On this episode of Build to Succeed, we welcomed Martin Remmelgas, CEO of Codemagic, who shares how an unexpected journey—from studying chemistry in Scotland to doing door-to-door sales in the US—ultimately led him to build one of the Flutter ecosystem’s most recognizable developer tools.
‍

The Journey That Sparked Codemagic
‍

Martin began his career far from software. He planned to become a chemist and even spent a year working in Singapore during his degree. But along the way, his side job selling door-to-door in Montana, Indiana, and Texas turned out to be surprisingly transformative. The work was difficult and unpredictable, but it taught him persistence, attention to detail, and the value of small optimizations—traits that would later influence how Codemagic builds tools for developers.
‍

During his industrial placement in Singapore, Martin started to question the decades-long path required in chemistry. Technology, by contrast, offered immediate feedback and the chance to build something from scratch without waiting years or raising significant capital. That realization ultimately pulled him toward startups.
‍

How an Internal Experiment Became Codemagic
‍

After university, Martin joined Ernst & Young, but stayed close to the entrepreneurial community. One mentor at that time (who was the CTO at Nevercode) invited him to join a team experimenting with turning their internal DevOps knowledge into a product. Nevercode began as a development agency that struggled with the complexity of tools like Jenkins and Hudson, and eventually built its own internal CI system.
‍

That internal project became Nevercode’s first CI/CD tool and ultimately set the stage for Codemagic. Martin joined at a perfect moment—just as Flutter’s momentum was building.
‍

A Bet on Flutter
‍

At early conferences like droidcon Berlin, the Nevercode team saw demos of Flutter that stood out. The technology felt modern, and the energy in the crowd was undeniable. Developers were excited about Flutter in a way that felt different from other frameworks.
‍

Nevercode quickly hacked together early Flutter build support and shared it publicly. To their surprise, Tim Sneath—then leading Flutter at Google—responded right away, sparking a deeper collaboration.
‍

From there, Codemagic grew out of a simple insight: Flutter developers needed a CI/CD tool built specifically for their workflows. That focused early bet allowed Codemagic to rise in parallel with Flutter’s own growth.
‍

Growing Through Community
‍

Codemagic didn’t have a large marketing budget. Instead, Martin invested in something more scalable: showing up.
‍

He spent months messaging developers, attending Flutter meetups, and asking where people went to learn. What he discovered was a global network of passionate Flutter enthusiasts who welcomed companies willing to contribute, listen, and support their efforts. Rather than selling, Martin built relationships—connecting speakers, helping organizers, and contributing wherever possible.
‍

Over time, that consistency created trust. Developers began offering feedback, recommending Codemagic, and shaping its features and pricing. That input even pushed Codemagic to formalize its business model when early users questioned how a free tool could be sustainable.
‍

As Flutter matured, so did Codemagic’s customer base. What started as a tool for individuals and startups is now increasingly used by large enterprises—an evolution that Martin says has become especially clear in the last year.
‍

Part of the shift is due to Codemagic’s own growth, including earning SOC 2 Type II compliance, which made enterprise security teams far more comfortable evaluating and adopting the platform. But much of it’s also tied to Flutter becoming a mainstream, reliable choice for large organizations.
‍

The combination opened doors to major clients that Codemagic never expected to reach so soon. 
‍

Stellar: Browser-Based App Previews for Faster Collaboration
‍

Codemagic’s evolution hasn’t stopped at CI/CD. Recently, the team launched Stellar, a feature that lets developers and designers preview app builds directly in the browser—running on a real iOS simulator or Android emulator behind the scenes.
‍

Instead of passing around installs through TestFlight or physical devices, teams can simply open a link and:
‍

• Test layouts
• Change locales
• Try accessibility settings
• Review UI changes in minutes
  ‍

Stellar extends Codemagic beyond build automation into smoother workflows for collaboration and iteration.
‍

Flutter’s Rapid Growth Means Endless Opportunities
‍

Looking at today’s ecosystem, Martin believes Flutter still offers enormous opportunities for developers and entrepreneurs. As he puts it:
‍

"A third of all new apps are Flutter apps—and there's big demand for the tools to release and maintain these apps. There's so much opportunity here, so many developer tools that can be built."
‍

He argues that the gap between Flutter’s massive user base and the relatively small team maintaining it at Google creates fertile ground for innovation, from testing to performance tooling to deployment.
‍

The signals are everywhere—GitHub issues, Reddit threads, X sentiment—and modern AI tools make it easier than ever to scan the ecosystem for unmet needs.
‍

Competition Isn’t a Threat: It’s Fuel
‍

Codemagic faces competition from both large CI/CD platforms and smaller, specialized tools. Martin sees that as a good thing:
‍

“We always have to answer: What sets us apart? Competition forces you to innovate faster and better. If you don't set yourself apart, you're going to die—and that's what leads to better products."
‍

In his view, competition pushes teams to refine their message, improve their product, and ultimately deliver more value to developers.
‍

Final Reflections: Trust Yourself, But Stay Grounded
‍

As the conversation wraps, Martin offers advice to anyone building tools in the Flutter space:
‍

• Trust your instincts—but check when optimism slips into bias.
• Start with a niche and go deep, rather than trying to serve everyone at once.
• Show up in the community and invest early: those relationships compound.
• Listen to users; they’ll shape your decisions more than any strategy doc.
• Welcome competition; it’s what keeps an ecosystem healthy.
  ‍

Codemagic’s journey shows how deeply a company’s success can be tied to the community it serves—and how the right combination of timing, trust, and persistence can turn a small experiment into a platform used by teams around the world.
‍

If you’ve made it this far, you’ll definitely want to hear the full episode—it’s well worth the listen.

‍