Imperfect Systems

Everything at WooThemes is the way it is due to an evolving process.

See, when Mark, Magnus & I started WooThemes we had limited experience & knowledge in running a business, and much less in establishing new online brand. To say that we’ve had to learn on the job would thus be a gross understatement; beyond knowing how to design & code, we really don’t *know* much more.

That is why I started off by saying that what you see in front of you today, is a company & brand that has undergone continuous tweaks & changes in the last 2-odd years and the only reason we’ve managed to pull it off is because we have never been fearful of taking a few risks and investing heavily in our ideas, vision & ambitions. Had we however allowed that “fear” to consume us, things may have been a little different… Let me explain…

As an example, I’d like to point to our existing backend system: when we first launched WooThemes, we realized that it had some glaringly obvious limitations and whilst the launch of WOO2 last year went a long way in addressing some of those limitations, we still don’t have a perfect system. Consider the odd login & billing imperfections / glitches in our system and it is clear that we’re a long way off from offering our users a perfect environment. But that’s not the point…

What we could’ve done in the past, was to develop a perfect system from the get-go, which would’ve eliminated those issues now. This would have been a lengthy and costly exercise though, and something that is always easier to say in hindsight. Instead, we opted to embrace the limitations & imperfections of our backend system (and our business as a whole) and just evolve everything as we go. Getting what we want to offer you, to you quicker.

The point that I want to bring across though, is that even considering all of this, we’ve still been able to build a business that is both profitable and becoming more sustainable as time goes on. Irrespective of the lack of experience, knowledge & the massive budget most people think is needed to create a new business, we’ve created something against most odds; the only barrier to entry would’ve thus been the limitations that we set ourselves in our minds.

Don’t be afraid to evolve your ideas and build from an imperfect foundation. There are always ways to rectify those imperfections in the future, and being conscious of those imperfections shouldn’t deter you from gunning for your vision & ambition with utter passion & motivation.