elevenlife
elevenlife is the first real project I joined right after my beginnings. I joined the two co-founders from the very start of the adventure, when it was still just a simple idea. This project completely evolved into something different over the years, so it’s interesting to talk about the two parts of the project separately.
The First Version
The first version of the product was a mobile application to connect through activities, via video — a sort of Tinder for doing things around you. The goal was to reinvent social networks and make them more dynamic by promoting encounters through activities.
Given that integration into the social network sector was so complicated, a pivot was quickly made after 2 years.
Pivot & Second Version
The app’s appearance was preserved (notably vertical video and TikTok-style feed), but the content completely changed:
- Instead of individuals, it’s now professionals who create the videos.
- It’s now an app for doing activities around you.
- Users can browse a feed of activities, filter, and book/pay directly for activity slots from the app — essentially a competitor to Airbnb Experiences.
However, after 3 years of developing a very elegant and functional product, the business aspect of such a product proved very difficult. It required:
- Virality among end users to generate demand.
- An offer, i.e., finding many professionals.
But that’s not what finally killed the app. The biggest problem came from one of the co-founders, who had a disease common among many founders: the endless quest for perfection. It was impossible to convince him to publish the product to test it in the field; there was always a detail that wasn’t right, something missing, constantly pushing back the final release.
These two problems led me to leave the project just before its fall; the two founders tried to continue a bit more, going to London or Barcelona to restart, but in vain.
Technologies
Here are the main technologies and services used:
| Category | Tech/Services |
|---|---|
| Languages |  |
| Runtime |   |
| Authentication |  |
| API & Websockets |    |
| Databases |   |
| Video & Content Processing |   |
| Communication Systems |    |
| External Services |   |
Challenges
-
Scheduling
Ensuring a scheduling functionality that meets all high requirements, allowing a professional to manage their availability as well as adapt to bookings, last-minute changes, and special cases. -
Booking
Users expect an experience equivalent to competitors. Whether it’s for the cart, payment flow, cancellations, or other booking-related actions. -
Videos
The foundation of the app is a video-centered feed, like TikTok. Therefore, the content must:- Be good, regardless of the professional.
- Offer high quality for all connections and devices.
Accomplishments
- Smart auto-editing of content
- Excellent encoding of the final video
- Robust booking flow + cart management
Failures
- Schedule management was too complex
- The app never really saw the light of day due to perfectionism
Lessons
This was my first real experience of a project from scratch. I grew, progressed, and experienced everything — the highs and lows. This project partly made me who I am today and shaped my path. I was lucky to be able to “launch” this company while having a salary, which is a real asset when embarking on such an adventure, allowing me to stay for more than 5 years and fully invest myself in it.
This also allowed me to see and experience everything you need to do and definitely not do in terms of development and product launch. What “startup” means in terms of product delivery:
Start small, don’t aim for excellence right away, find your market as quickly as possible.
I even had the opportunity to manage two juniors towards the end, which gave me my very first glimpse of team management. Tickets, points, and reflections became more frequent than code.
Thank you for reading!