Most creative teams don’t struggle with ideas. They struggle with organization.

Files lost in Slack. Feedback scattered across Notion and Asana. Conflicting revisions with no clear source of truth. For years, designers, marketers, and content teams have relied on makeshift solutions that weren’t built for them.

Workflow is fixing that.

For Will Taylor, founder of Workflow, the problem was personal.

“Our engineering team had GitHub, automated testing, and seamless collaboration. Our creative team had… Slack file dumps and endless email chains.”

That disconnect sparked the idea for something better.

Today, Workflow is helping over 300 companies simplify creative collaboration. And after bootstrapping for 15 months, it has raised $3 million to scale even faster.

“We saw real traction before spending a single dollar on marketing. That’s when we decided to go all in.”

From Side Project to Full-Time Startup

Workflow wasn’t built overnight.

Before writing a single line of code, Will spent three months talking to creative leaders from global brands to small agencies. The goal wasn’t to pitch an idea. It was to listen.

The number one problem was feedback.

“The process was a nightmare. Designers were drowning in scattered revisions, lost files, and conflicting comments.”

So, a simple prototype was built to bring structure to the chaos. One place where creative teams could collaborate, share work, and manage feedback, without jumping between tools.

What started as an experiment quickly became essential. Teams began adopting the tool for their day-to-day work, replacing a mix of platforms with a single space that just made more sense for how they worked.

That early traction was all the validation needed to take the leap and turn Workflow into a real company.

The Growth Strategy That Changed Everything

Instead of spending big on ads, Workflow focused on building a great product and letting the design community discover it.

Here’s how:

  • Product-led growth: The product itself became the marketing tool. Workflow’s website, UI, and messaging were designed to attract designers who love discovering and sharing great tools.
  • Community-driven outreach: Instead of pitching, designers were invited to give feedback. These conversations turned early users into advocates.
  • Organic buzz: Workflow quickly started gaining four to five shoutouts per week on X (formerly Twitter). Designers were recommending it to their peers, and that word-of-mouth growth became one of the biggest drivers.

“Designers naturally love trying new tools. We just had to make sure ours was so good that they wanted to talk about it.”

Why Workflow Raised $3 Million After Bootstrapping for 15 Months

For over a year, Workflow ran without outside funding.

“I had built a venture-backed company before, and I knew early fundraising could be a huge distraction.”

Instead, he focused on talking to users and perfecting the product.

But once Workflow started gaining traction, investors came knocking.

At first, Will raised £450,000 ($600,000) from angel investors, planning to stretch it for six to nine months.

Then, as more teams adopted Workflow, VCs reached out.

“We had strong numbers, and investors took notice. We ended up raising $3 million pre-seed to grow the team and scale faster.”

Today, Workflow has a team of 12 and is rapidly expanding.

The One Thing Founders Should Focus On

Build for a specific market.

Too many founders build a product they think people need, without talking to real users first.

Instead, spending 20+ hours a week on calls with potential customers provides a deeper understanding of their workflow, frustrations, and habits.

“When you get that deep, you stop guessing, you build something they actually want.”

That is how Workflow grew, from a frustration to a prototype to a company with 300+ teams using it daily.

What’s Next for Workflow

With fresh funding and a growing team, Workflow is focused on one thing: helping creative teams work better together.

Their mission is simple. No more scattered feedback. No more lost files. No more design chaos.

For founders looking to launch their own product, this journey proves one thing. If you solve a real problem, growth will follow.

Just start. And don’t wait.