Chatterbox
Full-Stack DevelopmentFrom Solo Developer to CTO: Scaling a Language Learning Platform
Overview
Scaled from solo developer project to CTO role, growing product valuation to £1.5M.
Chatterbox needed to scale their language learning platform from an early prototype to a robust product capable of supporting thousands of users. As the sole developer initially, the challenge was to build a scalable infrastructure while simultaneously developing new features and maintaining code quality.
Client
Chatterbox (Language Learning Startup)
Timeline
2018 - 2021
Services
- Technical Leadership
- Full-Stack Development
- Infrastructure Management
Technologies
Key Results
Valuation Growth
Helped grow the company valuation from early-stage startup to £1.5M through technical excellence and scalable architecture.
User Capacity
Scaled infrastructure to support over 10,000 concurrent users without performance degradation.
Deployment Frequency
Implemented CI/CD pipeline that enabled safe, reliable daily deployments versus monthly releases previously.
System Uptime
Achieved near-perfect system reliability through proper monitoring, automated recovery, and infrastructure as code.
Our Approach
Initial Assessment & Roadmap
Started with a technical audit of the existing codebase and infrastructure, identifying bottlenecks and technical debt. Created a phased development roadmap aligned with business growth goals.
Infrastructure Optimization
Redesigned the hosting architecture using AWS services, implementing auto-scaling, load balancing, and proper separation of concerns. Containerized the application with Docker and Kubernetes for easier deployment and scaling.
Development Process Implementation
Established proper development workflows with version control, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing to ensure code quality and reliability.
Team Building & Leadership
As the product grew, transitioned from sole developer to CTO, building and leading a development team of 5 engineers. Implemented Agile methodologies and established coding standards.
Project Gallery
Collaborative development session for new features
AWS infrastructure architecture redesign
The redesigned user interface optimized for learning
"The technical leadership provided was instrumental in our growth. We went from a promising prototype to a robust product that could scale with our business needs."
Sarah Johnson
CEO, Chatterbox
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