Resend.com: How Zeno Rocha Built a 20,000-User Email Platform in 9 Months
In 2022, Zeno Rocha, already a prominent figure in open-source development, founded Resend with a bold vision: to create the "Stripe of email" for developers. Since its launch, Resend has already attracted over 80,000 developers and raised $3 million in funding, positioning itself as a game-changing platform for modern email handling(Railway Blog)(Resend)(OpenSauced Newsletter). Here’s how Rocha did it!
Zeno Rocha
Founder and CEO, Resend
The Idea
Zeno Rocha, the founder of Resend.com, had been wrestling with email deliverability issues for years, first as the Chief Product Officer at Liferay and later as the VP of Developer Experience at WorkOS. He encountered the same recurring issue in both roles: transactional emails ending in spam folders. Frustrated by the existing solutions like SendGrid and Mailgun, Rocha saw a gap in the market for a developer-first email platform that didn’t just serve enterprise needs but truly innovated. This pain point led to Resend.com, a next-generation email API (Application Programming Interface) that solves deliverability issues with simplicity and precision.
Before Resend, Rocha had already launched React.email, a tool to help developers create modern email templates. This helped shape his understanding of the broader problem. Resend was born from the realization that sending emails, not just designing them, was the bigger challenge developers faced.
Challenge
The email infrastructure space is crowded and dominated by players prioritizing enterprise needs and sales-led growth. Resend had to carve out its place by focusing on the underserved audience of developers.
Rocha set out to create a product that solved email deliverability issues and provided a user-friendly developer experience. This was an area he felt was ignored by the current market leaders. The key challenge was building a scalable product that remained intuitive and highly reliable.
Industry Context
The transactional email API industry is filled with competitors like SendGrid, Mailgun, and Postmark, founded between 2009 to 2010. These companies have since been acquired and primarily focus on enterprise clients, often at the expense of developer experience. Rocha recognized that the industry had stagnated. No new players were emerging to offer a fresh approach to how emails are built and delivered.
Resend aimed to be the “next-generation SendGrid” by delivering a product that caters directly to developers while solving the long-standing email deliverability issue.
Founder
Zeno Rocha, with his extensive background as a CPO (Chief Product Officer) at Liferay and VP at WorkOS, decided to take a leap and start Resend in early 2023. His firsthand experience with the frustrations of email services provided him with the unique insight needed to tackle the problem head-on. Rocha’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident from his early launch of React.email, a precursor to Resend.
Product
Resend.com offers a simple, developer-friendly API to handle transactional emails, ensuring they land in the primary inbox rather than spam. The product features multi-region support, Slack integration, and flexible data retention. It is designed to meet the needs of developers who require reliability without the complexity of traditional services. Rocha’s experience building developer tools helped shape Resend’s product strategy, focusing on what developers need most—simplicity, reliability, and high deliverability.
USP
Resend’s unique selling proposition is its developer-first approach and exceptional email deliverability. Where existing competitors like SendGrid and Mailgun offer complex features aimed at large enterprises, Resend prioritizes a simpler, more intuitive experience tailored to developers. Its commitment to fast iteration and customer feedback differentiates it as a nimble, innovation-driven alternative to older, enterprise-focused platforms.
Competitors
- SendGrid: A longstanding name in email APIs, offering extensive features but often criticized for being overly complex for smaller teams and developers.
- Mailgun: Known for reliability but with a steeper price point, and more suited to larger businesses.
- Postmark: Primarily focused on transactional emails but lacks the flexible integrations that Resend provides.
Build
Resend began its journey in January 2023 during Y Combinator’s Winter batch. Rocha and his small team started with an MVP (minimum viable product) and a basic landing page. The product was kept behind a waitlist throughout the YC program, allowing the team to iterate quickly based on feedback from early users. Rocha’s decision to invest in a premium .com domain (Resend.com) and create a polished landing page showed his long-term commitment to the brand.
Implementation
The YC program provided valuable insights and the opportunity to test Resend with small groups of users before its public launch. However, after YC Demo Day, Rocha realized he had spent too much time focusing on fundraising and not enough on refining the product. The team regrouped in Portugal, where they decided to double down on building what users needed—fast, reliable, and intuitive email services. In June 2023, Resend was finally launched to the public.
Growth
Since its public launch, Resend has rapidly crossed the milestone of 20,000 users in just nine months. This growth can be attributed to the company’s agile approach, shipping new features quickly based on user feedback. By maintaining a strong focus on building a modern email platform that meets the needs of developers, Resend has gained traction in a competitive market. Its seed round announcement, coupled with its media coverage, helped boost brand perception and trust.
Pricing
Resend operates on a freemium model, with paid plans starting at 50,000 emails. The platform also offers custom pricing for enterprise clients who require high-volume email solutions and additional services like dedicated IPs. This flexible pricing allows developers to start small and scale as their email needs grow.
Key Takeaways
- Frustration sparks innovation: Rocha’s deep frustration with existing email services at Liferay and WorkOS laid the foundation for Resend’s mission to build a better platform for developers.
- Agility is an asset: Resend grew rapidly by focusing on quick iteration and constant feedback while maintaining a strong developer-first ethos. Want to learn how to enhance your products with feedback throughout the development process? Check out our “Iterative Development Process” guide!
- Right timing: Rocha’s understanding that existing email API companies were focused on enterprise allowed him to position Resend as a developer-focused alternative at the right time.
- YC and fundraising: Participation in Y Combinator and the successful seed round provided the visibility and validation needed to fuel Resend’s early growth.
Resend.com‘s journey is a powerful reminder that with vision, determination, and a deep understanding of user needs, it’s possible to disrupt even the most established industries. Zeno Rocha’s story serves as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere. He didn’t just identify a problem; he dared to build a solution, even in a market dominated by giants. This remarkable growth – 20,000 users in just nine months – isn’t just a number. It’s a testament to what can be achieved when you dare to challenge the status quo and relentlessly focus on solving real problems for your users.