Marin Varvodić isn’t one of those people who grew up gaming and discovered code that way. His story begins on a different kind of playing field — the handball court — and after an injury, winds through German bars and the betting industry, ending up — or rather, just getting started — at the heart of the Atlassian ecosystem.

We talked to him about the path that led to Caelor, what it means to build SaaS products within one of the world’s largest software ecosystems, and the acquisition that changed everything.

Before we get into Atlassian and the acquisition — a quick look at your journey. How did you end up in IT?

My story didn’t start in IT. It started in sports. I played handball and that was my main focus for a long time. After university in Split, I moved abroad. At 25, I had a serious injury and that was essentially the end of my handball career. It was a big turning point — suddenly I had to figure out what to do next.

At the time I was living in Germany and decided to stay. The first step was learning the language. While I was getting by, I worked as a bartender for over a year. It wasn’t glamorous, but I learned a lot.

I also had a job offer from a bank — a safe choice on paper. But the startup and IT scene in Germany was just starting to grow, so I took the risk and went that route instead of the “safe” option. I started at a couple of startups, and eventually ended up as a Product Manager at a large betting company. That’s where I first seriously got to know the world of product, processes, and tools — the same things that are at the core of everything we do at Caelor today.

I had a job offer from a bank — a safe choice on paper. But the startup scene in Germany was just starting to grow, so I took the risk.

For those who don’t know — what is Atlassian and what do they do?

Atlassian is one of the biggest names in software for teamwork and project management. Teams around the world use it. Their best-known products are Jira, for planning and tracking work, and Confluence, for sharing knowledge and documentation. They also have other tools like Bitbucket for code and Jira Service Management for support teams.

What makes Atlassian strong is how well everything works together — tasks, documents, code, tickets — it’s all synced, so teams don’t need a pile of separate apps. That’s why it’s so popular across nearly every industry, including many companies in our region.

How did you enter that ecosystem and decide to stay?

While I was working at the betting company, we decided to implement Atlassian. That’s when I connected with a consulting firm that specialized in Atlassian. They were just getting started, but they had an energy I really liked. I quickly got into the whole system and it just clicked.

We became friends outside of work too. Through that, I got invited to an event in Barcelona, where I met even more people from the ecosystem — clients, partners, all kinds of people. It was a fantastic experience, completely different from the betting world, which was incredibly stressful at the time. That contrast made it even clearer that this was the direction I wanted to go.

How did Caelor come about?

Just before COVID, I decided to move back to Croatia and maybe continue working remotely for the same company. But around the same time, friends from that same firm came up with an idea — let’s build our own Atlassian apps. They already knew the clients’ pain points and had a few smaller apps that needed refining. We also had developers in Croatia who were already working on Atlassian projects, so everything came together quickly.

While COVID was creating chaos in the markets, we were focused on development.

In 2021, Caelor launched its first app. Clients started coming in fast. The buying process takes longer than in classic e-commerce because these apps are directly tied to Atlassian products, but it worked. By 2025, we reached 1M ARR — a huge milestone for us.

How much does vendor status on the Atlassian Marketplace bring you? Do you have specific numbers?

Vendor status means a lot because for the end user, it’s essentially a guarantee of quality and seriousness. It shows that our products are tested, secure, and meet the strict standards Atlassian requires.

As for how we acquire clients, it’s roughly 50/50. Half come directly through the Marketplace, and the other half through Solution partners. Collaboration with consulting partner firms is key when it comes to large enterprise systems — they know exactly what their clients need and can recommend us as the right solution. Thanks to this model, we now work with names like Reddit and Apple.

Are you planning to build plugins for Azure DevOps or GitHub? Where do you see more potential?

The market is going through a major shift, mainly because of how fast AI is changing the core of SaaS business. That’s why our strategy is to stabilize what we already have, but we also have some new ideas we want to pursue. Atlassian itself is changing a lot too, and that opens new opportunities.

My biggest challenge is other ecosystems. I live within Atlassian, I know the pain points, I know what’s happening there. With other platforms, I don’t have that user context, so building new apps isn’t straightforward. I’d like to expand, but honestly — I don’t have that expertise yet and I don’t feel fully confident in it. We actually tried Monday.com once and it didn’t go well.

How much revenue can a plugin generate after one year? Is it a real revenue stream?

If the app is good, it usually takes about 12 months to really gain traction. It simply doesn’t deliver results right away. There’s so much on the market that you have to put serious work into communication and visibility for anything to happen with an app. And sometimes even a great idea just doesn’t succeed. That’s the reality.

How often do clients request custom features after implementation?

Quite often, honestly. But our rules are clear. If something doesn’t align with our vision, we simply don’t do it. If something is truly big — something that could block other products — we know how to bring in additional resources and charge for that implementation separately. But the rule stays the same: if it doesn’t fit our vision, we don’t build it.

Is it worth it long-term to build a plugin as a standalone SaaS business, or is it more of a positioning tool?

The answer is simple: SaaS business. Plugins can open doors to various projects, but focusing on a scalable SaaS model provides long-term stability and growth. Through constant communication with clients, you discover new needs and the product grows together with the market.

Enterprise projects feel more like agency work to me, and I’m not a big fan of that model. Although things are changing now. Atlassian has accelerated development incredibly. Things that used to take years now happen much faster with AI, and because of that, SaaS companies building horizontal solutions are running into more and more problems. Atlassian is increasingly entering their space.

We’re positioned differently, which makes our job easier. We build smaller, vertical solutions — and that’s the key right now, something Atlassian itself openly promotes.

We build smaller, vertical solutions — and that’s the key right now, something Atlassian itself openly promotes.

Let’s talk about the acquisition. How did that happen?

Atlassian is changing a lot and we watched as some partners who had been at the top for years slowly faded into the background. Vectors is a company headquartered in the UAE, with teams in Tunisia and France. They have great apps and a strong enterprise client base, but they needed more experience in cloud and app development — and that’s exactly where we’re strong.

The conversation actually started at one of the events. We simply realized we had a lot in common, a similar vision, and that led to them acquiring us — along with our brand, which we’d put a lot of effort into. I’m staying with the company. I don’t feel like I sold something — honestly, it feels more like we stepped into a bigger story.

Almost overnight we went from 10 to 50 people. More cultures, more offices, more responsibility, but also far more strength as a team. Now an idea can go from concept to market in just a couple of weeks.

I don’t feel like I sold something — it feels more like we stepped into a bigger story. Overnight we went from 10 to 50 people.

How satisfied are you with how things have developed?

Very. I have to say, my biggest success is that the entire development team has been with us since day one. I see that as my greatest achievement and I’m genuinely happy to be part of that journey with them. They’re the real proof that I’m doing things right.

I invest a lot in relationships with people — that means a great deal to me. It’s not a phrase, it’s the way I look at things. I believe it’s part of every great story.

My biggest success is that the entire development team has been with us since day one. They’re the real proof that I’m doing things right.

Caelor is a member of the Split Tech City community. Learn more about their Atlassian apps on their official channels.