SPOTLIGHT: Martin Gessner
12th of December, 2024
If you’ve ever felt stuck using clunky spreadsheets or wished there was a faster, easier way to build apps, Martin Gessner gets it. As the founder of Cloudcentrix, he’s all about helping businesses solve problems without diving into the deep end of coding. Enter Bubble.io—a no-code platform that’s totally transformed the way he builds.
In this post, Martin shares his Bubble journey—from stumbling across the platform to creating some seriously cool tools, like an AI-powered sales tracker and a custom CRM for venture capital firms. Whether you’re just starting out or deep into no-code life, his story is packed with tips, challenges, and wins that’ll get you inspired.
Ready to hear how it all went down? Let’s jump in!
1. Tell us a bit about yourself – what is your main occupation and interest?
I’m the founder of Cloudcentrix, an agency focused on helping businesses build solutions to their challenges using no-code platforms like Bubble.io. I’m particularly interested in how these platforms can be used to develop apps more efficiently and cost-effectively compared to traditional development. Our work mainly supports small to medium-sized businesses and larger enterprises, helping them with internal tools, MVPs, and SaaS applications.
2. What’s your history of discovering Bubble.io and Building with Bubble?
I came across Bubble about a year ago, when a team member mentioned it as a platform for building web apps. At the time, I had a specific business challenge: we were tracking sales targets using spreadsheets that had to be manually updated, and I knew there had to be a better way. That led to the development of an internal tool that tracked sales target achievements in real-time, with a dashboard that allowed us to drill down into individual products. We even added an AI feature that analyzed performance and provided daily audio summaries of our progress. This tool replaced the cumbersome manual tracking process and helped us streamline our work. What drew me to Bubble was how accessible it was. The fact that you don’t need to be a developer or have a deep understanding of computer science and coding meant I could get started without a steep learning curve.
I found Building with Bubble when searching for tutorials about building applications in Bubble. I was particularly interested in the ‘clone’ series that Lachlan produced. I have many years of experience working on projects using the Salesforce platform and so the Salesforce clone app was fascinating for me, to learn that Bubble.io could be used to create apps similar to well known apps out there. It provided me with inspiration and ideas about using Bubble.io to help build CRM apps for businesses that are customized for their specific business with the advantage of Bubble that they would not need a license for every user, instead, they would pay a plan price.
I also purchased the Bubble Freelancing Masterclass to get some assistance on how to get started in setting up a Bubble business and finding work. Lachlan provides a wealth of information related to all of the topics you need to consider to become a Bubble freelancer including practical examples.
3. Tell us about the most exciting project that you’ve built or are currently building on Bubble!
The internal tool for tracking sales targets was a standout project for me. It was developed in a few weeks and we could view our quarterly and monthly progress in real-time, drill down into product target achievement, and get AI-powered daily summaries. The AI summary used text-to-speech so we could listen to a daily summary. It was also helpful to have AI analyze the data to save us from going through the complete product list and figuring out which products were ahead or behind and needed attention.
Right now, I’m working on a project to help venture capital companies and founders streamline deal pipelines and investor communications. The system works like a CRM, allowing investors to log in, view deals, manage investments, and access company updates. It also makes the work of the venture capital company or founder more efficient by providing a single place to manage investors, the deal pipeline, and company updates. I’ve found it particularly rewarding to see this idea come to life, knowing how much it can improve the investment process.
As an investor myself, I understand the need for more efficient ways to handle this type of situation as I have found trying to find information in emails not very efficient and having a system where I can log in, see a dashboard of my investments, and detailed information on deals I have invested in, and open deals very helpful.
4. What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while building your apps using Bubble? What helped you?
The biggest challenge was starting from scratch without any prior knowledge of Bubble or no-code development. While it’s possible to dive right into building apps, truly mastering the platform and creating efficient apps takes time and experience. I worked through tutorials, enrolled in an online course, and found that building real projects was the best way to learn. The course I took included support from experienced people and weekly meetings where we could discuss challenges. Studying for the Bubble certification also made a big difference, as it requires learning all aspects of the platform.
5. What Bubble feature would you like to see coming up in the near future?
I’m really looking forward to native mobile app support, which is on Bubble’s roadmap. While responsive web apps work well, certain use cases are much better suited to native mobile apps. I’d also like to see improvements to the workflow editor. As you build more workflows, the editor can become overwhelming. I think a vertical, top-down view would be more intuitive, and built-in support for branching and looping actions would make things much easier to manage.
6. Anything else you would like to say for fellow Bubblers?
Bubble.io enables faster and more efficient app development compared to traditional methods, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy! It’s a skill, and like any skill, it requires time and dedication to get better and learn the nuances that aren’t obvious at first. With persistence, you can become a no-code developer who makes a real impact. Feel free to reach out to me at cloudcentrix.com if you have any questions or want to chat about learning Bubble or building an app!
We are grateful to share Martin’s Bubble story and if you enjoyed it as much as we did – stay tuned for another Spotlight post next month!
Would you like to share your story, too? Drop us an email at hello@buildingwithbubble.com