Lonti Blog

We Took the Long Road: Building a Product-First Company, One Step at a Time

Written by David Brown | February 5, 2025

In a world obsessed with moving fast and breaking things, we chose a different path: patience, focus, and relentless iteration. At Lonti, our journey to building a product-first company has been anything but fast. Over the past 10 years, we’ve prioritized creating solutions that solve real problems for professional developers and enterprises, rather than chasing flashy trends or quick wins. This is the story of how we built our company the slow and steady way—and why we believe it’s been worth every moment.

Why We Chose the Product-First Approach

From the very beginning, our philosophy has been simple: build great products that solve meaningful problems. For us, being product-first meant prioritizing our users’ needs over everything else—growth, fundraising, or marketing hype.

We saw too many companies sacrificing long-term value for short-term gains, rushing to launch products that were half-baked or poorly suited to their users. Instead, we focused on deeply understanding the challenges faced by professional developers working on complex enterprise projects. Our vision was clear: create tools that offer the flexibility and scalability developers need without limiting their potential.

Doing the Opposite of MVP Culture

The startup world often glorifies the concept of the minimum viable product (MVP): launch something fast, get feedback, and iterate. While there’s merit to this approach, we chose a different path. We decided to build a comprehensive, robust solution from day one — a platform that developers could trust to handle real-world challenges.

This meant investing significant time and resources into building Martini, our flagship platform, with features that met the needs of enterprise developers from the start. For example, instead of focusing on basic prototypes, we ensured that Martini could handle complex workflows, API integrations, and automation at scale. While this approach required more time and effort upfront, it laid the foundation for a platform that’s built to last.

Sidebar: Timeline of Lonti’s Journey

  • Years 1-2: Initial research and identifying developer pain points.
  • Year 3: First release of Martini runtime. No UI but built with scalability in mind.
  • Year 5: Introduced first UI for Martini; doubling down on enterprise features.
  • Year 8: Expanded our ecosystem with the launch of Bellini and Negroni.
  • Year 10: Major upgrade to Martini based on user feedback. Rebrand to Lonti.

Building Without Outside Capital

Another key decision that shaped our journey was choosing to bootstrap Lonti. Without outside capital, we had to operate lean, stay focused, and make every dollar count. This self-funded approach forced us to prioritize building products that delivered real value to our users. It also allowed us to maintain full control over our vision and avoid the pressures of chasing hyper-growth at the expense of quality.

While this path came with challenges—longer development timelines, limited resources — it ultimately enabled us to create a company culture rooted in resilience, creativity, and a commitment to doing things the right way.

The Importance of Listening to Users

One of the most important lessons we’ve learned over the years is the value of listening to our users. From the earliest days of Martini to the launches of Bellini and Negroni, user feedback has been at the core of our development process.

For example, when we released the first version of Martini five years ago, we quickly realized that some features weren’t meeting our users’ needs. Instead of doubling down on what wasn’t working, we took a step back, listened to our users, and made significant changes. This iterative approach not only improved our products but also built trust and loyalty among our user base.

The Long-Term Payoff

Taking the slow and steady approach has had its rewards. Today, Lonti stands on a solid foundation of products that developers trust to handle their most complex challenges. Our tools have been adopted by enterprises looking for scalable, secure, and flexible solutions, and we’re just getting started.

This journey has positioned us to launch new products, like Negroni — a data modeller using the Common Data Model standard, and Bellini — a low-code application development tool, that further expanded our ecosystem. By focusing on quality and listening to our users, we’ve built a platform that’s not only functional but also transformative.

Lessons for Other Founders

If you’re considering a slower, more deliberate approach to building your company, here are a few key takeaways from our journey:

  • Prioritize quality over speed: Resist the pressure to launch quickly and focus on building something that truly solves your users’ problems.
  • Build for the long term: Make decisions that align with your vision, even if they take more time and effort.
  • Listen to your users: Their feedback is invaluable for improving your product and building trust.
  • Focus on real problems: Avoid chasing trends and stay committed to solving meaningful challenges.

Conclusion

Building something meaningful takes time. At Lonti, we’re proof that the long road is often the most rewarding. By prioritizing quality, listening to our users, and staying true to our vision, we’ve created tools that empower developers to achieve more. And while our journey is far from over, we’re proud of the foundation we’ve built and excited for what’s to come.

If you’re tired of the “move fast and break things” mentality, join us in proving that slow and steady wins the race.