From simple theme to $65k/mo ecosystem

Ajay Patel found a gap at his full-time job and built for it. It started with a simple theme on Envato's ThemeForest, but grew into a whole suite of SaaS products. Today, that suite — Clevision — is bringing in $65k/mo.

Here's Ajay on how he did it. 👇

Getting started

I am Ajay Patel. I have worked in the tech industry for over 15 years, establishing myself as an entrepreneur, programmer, and innovator.

As the cofounder of Clevision, I’ve built products such as ThemeSelection, PixInvent, FlyonUI, and ShadcnStudio. Another product, Framespark, is in progress.

I focus on creating advanced AI tools, SaaS applications, and UI component libraries that enable developers and businesses to accelerate innovation and transform ideas into reality with speed and efficiency.

Clevision came to life in 2018 when my co-founder, Vrushank, and I spotted a market gap while working at a software company. Almost every app or platform needed admin panels, yet few solid solutions simplified their creation. Building those UIs from scratch was repetitive, time-consuming, and slowed development on nearly every project.

We saw an opportunity: Why not build a ready-to-use admin panel ourselves? That idea became Clevision, aiming to simplify development and help teams ship faster.

Starting with admin panels, we eventually grew into a broader ecosystem of Clevision products.

At its core, our motivation has always remained the same — solving real problems developers face, reducing repetitive work, and building tools that make development faster and more enjoyable.

Building an ecosystem

We started by launching our first product on Envato’s ThemeForest, which helped us validate the idea early. Even today, that channel continues to perform strongly, generating around $15–20k per month. Early traction gave us confidence that we had solved a real problem and funded further product development.

Launching ThemeSelection was a major milestone; it moved us beyond marketplaces and allowed us to build direct customer relationships. Our own platform gave us the freedom to improve support, experiment with pricing, and grow more sustainably.

Over time, those learnings shaped how we built and expanded new products. FlyonUI came from demand for better Tailwind UI tooling, Shadcn Studio emerged from simplifying shadcn/ui workflows, and Framespark is the next evolution we’re currently building.

Tech stack

Our tech stack varies by product, as each platform addresses different developer needs:

ThemeSelection / Pixinvent:

• Bootstrap

• WordPress

• Easy Digital Downloads

• PHP

• MySQL

Shadcn Studio Frontend (Core) Stack

• React

• Next.js (our primary ecosystem)

• Tailwind CSS (shadcn/ui components use)

• shadcn/ui

• Supabase

FlyonUI Tech Stack

• Tailwind CSS (primary base framework)

• Semantic class system (built upon Tailwind)

• React

• Next.js (our primary ecosystem)

• Supabase

Underlying Stack (Important)

• DaisyUI (adds semantic component classes on Tailwind)

• Preline JS (headless JavaScript plugins for interactivity)

Framespark (in progress):

• Framer — focuses on modern website building and creative development workflows.

Overall, we adopt technologies we believe in and often build products around the tools we use ourselves.

Business model and open-source resources

We use a freemium model, a core pillar of growth. We offer a meaningful free version across our products, allowing customers to evaluate quality before paying. This builds trust; while not every free user converts immediately, many return when ready and eventually become paid customers.

Above all, we have grown by relentlessly focusing on product quality, regular updates, and reliable support. We have never compromised on quality, and this long-term trust drives much of our growth.

Below are some open-source resources that helped us grow our business.

• ThemeSelection - Free Admin Templates, Free UI Kits

• FlyonUI - Free Tailwind Components, Free Tailwind Blocks & Free Tailwind Templates

• Shadcn Studio - Free Shadcn Components, Shadcn Blocks, Shadcn Theme Generator & Shadcn Templates

Expanding distribution

We no longer depend solely on SEO and blogs. We have driven our growth through a mix of best UI/UX design, flexible product licensing, top-quality products, SEO, omnichannel strategies, and community-led distribution.

We offer flexible license options for each of our products to fit different customer needs, and this flexibility has improved conversions.

While SEO was a major growth channel, we later focused more on developer- and designer-specific omnichannels. These channels not only bring traffic but also convert potential customers.

We are active on these platforms:

• Twitter: Shadcn Studio, Ajay Patel, Anand Patel, FlyonUI

• DevTo

• Medium

• Reddit and LinkedIn to build trust, grow brand awareness, and attract users.

Additionally, we share content on YouTube, driving considerable traffic. Overall, we achieve growth by consistently combining product, content, and distribution.

If I had to start over, I’d invest earlier in distribution and audience-building: content, SEO, community, and partnerships. We focused heavily on product initially, but growth often comes from distribution as much as the product itself. I’d also move faster to build direct customer relationships instead of relying so much on marketplaces early on.

The challenges of growth and focus

A major early challenge was building and growing outside marketplaces. Selling on Envato validated our product, but moving to our own platform required us to learn customer acquisition, support, pricing, and distribution from scratch. Building ThemeSelection forced us to think beyond product development and truly understand business.

Another challenge has been staying focused while expanding across multiple products. As we built FlyonUI, Shadcn Studio, and now Framespark, prioritization became critical: deciding what to build, what not to build, and how to allocate time and resources effectively.

Like many bootstrapped businesses, hiring and scaling the right team has been a learning curve. Finding people who align with both product quality and long-term vision took time.

Move quickly and in public

My advice is: build in public, validate fast, and focus on your USP early.

• Build in public: Share what you’re working on, your progress, and even your struggles. It helps you attract early users, get feedback, build trust, and sometimes even find your first customers before the product is fully ready. Shadcn Studio is the perfect example of it.

• Validate fast, perfection later: Don’t spend months polishing something without knowing if people want it. Get a simple version in front of users quickly, collect feedback, and iterate based on real demand. Early momentum matters more than perfection. While working on admin templates, we made this mistake and learned why it isn't an ideal choice for businesses.

• Start with an MVP and define your USP: Build the smallest version that solves one clear problem, and be very clear about what makes your product different. Your unique value doesn’t have to be complex, but it should give people a reason to choose you over alternatives.

In the beginning, the speed of learning is more important than the speed of building. Talk to users, improve constantly, and let feedback shape the product.

What's next?

Our goal is to build a SaaS business that provides both impact and freedom. We want to create products that continue to solve real problems while giving us the flexibility to work on what we enjoy.

Over time, we aim to grow sustainably, stay independent, and build a business that supports both innovation and a balanced lifestyle.

You can find more on my social profiles on X and LinkedIn. And check out Clevision.