Patterns, and Minimal Calendar. Raptis is an inspiring creative with a blog and Twitter account, sharing his knowledge and experiences with his growing audience. His most recent endeavor is MagicPattern, a standalone micro-SaaS and web editor for geometric designs.
Jim Raptis is a designer, software engineer, and freelance programmer based in Greece. He successfully introduced MagicPattern on ProductHunt back in August 2020, earning 900 upvotes and climbing to the second place for the day.
Jim successfully launched a total of 12 products in addition to MagicPattern, including The Launch Checklist, CSS Background Patterns, and Minimal Calendar.
Jim is an inspiring creative who frequently posts to his blog and Twitter account and shares his knowledge and experiences with his growing audience. Thus, I am thrilled to have him take part in Creativerly’s interview series.
Let’s start our mycreative fansite interview!
Tell us a little more about who you are and what you’re working on.
My name is Jim Raptis; good day. I am a technical founder from Greece who specializes in the front-end programming and UI design ecosystems. I helped co-found VisualEyes, a firm with VC funding that offers AI-powered design insights. I have also been developing my own products for the design community for the past two years. Some of these programs are DesignValley, CopyPalette, Wireframer, and MagicPattern.
The most current and fruitful endeavor to date is MagicPattern. It is both my first standalone micro-SaaS and a web editor for recognizable geometric designs. Since the app’s launch in August 2020, I’ve mostly concentrated on its growth.
You just hit 4,000 users, and MagicPattern.design, your first standalone SaaS, has garnered more than 900 upvotes on Product Hunt. How does this feel? What are the most important things you’ve discovered after such a successful launch?
It was a very remarkable experience. 900 upvotes, 13,000 visits, and 4,000 users were produced by the Product Hunt debut (and subsequent days).
After receiving countless positive remarks from users and supporters, MagicPattern moved up to second position. These measures are all, however, essentially flimsy ones. The real triumph and confirmation of my idea was making $1,000 in a short period of time. I’ll never forget how it felt to obtain my first paying customers.
We learned from this launch that we should never be afraid to show the public our products. I put off the release of my product for several weeks out of concern that it would be useless. As you go, launch regularly and early. A good launch may confirm your idea and motivate you to keep moving forward. Additionally, users of your product provide you with insightful comments.
Because it saves so much time, MagicPattern is an outstanding tool for boosting creativity and productivity. What inspired you to build a SaaS around the idea and how did you come up with it?
I spent a lot of time admiring the recent geometric pattern trend in design. I soiled my hands while attempting to create a few. Sadly, the process took a long time and was difficult.
While watching the conference’s live feed, the introduction to Shopify Reunite caught my eye. When I noticed the Shopify team adopting a geometric theme in their branding, I had a lightbulb moment. I was forced to create a minimal viable product (MVP) after discovering a way to break down the pattern production into smaller units. The MVP took close to two days to build. Although it was incredibly ugly, it was completely functional.
I then created a simple user interface for the app and considered other revenue options. I always felt driven to develop a SaaS solution, therefore I chose to launch it as a monthly subscription.
To see if professionals would buy a micro-SaaS solution that automates a fundamental function like pattern building, I published MagicPattern on solution Hunt. The income supported my theories and gave me motivation to keep creating new features and a better user experience.
What future goals do you have for MagicPattern? What is the likeness of your Roadmap?
The main item is completely functioning and runs on its own. I need to focus my efforts on customer education and marketing. Additionally, new SaaS products that are striving to find their product-market fit frequently do price experiments.
My own objective is to offer visuals with only one click. Today, no-code tools are the most common, while no-design tools are few. Although Canva is the most well-known, basic design principles are still needed. MagicPattern can create an eye-catching backdrop image with just a few mouse clicks.
The product roadmap for the following few months includes the inclusion of more patterns as well as the potential expansion of the capabilities to films.
As an independent hacker, you usually work on a variety of projects. How do you continue to be effective? Use any specific project or task management tools?
same exact thing. An independent hacker oversees several projects at once as well as various responsibilities inside each one. I could have to record product videos, react to support questions, and fix issues all on the same day for various items. Life is really stressful and difficult!
I’ve recently devised a method for surviving multitasking. I make an effort to work in two-hour blocks each day. Each time period is devoted to one major job or a number of minor, contextually related tasks. However, I always associate each block with a certain product.
I sustain productivity by using a mix of digital and traditional tools. I use Notion to keep track of ideas, make notes, and write blog articles. Additionally, Trello is used to keep track of tasks, the roadmap, and issue reports connected to products.
I’m a visual person who cannot function without a notepad! I have a traditional notebook for keeping track of my everyday activities. I’ve also prepared a weekly schedule so I can arrange 2-hour blocks of time.
Project-related insights abound on your Twitter Timeline, and you continuously give your followers great value. How important is it to build a group of people that support you and your work?
I’ve lately come to understand how critical it is to build a community around your name.
First, you engage with a variety of people who support your own growth. They teach you, and you teach them.
For producers, having a community is even more important. You can quickly validate and refine ideas with the help of your community based on their input. Another tactic is to interact with your community and show empathy for their issues. You may confidently create a solution that will improve their lives by knowing where they are experiencing discomfort.
You are involved in blogging and writing in addition to designing, developing, and building your own goods. What would you say about the writing process is? Do you regularly write or do you only do it occasionally?
Writing is an investment for me. It enables me to write down my ideas and helps those with similar problems by saving time.
Every week, I tried to write consistently, but it didn’t work for me. Creativity is necessary for writing, yet it can’t always be forced.
My experience has shown that the best articles can only be written in a fully distraction-free environment. Not days, but just a few focused hours will do.
In order to establish a 100% attention environment, I usually switch off the internet, put on headphones with loud music, and entirely focus on my thoughts. It aids in clearing my thoughts of distracting surrounding noises and motions. I have quickly produced some of my best blog pieces using this technique.
Of course, there are occasions when writing is impossible. I would rather wait till I am in the right frame of mind to write if I’m not. I think that creativity cannot be timed by the human brain.
Please share your go-to tool with us since Creativerly is all about productivity-boosting tools and resources. What technologies are used in your process today? What is your top productivity advice?
For the rest of my life, Figma would be the sole tool I used. Since I started using it in 2017, I’ve used it to create almost everything. webpages, dashboards, presentations, and logos.
To boost my productivity, I make use of Figma’s outstanding plugin and community file ecosystems. I nearly always use Unsplash, Make Blob, Isometic, Roto, and Content Reel.
For UI development, I use VS Code to build JavaScript code for React and Express, and Netlify and Heroku to host the applications.
I place a high value on productivity in my workflow. The best advice I can provide is to use the tools that match your goals and your past expertise. There is no need to become an expert in Figma or Sketch if you can make a website in five minutes using Photoshop. Designers and developers debate which tools, frameworks, and programming languages are best for countless hours. It doesn’t matter. fulfill your obligations.
More information
You can check my blog or my Twitter
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