Excerpt Talks Episode #7 – Building a SaaS from a WordPress Plugin

Lawrence Ladomery
You’ve been generous with your time. I’d love to know a little bit more about you, a little bit about Melograno, and of course more about the products that you offer.

Bogdan Radusinovic
Thank you for having me. My story started nine years ago in a small room in a house we shared while working on outsourced projects. There were just three of us working on WPDataTables, which was around version 1.7 at the time. My first role was Support Manager. It was part of our company culture that you learn the product best by solving real problems for real users, so handling support tickets was my day-to-day job.

As a small company, roles expanded quickly. I moved from support into creating video tutorials, editing videos, writing documentation, preparing releases—pretty much everything needed to get updates out. As the product and user base grew, we hired more people, and that was around the time Amelia was published, one of our best-known booking plugins.

From support, I moved into development, building features, working on user requests, and creating custom solutions. Later, I transitioned into marketing while keeping some technical responsibilities. That’s when my career really started to take shape. I became responsible for the overall health of our website—SEO, PageSpeed, broken links, images, redirects—everything. It was my first deep step into marketing, but with a developer’s mindset.

Eventually, I officially joined the marketing team. At that time, we were just two people handling social media, newsletters, copywriting, outreach, and the technical side of the site. It was very hands-on. We learned and built as we went.

In 2022, things accelerated. The company grew, more people joined, and the team expanded rapidly. Today, I lead 11 people in the marketing team. It’s been an interesting and rewarding career path. I’m grateful to have grown within one company, which is one of the advantages of being part of a startup. Today, we’re 52 people working on five products and looking to expand further.

Lawrence Ladomery
It’s not a small company anymore, and the marketing team is quite large. You’re based in Serbia, correct?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Yes, we’re based in Belgrade, Serbia.

Lawrence Ladomery
Do you have any distributed or remote team members?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Yes, our Affiliate Manager works outside Serbia, and we have one designer who’s also abroad. So two team members are remote.

Lawrence Ladomery
Let’s talk about your products. WPDataTables was the first, correct? Then Amelia. What other WordPress products do you offer?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Yes, WPDataTables was first. In addition to WPDataTables and Amelia, we have two other WordPress plugins.

One is MapSVG. We like to say it’s more than just boring maps. It can handle simple Google Maps, but also interactive vector maps like seating charts, floor plans, land plots, architectural projects—if you can draw it in SVG format, you can make it interactive on your website.

The fourth WordPress plugin is IvyForms, our newest product, released three months ago. It’s a form builder, inspired not only by market demand but also by feedback from WPDataTables users who wanted an in-house solution to handle data. That’s when we knew it was time to build it.

The fifth product is Trafft, a SaaS booking system. Like Amelia, it can be embedded in WordPress, but it also works as standalone software with mobile apps and as a fully white-label agency solution.

That diversity explains the name Melograno, which is Italian for pomegranate. If you imagine a pomegranate, it has one strong outer shell filled with seeds. The seeds are our products. That’s the story behind the name.

Lawrence Ladomery
There’s a clear theme across your portfolio—your products are very data-driven. WPDataTables, booking systems, mapping—they’re all data-centric. That likely reflects your technical background.

Let’s talk about Trafft. When did you launch it?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Around three or four years ago.

Lawrence Ladomery
You now have two similar products in the market—Amelia as a WordPress plugin and Trafft as SaaS. What was the story behind launching Trafft? What were the commercial drivers?

Bogdan Radusinovic
We had two main motivations. First, we wanted to explore the SaaS market and challenge ourselves outside the WordPress ecosystem. WordPress gave us a strong foundation with Amelia, but we were curious to see how our product thinking would translate into a fully managed SaaS environment.

Second, we saw an opportunity to serve non-technical users—people who don’t want to manage hosting or deal with WordPress. With Trafft, users can create a website and booking system in just a few clicks without technical setup.

Trafft built on everything we learned from Amelia, but also allowed us to explore ideas we couldn’t fully implement in a plugin model—mobile apps, deeper customizations, unified user experience. It allowed us to expand beyond WordPress while leveraging the trust we had built.

Lawrence Ladomery
Was Trafft a complete rebuild or did you reuse Amelia’s foundation?

Bogdan Radusinovic
We reused knowledge and some technical concepts, but it came with new challenges. Estimating a SaaS project is difficult because so many factors influence the outcome—technology, infrastructure, scope of the first release.

You constantly balance between “nice to have” and “must have.” On the business side, team experience, market timing, and external factors all matter. Unexpected events always happen. No estimate fully captures reality.

Flexibility is as important as strategy. It was challenging—and still is—but we’re adapting and improving.

Lawrence Ladomery
Are Trafft and Amelia treated as separate projects, or do teams collaborate?

Bogdan Radusinovic
There’s definitely collaboration. Amelia has many features that customers rely on, and we transfer that learning into Trafft. Developers from both teams brainstorm together and try not to repeat past mistakes.

It’s easier to estimate some features now because we’ve done them before. Marketing also works across both products, including competitor research.

Lawrence Ladomery
In terms of pricing, Amelia follows the typical WordPress model—annual or lifetime licenses—while Trafft uses SaaS pricing. What advice would you give to WordPress entrepreneurs considering a SaaS move?

Bogdan Radusinovic
At the beginning, pricing is about simplicity and flexibility—not perfection. The goal isn’t to maximize revenue immediately but to get users.

Start with clear, easy-to-understand pricing. Too many options confuse people. Price based on value, not features. Focus on the core problem you solve. And be ready to adjust quickly. Early feedback is incredibly valuable.

Trust, usability, and word of mouth often matter more than price itself. If you already have a plugin audience, use that trust to test your SaaS offering.

Lawrence Ladomery
Did you use specific tactics when launching Trafft? Did you leverage your Amelia audience?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Yes, we have users who use both products. Initially, we tried similar tactics to Amelia, but SaaS marketing is different. Over time, we adjusted how we present videos, ads, landing pages, and SEO strategies.

Competition in SaaS is enormous. Comparing products incorrectly is a common mistake. We experimented, failed, and kept trying new approaches.

Lawrence Ladomery
What advice would you give to someone moving from plugin to SaaS?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Technically, WordPress can translate well to SaaS, but it requires a mindset shift.

In SaaS, you’re responsible for uptime, scaling, security, backups—things WordPress users usually handle themselves. That means investing in DevOps and infrastructure early.

Data architecture becomes critical, especially in multi-tenant systems like booking platforms. Support and maintenance also scale differently—you’re running one environment for everyone.

SaaS users expect seamless onboarding, billing, analytics, and integrations. WordPress is a great starting point, but success depends on planning for scale and long-term responsibility from day one.

Lawrence Ladomery
Let’s talk about partnerships. What kind of businesses do you prefer working with?

Bogdan Radusinovic
We don’t limit ourselves to one type. Because we have diverse products—WPDataTables, Amelia, MapSVG, IvyForms, Trafft—many types of businesses can complement us: payment providers, website builders, SaaS tools, agencies.

The key is alignment—shared audiences and complementary solutions. If there’s a natural fit, there’s opportunity.

Lawrence Ladomery
How do you onboard partners and support them?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Many partnerships start through personal connections, often at WordCamps. Once established, we support partners through clear communication, newsletters, blog posts, social media, cross-promotions, guest posts, and joint campaigns.

We coordinate around large promotions like Black Friday and provide direct contact points so partners aren’t navigating things alone. We’re also working on strengthening this area further.

Lawrence Ladomery
We’ve found human connection increasingly valuable. Will we see you at WordCamp Europe?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Yes, we’re preparing for WordCamp Europe. It will be our 12th WordCamp overall. We’ve attended events in the Philippines, Taipei, and Bangkok. Conferences are incredibly important for building relationships.

Lawrence Ladomery
Let’s talk about AI and the future of WordPress. What’s your perspective?

Bogdan Radusinovic
WordPress is evolving with AI incrementally, which I think is the right approach. AI features should be optional, performance-aware, and accessible, especially for smaller sites.

AI should focus on solving real user problems—helping with onboarding, setup, performance insights, accessibility, maybe basic SEO—without overwhelming users. It should be an assistant, not a replacement.

WordPress should provide strong APIs and standards so plugin developers can build AI features safely and consistently. The ecosystem is WordPress’s biggest strength, and AI should amplify that.

Lawrence Ladomery
Looking ahead, where do you see Melograno in three to five years?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Optimistically, we’d double our portfolio to ten products. Realistically, the future is unpredictable, but we aim to grow step by step. This year, we plan to launch two new products. It’s an exciting time.

Lawrence Ladomery
What are your broader thoughts on collaboration in the WordPress ecosystem?

Bogdan Radusinovic
The real strength of WordPress lies in relationships, not just technology. It’s a global community where businesses grow by sharing knowledge and collaborating rather than competing.

Collaboration doesn’t always mean big integrations. Sometimes it’s exchanging ideas, giving feedback, or amplifying each other’s work. Small actions compound over time and lead to healthier businesses.

WordCamps are a great example. Every year they grow stronger. Newcomers should definitely attend—it’s the best starting point for collaboration.

Lawrence Ladomery
To conclude, what’s the best way for people to learn about Melograno and your products?

Bogdan Radusinovic
Visit our websites—we invest a lot in making them clear and informative. Try the products. We offer free versions and demos. You can find our team members listed and connect with us directly or via LinkedIn.

Conferences are another great way to meet us. But the best way to understand a company is to explore its website and test the products yourself.

Lawrence Ladomery
Thank you very much for your time. It was great speaking with you.

Bogdan Radusinovic
Thank you, Lawrence. It was a pleasure.