The Problem We Were Actually Solving
We were trying to build a store that could sell digital products online, but what we quickly realized was that this was not the real problem we were solving. The real problem was not just about building a store, but about building a store that anyone could use, regardless of where they were in the world. The reality was that many of the creators we wanted to help were barred from using the likes of Gumroad and Sellfy because of restrictions on international transactions and geoblocking.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
When we first started building the project, we assumed that we could simply replicate the same architecture as Gumroad and Sellfy. We used a similar payment gateway integration, but what we did not realize was that this would not solve the problem of geoblocking. In reality, many of the payment gateways we integrated with had strict geoblocking policies in place, which meant that we were not actually solving the problem we were trying to solve.
We then tried to use a workaround by using a third-party service to bypass the geoblocking restrictions, but this had its own set of problems. The service was not reliable, and it often caused errors when creators tried to sell their products online.
The Architecture Decision
After months of trying to solve the problem, we realized that we needed to take a different approach. We decided to build our own payment gateway, one that was specifically designed to bypass geoblocking restrictions. We used a combination of Stripe and a custom-built payment processor to create a new architecture that would allow creators to sell their products online, regardless of where they were in the world.
What The Numbers Said After
After implementing the new architecture, we saw a significant increase in the number of creators who were able to sell their products online. We went from having a few dozen creators using the platform to over a thousand, with creators from dozens of countries around the world. The metrics were staggering, with an average sale value of $25 and a transaction success rate of over 99%.
What I Would Do Differently
In hindsight, I would have done things differently from the start. I would have realized earlier that the problem we were trying to solve was not just about building a store, but about building a store that anyone could use, regardless of where they were in the world. I would have taken a more nuanced approach to payment gateway integration, and I would have considered building our own payment gateway from the start.
I also would have been more careful in our choice of third-party services to use as workarounds. We ended up wasting months of development time trying to fix problems that were ultimately caused by our own choices. In the end, building our own payment gateway was the right decision, but it was a hard-won lesson, and one that I will not forget.
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