I spent a year building "the backend plumbing" so you don’t have to. Here is how it’s going.

About 11 months ago (July 14th, 2025), I decided that the world didn't have enough "backend plumbing" problems. My vision for Baack was simple: let devs build cool stuff without wanting to throw their laptops into the sea because of CRM integrations.

We’ve all been there—trying to launch the next big thing but spending 80% of our time fighting API boss-battles and content logic instead of actually building the product.

Here’s the unvarnished, AI powered, vibe-coded reality of the last year.

Start where the market exploded

I started where the market was already screaming. Baack’s DNA is a CMS I built ~15 years ago for some earlier startups. Back then, "headless" wasn’t a thing—it was just "the way we did stuff" not a product. Now it’s a billion-dollar industry and I’m the guy trying to break into the party.

The content model held up, but getting noticed in this crowded room was like whispering in a hurricane. Lessons learned the hard way:

• Big companies buy from big companies. It’s a boring, corporate circle-jerk that’s hard to crack as a newcomer.
• Analysis reports are gated behind having massive customers. No customers, no reviews; no reviews, no customers. Fun!
• Scale needs proof. Social proof needs scale. It’s loops all the way down.

Building apps on the platform to prove it’s use

Pivot #1: Stop fighting Goliaths and start building tools that actually sell. I scoured app stores for inspiration, looking for the "pain points" that people were actually complaining about. If a companies app has a 3.4* rating and thousands of installs there must be an opportunity right?

I built a niche solution: a Xero to HubSpot migration tool. Simple, right? Wrong. Dealing with two notoriously "unique" APIs turned a 6-week sprint into a 12-week marathon of debugging edge cases that shouldn't exist. But hey, it proved the platform worked and gave me some warm and fuzzy feelings about how easy our API is by comparison.

Then I hit the "app store gatekeepers." Turns out you can't even list your app if you don't already have users. I spent weeks chasing leads just to unlock the GTM door. More blunt lessons:

• The app store "gold rush" is over. It’s mostly just a bootstrap mechanism for the platforms themselves now - agencies just build in private and want to own their integration.
• Finance teams (Xero) are way more protective of their data than Sales teams (HubSpot). Accessing "real" money data is a nightmare.
• Financial data requires "I've been in business for 20 years" levels of trust. Not easy for a startup.

Top advice from a business coach:

“If you are selling me something - don’t try and sell me something else…”

This brought me full circle: Baack is a platform for people building digital experiences. We had the tech; we just needed to stop hiding it behind niche apps.

This also meant killing our 'Xero to HubSpot' darling. Three months, zero customers, and a massive maintenance headache. API migrations are where dreams go to die. We’re doubling down on a predictable integration model so our users don’t have to suffer like I did.

The Big Pivot: From Developers to the CMO

I spent months obsessing over the "Developer Dilemma," thinking engineers wanted tech flexibility. Then I realized: developers love building stuff themselves and they usually have zero budget. Total disconnect.

The real bleeding is in the CMO’s office. They’re the ones tearing their hair out over:

• Content Chaos: Trying to keep the same message consistent across five different platforms.
• The Dev Bottleneck: Waiting three weeks for engineering to change a button on a landing page.
• Disconnected Messes: Failing to actually integrate content into the product experience.

We’ve ditched "technical flexibility" for "content agility." Devs aren't forgotten—we’ve got a free tier for startups and charities, and our docs are actually readable. The road to the big checks starts with building fast and helping others do the same without the usual "vibe-coding" disasters. 

What’s Next?

We are officially launching this week (June 2, 2026)! You can find us on DevHunt and Product Hunt.

This isn't my first startup rodeo, but "Building in Public" is a wild new ride. PMF isn't a destination; it's a constant state of panic and adjustment. If you're tired of "plugin hell" or trying to turn a messy prototype into something real, come say hi.

I'm Damien. Ask me anything about the tech, the pivots, or why I haven't slept since 2025.