Per Esbensen started Codeable (alongside cofounder Tomaž Zaman) with a goal to disrupt online outsourcing, after seeing that constant bidding wars were creating a hostile working environment and ultimately a race to the bottom.
He wanted to do something different.
Today, he is responsible for setting the strategic vision for Codeable. His strong entrepreneurship skills are what have steered Codeable towards growth and to building a truly tight-knit community of WordPress developers.
Keep reading to see Per's 4 top tips for building a human-centric company and finding the right team...
Putting your team’s happiness first is good for business
“I want to build a human-centric company. This means we help experts value their work, enjoy their days, and deliver better results by being happy.
I am personally invested in changing lives, creating a healthy work environment, working smarter and not harder, and providing tools and guidelines for experts to work together and value their knowledge and work. I believe that creating a human-centric company is good business.
Codeable has a clear mission. We want to disrupt the old-school outsourcing model. We will make a small dent in the universe creating a healthy working environment composed of top-notched experts and excellent clients that work together to solve problems.”
Find the right partners early on to make the hard days better
“Building a company from scratch is a big challenge. WooThemes was the first company we approached since they needed a go-to place for experts to solve their issues. They always believed in us and in our model. WooThemes became WooCommerce and later was acquired by Automattic.
Bootstrapping a company can be hard. We achieved this by 100% believing in the mission and loving the journey and reaching out and onboarding so many excellent experts. We couldn’t have done it without them.
We have grown together with these amazing players.”
Don’t be afraid to raise your prices
“It took us too long to raise fees. It’s important when you are building a company that the company is actually making money. When you strive to make a company that is quality driven, and not focused as much on quantity, making a profit is especially vital.”
The secret to starting a business isn’t behind a screen
“Get out of the office. Talking to people, analyzing the market- that doesn’t happen behind a computer.
For your team, make sure you have a geek and a marketing person working together. It’s good to have a range of experience with your partner.
Have a network of talented people with skills that you don’t have.
And finally have a good MVP, learn, and get on with it!”
Work with Per and the Codeable team here, and find more interviews with entrepreneurs, innovators, and industry leaders at kinsta.com
Top comments (1)
Great tips. Number 3 (Don’t be afraid to raise your prices ) is so hard for me. That could be an entire article or podcast. In the past I've had such a hard time charging how much I probably should...especially if I'm working with an NGO. And communicating a price raise well...such a challenge.