Bootstrap, Ship, Repeat: Lessons From Polypane Creator Killian Valkhof
September 11, 2025
Developer and founder Killian Valkhof tells host Damien Filiatrault how a homemade tool that made his work 60 percent faster became Polypane, a dedicated browser for web professionals. He outlines Polypane’s core features—side-by-side responsive views, built-in accessibility and performance audits, and instant social-media previews—and shares the tactics that keep his one-person, bootstrapped SaaS both profitable and user-driven. Valkhof explains his open feedback channels, no-credit-card trial, and ROI calculator for team budgets, describes spin-off utilities like Superposition and FixA11y, and reflects on why he is holding off on AI features in favor of polished fundamentals.
Host Damien Filiatrault welcomes Killian Valkhof—long-time web-dev, educator, and solo founder of Polypane, the “browser made for developers.” They trace Polypane’s journey from a scrappy side-project to a profitable, one-person SaaS, and unpack the power—and quirks—of building tools for developers by a developer.
What you’ll learn:
How a home-grown prototype that made Killian 60 % faster convinced him to ditch agency life and bootstrap full-time
Polypane’s three pillars: multi-pane responsive previews, deep accessibility & Web Vitals insights, and instant social-media cards—even on localhost
Tactics for capturing user feedback “anywhere it appears,” crafting a no-tracking onboarding email flow, and helping devs win reimbursement with an ROI calculator
Side projects Superposition (extract design tokens straight into Figma) and FixA11y (fix color contrast on any site)
Why he’s holding off on flashy AI features—and what he’s learned from six years of going fast alone
Memorable sound bites
“I was 60 % faster with my prototype—so I decided to take it seriously.”
“Polypane should feel more like your IDE than a ‘normal’ browser.”
“A tool that costs 60 cents a day doesn’t have to do much to pay for itself.”
Tune in for a candid look at solo-founder life, smarter front-end workflows, and how to ship a power-tool browser that developers actually adopt.
Get 20% off your first month with Scalable Path: https://www.scalablepath.com/commit
Commit & Push Website: https://www.commit-push.com/
Scalable Path Website: https://www.scalablepath.com/
What you’ll learn:
How a home-grown prototype that made Killian 60 % faster convinced him to ditch agency life and bootstrap full-time
Polypane’s three pillars: multi-pane responsive previews, deep accessibility & Web Vitals insights, and instant social-media cards—even on localhost
Tactics for capturing user feedback “anywhere it appears,” crafting a no-tracking onboarding email flow, and helping devs win reimbursement with an ROI calculator
Side projects Superposition (extract design tokens straight into Figma) and FixA11y (fix color contrast on any site)
Why he’s holding off on flashy AI features—and what he’s learned from six years of going fast alone
Memorable sound bites
“I was 60 % faster with my prototype—so I decided to take it seriously.”
“Polypane should feel more like your IDE than a ‘normal’ browser.”
“A tool that costs 60 cents a day doesn’t have to do much to pay for itself.”
Tune in for a candid look at solo-founder life, smarter front-end workflows, and how to ship a power-tool browser that developers actually adopt.
Get 20% off your first month with Scalable Path: https://www.scalablepath.com/commit
Commit & Push Website: https://www.commit-push.com/
Scalable Path Website: https://www.scalablepath.com/