GEM Studio (2006) turned a teenage obsession with computers into a real business: web design, game servers and hosting for Croatian clients. Built with Goran Duškić and bootstrapped from zero to roughly 500 clients, with a blog you can still read on this site: hosting promos, client launches, iPhone 3G hype and all.
Around 2011 it was acquired by Avalon, the largest Croatian hosting company of the era: the first exit unlocked. The proceeds and the lessons went straight into WhoAPI and, eventually, Exevio.
Highlights
- Bootstrapped from zero to ~500 hosting clients
- Web design, game servers and hosting for Croatian clients
- Acquired by Avalon, the largest Croatian host of the era
- First exit: proceeds reinvested into WhoAPI