- Industry
- Careers & Hiring
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Website
- getpolished.com
- To launch a fully functioning two-sided marketplace
- 2 months
- Videos handled without custom backend
- Up to 400 MB
- Thousands saved in development and ongoing maintenance costs
I wouldn’t have been able to launch this nearly as easily without Uploadcare. It enables me to run a fully functioning marketplace with very little code.
Will SmithFounder
Executive summary
Polished is a two-sided marketplace where hiring professionals review resumes and provide personalized video feedback to job seekers. Instead of offering expensive resume writing services, Polished created a new, more affordable category of resume refinement.
With only two people on the team and no dedicated developers, the platform had to support large video uploads without custom backend engineering. Uploadcare enabled Polished to launch in just two months, handle 50–400 MB MP4 files reliably, and keep development costs under control.
The challenge: launching a video-based marketplace without a development team
Polished needed to support asynchronous video reviews rather than live calls to keep the service affordable. Reviewers record 10–15 minute MP4 videos and upload them to the platform, where they are delivered to job seekers through an automated workflow.
Building a reliable video upload system in-house would have required backend engineering, storage management, and integration across multiple tools. With only a founder and a designer, writing and maintaining that infrastructure would have delayed launch significantly and increased costs beyond what the business model could support.
The solution
Polished adopted a no-code and low-code stack, integrating Uploadcare as the core upload layer. The uploader connected seamlessly with Webflow and Zapier, allowing video files to move through the marketplace workflow without custom server logic.
This provided immediate support for large MP4 uploads while remaining flexible enough to expand as the product evolved.
How Uploadcare helped
Uploadcare became a foundational layer in Polished’s no-code architecture.
- Large MP4 uploads without backend development: Reviewers can upload 50–400 MB video files reliably, eliminating the need to build custom video handling systems.
- Seamless Zapier and Webflow integration: Uploaded files move automatically through marketplace workflows, connecting reviewers and job seekers without manual file transfers.
- No-code setup with long-term flexibility: The uploader works out of the box while remaining customizable through JavaScript and APIs if deeper functionality is required.
- Scalable file size limits with tailored pricing: Upload limits were adjusted without forcing an unnecessary enterprise upgrade, aligning infrastructure costs with business stage.
Uploadcare struck me as no-code friendly, but not limiting. If I ever wanted to do something more technical, it would support that.
The results
By relying on Uploadcare instead of building custom infrastructure, Polished reduced both time-to-market and long-term operational risk.
- Accelerated launch timeline: The marketplace went from concept to live product in approximately two months.
- Lower development costs: Thousands of dollars were saved by avoiding custom video upload engineering and ongoing maintenance.
- Sustainable solo operation: The founder runs the platform without a dedicated engineering team, while supporting weekly video reviews and continued growth.
I would have spent thousands having a developer build this from scratch and ended up with something inferior. Uploadcare made it possible to launch properly without hiring a developer.