Nailit was a dual-sided marketplace born as a side project during the pandemic to to enable online professional services during the pandemic lockdown.
How I used a 3 week furlough during the pandemic lockdown to build an online professional platform that attracted 400 active users within its first month of launch.
During the pandemic, I experienced a temporary furlough lasting three weeks. Rather than letting this period go to waste, I seized the opportunity to launch Nailit, a dual-sided marketplace tailored to assist individuals most impacted economically by the lockdown, namely hairstylists. Understanding the growing need among users unable to access professional services, Nailit also catered to those taking on the challenge of cutting their family members’ hair or managing their own hair color at home. This initiative aimed to bridge the gap between service providers and clients during uncertain times, providing support and convenience when it was needed most.
I built the platform in WordPress completely autonomously, including design, development, and content (which I outsourced from a freelance writer based in the UK).
Once the platform was up and running several users signed up immediately, but hairstylists had cold feet about the actual transaction. They often would not show up to the online appointment for fear of being unable to satisfy their customer and losing their reputation.
That’s when chefs started flocking to the site. They wanted to offer online dining experiences, which often turned into cooking lesson—a model much familiar to them.
Over a span of two years, I dedicated my spare time to this project, navigating through various pivots along the way. It was a journey marked by challenges, particularly competing against established platforms like UpWork and even Zoom, which began offering similar services, often at more competitive rates.
As the world gradually reopened, the next potential pivot involved establishing a comprehensive repository for local drop-in classes. However, realizing that this direction didn’t resonate with my passions, I made the decision to close the site. I bid farewell to my users through a heartfelt email and redirected my focus towards my family and hobbies.
See how Nailit evolved over time on Wayback Machine.