Author
Samuel
Category
Blog ContentUpdated on
2024-09-19
Alvaro Trigo, a web developer from Spain, made a significant career shift that many dream of. After five years working as a web developer in the UK, Trigo decided to leave his 9-to-5 job and focus full-time on his own project: a JavaScript plugin called fullPage.js.
Now 35, Trigo’s decision to quit his job and dive into developing fullPage.js has proven successful. The plugin, which offers a full-screen scrolling experience, quickly gained popularity among developers and now generates around $12,000 a month.
Trigo’s business has expanded since then. He now leads a small team, including a couple of full-time employees and about 12 freelancers, all working under a limited company structure. The team focuses on several projects, including fullPage.js and other tools like multiScroll.js, fullSnap, and fullStats, as well as managing niche blogs and exploring new revenue opportunities.
Trigo’s experience shows how a single idea, combined with dedication, can turn into a thriving business. His journey from a traditional job to running a successful tech company offers practical insights for aspiring developers and entrepreneurs.
Alvaro Trigo’s journey into the world of web development entrepreneurship began quite organically. While working as a web developer, he was tasked with creating a simple website and was inspired to design a full-screen scrollable site, mimicking a PowerPoint style.
Realizing that there were no existing tools to streamline this process for web developers, Trigo saw an opportunity. He decided to create his own plugin to fill this gap. Initially, it wasn’t about making money; he simply wanted to build something useful and continue learning as a developer. So, he developed his first version of the plugin, which he offered for free for about three years. It was a project driven by passion rather than profit.
The development of the plugin was relatively straightforward—it took him a week or two and around 300 lines of code. With no budget for advertising, Trigo relied entirely on organic growth. The plugin gained visibility through blogs and websites that talked about it, spreading by word of mouth and community support.
Trigo’s approach was all about contributing to the developer community and honing his skills, which eventually laid the foundation for his successful business.
Alvaro Trigo’s path to his first customers started with direct emails. Early on, he received requests for custom features for his free plugin. While he handled these individually, providing quotes for custom versions, he quickly realized many requests were similar.
Seeing an opportunity to streamline the process, Trigo decided to create extensions for his main component. This way, users could purchase and add the features they needed without having to contact him directly. It was a smart move that saved him time and effort.
In the first month of releasing about three extensions, Trigo was pleasantly surprised to earn over $1,000. The success came without any promotional push; the extensions were discovered organically. Users found the original free plugin through blogs, websites, Google, and even GitHub, and then stumbled upon the extensions through the plugin’s documentation.
This approach not only met the needs of his users but also set the stage for a thriving business.
Alvaro Trigo's approach to marketing his first product was surprisingly low-key but effective. He created a GitHub project for his plugin and shared it to get feedback from the developer community. The plugin’s popularity grew organically as it gained attention on GitHub, even earning a spot as a trending project. The fact that it was free and open-source played a big role in its spread.
Word of mouth and organic traffic from various websites helped the product gain traction. Trigo also became more active on Twitter to reach a wider audience, although he isn’t sure how much impact it had on his product’s success.
He briefly experimented with Google Ads and Twitter Ads but didn’t invest much time or effort into these channels. He didn’t see a noticeable change in revenue from these ads, so he decided to focus on the organic growth that was already working well for him.
Trigo’s success story highlights how sometimes letting a great product speak for itself and engaging with the community can be more effective than aggressive marketing.
Alvaro Trigo’s business follows a freemium model for his flagship product, fullPage.js. Developers can use the plugin for free if their project falls under the GPLv3 compatible license. However, those using other licenses need to purchase a commercial license. These commercial licenses are available either as an annual subscription or a one-time lifetime license.
In addition to fullPage.js, Trigo offers extensions that users can buy with a one-time purchase. These extensions come with limitations based on the number of domains they can be used on.
Collectively, Trigo’s business generates around $30,000 per month, with fullPage.js alone contributing $12,000 monthly at present, though it once peaked at $20,000 in a single month.
To find out more about Alvaro Trigo and his products, you can visit the following links:
Samuel
Author
Samuel
Author
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