50 Lines of Code That Changed Everything: The Founder's Story

It all started with a challenge—a frustration we at Avisi faced as a software development team. We were on the hunt for the perfect tools to support our way of working, and that’s when we discovered Atlassian’s Jira and Confluence. They were fantastic, but they weren’t quite perfect for us.

How It All Started

I vividly remember the first time we hit a roadblock. We were trying to manage large requirements specification documents, but communicating feedback on them was a real challenge. It was difficult to point out specific parts of the document that needed attention. We realized what was missing was something simple: numbers. And just like that, the idea for Numbered Headings was born.

On a rainy Saturday afternoon, I wrote the first app—a quick solution that was no more than 50 lines of code. It solved our problem, and little did we know, it would become the beginning of something much bigger.

Turning Curiosity Into a Company

Back then, we had something called an “innovation team” at Avisi. We didn’t fully know what that meant, but we were good at experimenting—trying out new tools, switching frameworks, learning fast, and failing faster. That culture of curiosity laid the foundation for what became Avisi Apps. Now, Avisi Apps is still a small team of just 16 people, sometimes including interns, but we’ve managed to work with some of the biggest names out there, like Booking.com, Microsoft, and Sony. Not bad for a team that started with 50 lines of code on a rainy afternoon.

One of the hardest lessons we learned early on was understanding the value of what we built. Pricing our apps didn’t feel natural. They were born out of our own needs, so it was hard to imagine asking others to pay for them. But as the Dutch saying goes, “the chimney must smoke.” To our surprise, customers were more than willing to pay for something that made their lives easier. That was the moment we started thinking not just about what we needed but what others needed, too.

Building for Others, Not Just Ourselves

As we continued to grow, we made a shift from "scratch your own itch" to listening to customer feedback. This was a pivotal moment for us. We began developing more complex apps like Atlas CRM and Git for Confluence—tools that addressed broader needs within the ecosystem. The transition wasn’t easy. These apps required more time, resources, and effort, and finding the right product-market fit wasn’t as straightforward as we hoped. But the struggle was worth it. Today, Atlas CRM is the #1 CRM in the Atlassian Marketplace, a testament to the value people see in what we do.

Beyond the Ecosystem

Working in a host ecosystem like Atlassian isn’t always easy. Platforms change, and we have to adapt. But that also means there’s always room to grow. No software is ever perfect. That realization pushed us to expand into other ecosystems, like monday.com, where we built Tracket, now the #1 time tracker on the platform. Each step forward has been a leap of faith, but every time, it’s paid off.

Why We Keep Going

What sticks with me most, though, isn’t the technical achievements. It’s the moments when I see how our work helps people. There’s nothing quite like watching an idea come to life and knowing it made someone’s day just a little easier. That’s why I still jump into support calls, troubleshoot bugs, and dig into the root of a problem. It reminds me of why we started in the first place.

We’ve come a long way, and every challenge has only made us stronger. Perfection might be a myth, but progress is real—and we’re here for it. With each problem we solve, we grow more confident, more capable, and more excited for what’s next. And as long as there’s a problem waiting to be solved, we’ll keep rolling up our sleeves—even on rainy Saturdays.

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