From Medicine to Tech: Falak's Journey to Launching Fazier
Falak talks to us about leaving medicine, starting Fazier for indie makers and finding success through user-focus
Falak's entrepreneurial journey has been a winding road of unexpected pivots and relentless determination.
What started as a passion for human medicine took an about-turn when he discovered his love for technology and startup life. "I dropped out and started a personal blog which scaled to 60K visitors per month," Falak recalls.
Though his initial monetisation effort with Adsense hit a roadblock, he quickly adapted by launching a marketing newsletter called Marketer Crew that generated $850 in monthly revenue.
"Selling it for $14K was my first major win as an entrepreneur," he says.
The Beginning of Something Great
But Falak's ambitions were just getting fired up.
Observing an unmet need for an interactive, community-centric product discovery platform, he conceived the idea for Fazier - his bold reimagining of ProductHunt geared towards empowering indie makers.
The transition from medicine to tech wasn't without its hurdles. "Grasping the technology basics while building out what I envisioned for my ventures required an intense learning curve," Falak admits.
But his driving force was clear - creating a level playing field for indie makers struggling for visibility against deep-pocketed corporations on existing platforms.
"We had to make tough calls on which features to prioritise, how much to invest in marketing and scaling the team."
"Despite their hard work, many indie makers were overshadowed by big companies leveraging resources to unfairly dominate rankings," Falak explains. "Fazier aims to provide them a fair chance to shine and connect with a supportive community."
Launching Fazier presented fresh obstacles.
Formidable competitors like ProductHunt had already staked their claim, while bootstrapping the self-funded startup demanded difficult prioritisation of limited resources.
"We had to make tough calls on which features to prioritise, how much to invest in marketing and scaling the team," says Falak.
Conquering Disappointment
One particularly disheartening moment came when Fazier's initial launch failed to gain immediate traction despite high hopes.
"It was demoralising to see our hard work not resonating at first, and doubts crept in," Falak admits. A pivotal course correction followed - shifting from an over-reliance on fickle social media traffic to a strategic focus on optimising for search engines (SEO).
"SEO provided a steady stream of organic traffic and visibility. It turned out to be the right sustainable move for us," Falak says.
"Understand your audience deeply, refine your product to their needs, validate your model - and only then scale effectively with proven demand."
This customer-centric, data-driven approach analysing key metrics like engagement became crucial for scaling Fazier prudently.
Despite external skepticism about disrupting an established industry as a newcomer, Falak stayed resilient and pragmatic. "There were moments of doubt, but our team and Fazier's community rallied around the vision with kind words and support. I'm forever grateful."
The Importance of SEO
One key decision that altered Fazier's trajectory?
"Transitioning from social media to prioritising SEO changed everything for us. Solely chasing social traffic wasn't sustainable long-term due to the competition and ever-shifting algorithms."
Looking back, Falak's advice for aspiring founders is to relentlessly pursue product-market fit before over-investing in scalable operations.
"Understand your audience deeply, refine your product to their needs, validate your model - and only then scale effectively with proven demand."
From leaving medicine for an uncertain tech path to birthing a thriving product discovery platform for indie makers, Falak's journey epitomises the grit, agility and unwavering determination that characterises successful entrepreneurship.
By staying attuned to real user needs and scoring key pivots at opportune moments, Fazier continues forging new ground.
To find out more about Fazier, you can head over to fazier.com.
The latest founder stories
Towards a Better Future: How Matthew and Building Are Revolutionizing Real Estate
Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia: The Story of Purpose-Driven Business
Solopreneur to Bazaari: Ali's Journey to Building a Platform for Simplified E-Commerce