# Mela in Public: Chapter 1, get the real & raw tea. 

> mela, design, marketing, editor, agency, platform
- **Published**: 2025-12-14
- **Modified**: 2026-02-10
- **URL**: https://visitmela.com/blogs/mela-in-public-chapter-1-get-the-real-raw-tea-2423

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**Four people. Three fires. One platform. Mela.**  
  
Most people think building a platform is glamorous.  
Here's the truth. It's mostly us fighting problems we didn't even know existed.

## **The tech side**

[Yadu](https://www.linkedin.com/in/yadukrishnan-a-s/) and [Amith](https://www.linkedin.com/in/amithlakshmisha/) decided to "simplify" the registration flow.  
You know. make sign up easier. cleaner. less annoying.

The designs were done in no time. The team loved the UI. Everything looked smooth. And then reality showed up.

Fixing the front end was the warm up.  
The moment they connected it to the old APIs. the system basically said.  
"Cute. but no."

The old endpoints accepted the wrong format.  
So the guys had to touch the backend.  
Then they realised the data structure was scattered.  
So now they were balancing the new flow with the existing database.  
Which sometimes means rethinking the database rules.  
Which is basically like opening a cupboard you haven't cleaned for three years.

And then we added OAuth.  
Firebase. external APIs. server settings. accepted sources.  
Every change needed another change. One simple task quietly shapeshifted into a full stack boss fight.

But this is why I love our team.  
They'll go through all that pain just so the user can sign up without thinking twice.

## **The vetting side**

Meanwhile. [Rushabh](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushabh-joshi27/) was in his own battlefield.

Vetting creators is not just "check portfolio and approve".  
There are two sides to it.  
Skill. ability. strategic thinking.  
And then communication. proactiveness. prioritization.  
Both matter.  
One ensures quality.  
The other decides whether the collaboration will feel effortless or like babysitting.

The tricky part, We can vet the first.  
We cannot fully vet the second without actually working with the creator.  
Ratings can help later. Tech can help a bit.  
But the first collaboration is always a gamble.

This is the theory we're testing on [Mela](http://visitmela.com/) right now.  
Can we balance skill and collaboration behavior without turning the process into a 20-step exam?  
We'll find out.

## **And me**

I'm the [one](http://www.linkedin.com/in/sakarmishra) narrating all this.  
And juggling growth and marketing in the background.  
Trying to bring in the right users while making sure we don't drown the team with too much too fast.  
Some days it works, _Some days I just pretend it's working._

## **Why we're writing this?**

[Mela](http://visitmela.com/) is for creators and brands who are tired of chaotic workflows and low-quality matches.  
So building it quietly makes no sense.  
We're putting the journey out here.  
The wins. the setbacks. the "why is this happening at 11 pm" moments.  
All of it.

Because this is not just our product.  
It's for all of us who believe creative work deserves better systems.

This was day one of Mela in Public.  
A little messy.  
Very real.  
Just how we like it.
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## About Mela

Mela connects brands with vetted freelancers. Visit https://visitmela.com