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Hi everyone! This is my first time speaking at RailsConf. I have always checked the preview of Rails several times, so this time I decided to buy a slot at this conference. Today, I will talk about building products with Rails.
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I am not talking about beauty products or anything like that. Instead, I will discuss how to use Rails to build a really profitable business in a very short amount of time. Specifically, I will talk about my exchange, OTCBTC.
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A bit about myself: I have been a Rails developer for ten years. Before I started my own business, I took on several roles, including consultancy work, before joining Silicon Valley. Although that time didn’t go well, over the past three years, I have studied various business frameworks.
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Now, I aim to combine my skills in programming with a strong business sense to build projects efficiently. Today, I will share how I did this in my journey.
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Currently, I am the founder and CEO of OTCBTC. Most of the OTCBTC system has actually been built by myself. I used to be the CEO of the largest ICO platform in China.
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I also organized a real estate conference in my hometown, Taiwan, called "Real Specific." So that is a little about my background.
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Now, what is OTCBTC? We have two kinds of business: one is OTC trading and the other is a crypto exchange. I will give a brief introduction to both businesses. OTC trading is like crypto eBay, where you can buy crypto on our website. You can use fiat currency, similar to buying products on eBay but with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
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The second part, our crypto exchange, functions like a stock exchange where you can trade cryptocurrencies. Today, I will share the story of how we built this product and achieved three hundred times growth in just two months.
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We launched OTCBTC in October, and when we first launched, we had an impressive trading record: we got 50,000 users in our first month and achieved 1.5 billion Chinese Yuan in gross merchandise value (GMV). This is equivalent to the total trading volume in the first month.
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Additionally, we broke even immediately in the first month and had a net promoter score, which indicates customer satisfaction. A net promoter score above a certain level means your product fulfills users' needs effectively. Our revenue and trading value growth rate also reached 20%.
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Now, let me explain how we achieved this rapid growth in just one month. Personally, I spent five to six years in the tech industry. I have been a senior developer and have built various architectures that worked with Rails, but I was not satisfied with my position, which drove me to start my own business.
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In 2012, I opened a Rails consultancy, but after one year, I realized I didn't enjoy it. I was doing quality work, but my clients were often not satisfied, which led me to believe I needed to find a better way to apply my skills. I sold my company and joined a new tech company as a VP of Engineering.
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Here, I learned how successful companies operate and how to build architectures that make sense for businesses. After gaining this experience, I felt ready to start my own venture again. In the last year, I generated substantial profit by applying the framework I developed.
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I believe developers often have the potential to change the world; they just need to understand business better. One of the most important things in the first part of building a product is choosing a good topic.
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In China, I realized there was a huge opportunity in teaching coding online, similar to coding campuses in the U.S. When I started my online coding camp in 2016, it quickly gained popularity. Within just six months, I taught over 1000 students, generating around 2 million USD in profit.
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After starting another business called ICO2Info with my partner, I pivoted due to the rising ICO market in China. I invested in cryptocurrency after seeing explosive growth. However, regulations became strict as the Chinese government started shutting down ICOs.
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This created an opportunity, as many people needed to convert their cryptocurrencies back to fiat, which was no longer possible through regular exchanges. So, I saw a chance to establish an OTC exchange to help facilitate transactions.
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I made the decision to build the OTC platform because I believed I could profit from the existing demand while providing a safer and easier way for people to trade.
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My goal was to create a unique offering and deliver it quickly in order to serve customers better, so we launched within a month of acquiring our domain.
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To navigate fast-paced markets in China, I understood the need for being first to market—if you don’t act quickly, competitors will emerge. This urgency was essential for our launch strategy.
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One lesson I learned about building products is the importance of timing. When I started OTCBTC, I focused on the minimum viable product (MVP) concept where we needed to quickly deliver the essential features that customers needed without overcomplicating things.
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As a part of my implementation model, I didn’t strictly follow typical development frameworks. For our MVP, the purpose was to solve essential customer problems first and foremost.
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I also focused on gathering feedback from customers and refining our features based on what they valued most. This was crucial, as customer interactions provided valuable insights into what we needed to change or improve.
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Now, about progress: Our goal was to target the needs of crypto traders specifically, making sure our platform was effective and easy to use. We avoided unnecessary complexity to keep our product focused.
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Our numbers reflected our strategies; we reduced customer complaints efficiently and stabilized our platform. Over time, this led to increased customer satisfaction and a strong user base.
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Through this process, I witnessed the value of a strong support team, working directly with users to better understand their experiences on our platform. We also kept refining our internal processes to enhance our operational efficiency.
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Throughout my journey, it was vital to focus on the core functionalities, eliminating features that could complicate the user experience.
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In summation, what I encourage others in the field to remember: it’s about continuously aligning your product features with customer needs rather than pursuing trends that may overwhelm the core purpose.
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Finally, building a successful product requires constant iteration; it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it situation. Being involved with customers early on and frequently drives product improvement.