From Server Room to Success: How a Failing Startup Transformed with Open Source Technology
In 2017, a small startup named CodeNest launched in Lisbon, Portugal. Their mission? To create an affordable, scalable CRM system tailored for small and medium-sized businesses. Armed with ambition, a modest seed fund, and a team of five, they were ready to take on the SaaS giants. But within just eight months, they were on the brink of collapse.
The Initial Challenges
The team chose proprietary technologies for their entire stack. Their CRM platform was built on a licensed enterprise framework, hosted on an expensive cloud provider, and relied heavily on third-party services. Monthly bills skyrocketed beyond their expectations. Customer acquisition was slow, and their burn rate was unsustainable.
Worse, their platform was plagued with bugs. Every small update required external consultants, and the time to release new features was painfully slow. The team morale was low. Investors started backing out. The team needed a miracle.
The Pivot to Open Source
That miracle came in the form of an idea — pivot to open source. It was a risky decision. The CTO, Mariana Costa, proposed replacing their entire backend with a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), adopting Laravel as their primary framework.
They moved their cloud infrastructure to self-managed servers on DigitalOcean, which cut their hosting costs by 70%. Instead of licensed UI libraries, they turned to Bootstrap and Vue.js. Email services were migrated to open-source tools like Mailtrain.
It wasn’t easy. Migrating the codebase took two full months, with the team working late nights and weekends. They documented every step, automated testing, and slowly rebuilt the CRM from the ground up.
The Turnaround
By mid-2018, CodeNest relaunched their CRM under a new name — NestCRM. The new version was faster, more stable, and 100% open-source friendly. It attracted a new wave of customers, especially developers and startups looking for a customizable CRM.
Mariana decided to go further: she open-sourced the core features of NestCRM. The move went viral on GitHub. Within six months, they had 15,000 stars and hundreds of contributors. This brought them visibility, and enterprise clients started taking interest.
One German client requested a custom build of NestCRM and paid $30,000 for a three-month contract. More contracts followed. By the end of 2019, CodeNest had turned profitable.
The Future of CodeNest
Today, CodeNest is a thriving mid-sized tech company. Their open-source CRM is downloaded by thousands every month. They’ve launched additional plugins, mobile apps, and a vibrant community forum. Mariana is now a keynote speaker at tech events, sharing their journey from the brink of failure to sustainable success.
The story of CodeNest is a testament to the power of open source, adaptability, and the importance of building with the community in mind. Tech is not just about code — it’s about vision, resilience, and making smart choices under pressure.
