Ben Huffman built a freelance platform with NO fees. Every investor told him it was the stupidest idea they’d ever heard.Now Contra has 1M users and a $120M run rate.We talk about living in the pain cave (the place your ideas live before anyone believes in them), building mission-driven companies, avoiding the “marketplace commodity problem,” and why community-led growth might be the future of creative work.Get the UX Tools Newsletter (written by me)Join 90,000+ designers for weekly insights on creative software and the people shaping it: https://uxtools.coCHAPTERS: 00:00 – The “pain cave” explained 01:12 – Investors called it the “worst idea ever” 04:51 – Why rejection always feels personal 07:32 – Building for the younger version of yourself 10:47 – The humanity problem with commission fees 13:41 – Early internet communities (Themeforest, torrent sites, Newegg) 15:30 – Solving the marketplace commodity problem 18:44 – Going “feed first” to foster authentic connections 20:28 – Becoming an independent discovery engine 24:08 – Partnering with creative tools like Framer 27:26 – Why open networks might win over closed platforms 30:28 – Building leverage as an independent creative 33:53 – The “Hollywood model” for creative projects 37:55 – Resumes are dead, project-based identity is the future 40:39 – Small core teams + specialist networks 43:17 – How indie communities share work and clients 46:05 – Branding yourself to get discovered 48:01 – The story of a 19-year-old making $50K/month from design 50:31 – How Contra makes money without fees 52:21 – Almost out of the pain caveLINKS: UX Tools Newsletter: https://uxtools.co Follow Ben: https://x.com/_BenHQ Try Contra: https://contra.comFOLLOW ME: Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsdesignertom X / Twitter: https://x.com/designertom_ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tommygeoco TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@designertom Threads: https://threads.net/itsdesignertomNARRATIVE EPISODE:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2CrESEW03tMCrVGMCWlO8d?si=NVpYWxEKSVugGu5okwvh7w Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/he-built-a-freelance-platform-with-no-fees-now-1m-use-it/id1829478829?i=1000719514305

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