Category: Interviews with Entrepreneurs
Christiania Bikes: The Power Of The Pedal
By Carolyn Wells on July 25, 2018 — 17 mins read
Christiania Bikes have been making cargo bikes for decades. They are now beginning to bring their business online with eCommerce. In this blog post we learn more about how an established product is being sold using WooCommerce. More
YogaFarm: From Army Boots To Barefoot Freedom
By Carolyn Wells on June 22, 2018 — 18 mins read
The story of how Anne Simone Kensho used WooCommerce to move from working in the military to running an online business for subscription yoga videos called YogaFarm. More
Ubuntu Baba: Growing (Up) The Baby Carrier Business
By Ali on May 7, 2018 — 10 mins read
Warning: This post is rated PG 14+ for strong language! In our last interview we talked to Shannon from Ubuntu Baba about the inception/conception of her idea, the birth of her baby wearing carrier business, its growth, milestones, challenges, and proudest moments. This month we talk about knowing your business, knowing your customers, trying what's... More
Ubuntu Baba: a Happy Now With Baby Wearing
Part 1: A business is born All babies start out small and cute, rapidly growing into their own little people. Ideas sometimes do the same thing, growing into unexpectedly robust businesses. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Ubuntu Baba started with one woman's search for the right kind of carrier for her baby. While Shannon... More
Guitar Compass: Teaching the World to Strum With Online Guitar Lessons Powered by WooCommerce Subscriptions
Want to shred on the axe but don't have time to see a tutor? Guitar Compass is the answer to your dilemma, with online guitar lessons powered by WooCommerce Subscriptions. This Atlanta, USA based company has moved with the times, and we follow their entrepreneurial journey through to offering a subscription-based model of unlimited streaming lessons from their enormous catalogue of tutorials. More
How does a moment of laziness become a Shark Tank-backed business powered by WooCommerce and Subscriptions? Lee Mathers from Friday Beers has the answer. More
Sakin Shrestha: Building Nepal's Largest Theme Company With WooCommerce and Subscriptions
By Ali on March 8, 2017 — 12 mins read
Sakin Shrestha is the founder of Nepal's largest theme company and a major employer of local tech talent: all powered by WooCommerce and Subscriptions. More
Zizira: WooCommerce Entrepreneurs Building an Online Marketplace for Farmers in India
By Ali on February 1, 2017 — 16 mins read
Zizira is a group of WooCommerce entrepreneurs building an online marketplace to connect remote farmers with city customers in India. Read about their journey, their values, and their vision for how eCommerce can improve food security and maintain food quality. More
A WooCommerce entrepreneur helping yo' grow your eCommerce revenue
By Ali on November 2, 2016 — 15 mins read
Meet Elliot Taylor, a WooCommerce entrepreneur whose product aims to demystify eCommerce analytics and grow the revenue of online stores. More
From Boeing engineer to WooCommerce entrepreneur: the story of Jerry Kruse and his magical soap
By Brent Shepherd on October 20, 2016 — 18 mins read
Previously a statistical engineer for Boeing, Jerry Kruse talks to Brent about his new life as WooCommerce entrepreneur developing all-natural soaps and shampoos. More
Carving out a gnarly niche as a WooCommerce entrepreneur: Supereight lands it
By Ali on September 28, 2016 — 25 mins read
Surf and skate threads have been da bomb for several decades now. Sam Culshaw is a WooCommerce entrepreneur bringing us a world of cool with Supereight, a rapidly growing lifestyle brand based in Nottingham, UK. We talked about the seasonality of ordering; how server capacity can be likened to the size of a bricks and mortar store; the importance of customer service; and the excitement of selling. More
WooCommerce, Teslas, and an MBA: the drivers of success for Drivr
By Ali on June 22, 2016 — 21 mins read
What do you get when you combine technical know-how, a love of Teslas, and an MBA? You get Brandon Beard, the founder of Drivr, a Cincinnati-based ridesharing company with a difference. You get the convenience of Uber with the luxury of a Tesla and the personalised service of a chauffeured car. 90% of this project is powered by WooCommerce and WooCommerce extensions straight out of the box. But it's helped by a very smart investment into the 10% that "glues" those extensions together and customises them specifically for Drivr. More
Tradition Meets Technology: Using WooCommerce to Carry On the Family Business at Henry's House of Coffee
By Ali on June 8, 2016 — 18 mins read
Coffee is life to most of us at Prospress, so we had some solid common ground when interviewing Hrag from Henry's House of Coffee. Hrag is a third-generation coffee roaster in San Francisco, using the modern wizardry of WooCommerce to uphold the legacy of his family's business. More
Scout Books: Sustainable, Custom Notebooks, Sourced from Portland, Powered by WooCommerce
Scout Books is a custom notebook printing company based in Portland, Oregon. Not only do they print notebooks, but they also make rather fine conference agendas (useful for WooConf 2017 maybe?) Scout Books produces such beautiful books I'm actually not sure I will be able to write in them. A love of good design, a love of real paper notebooks, and their mission for sustainability sees them doing well while doing good. More
Welcome to our (almost) brand new website, Small Woorld. You might have heard the news that we launched at WooConf on 06 April 2016. We are so excited to have a permanent, separate home for our interviews with WooCommerce entrepreneurs and look forward to sharing these stories with you. Background We started interviewing entrepreneurs for the... More
Craft Beer, Cheeky Kiwis Abroad and WooCommerce: the Honest Brew Story
By Ali on April 8, 2016 — 13 mins read
Following his passion and his nose for a good brew, Andrew Reeve now runs a fast growing craft beer subscription business powered by WooCommerce. The global craft beer revolution is well and truly underway, and Honest Brew is joining the charge in the UK, offering subscriptions of expertly chosen brews. More
Love and design with WooCommerce in Brazil: the New Brand 8 story
By Ali on April 7, 2016 — 9 mins read
It's important to sometimes take a step back and think about at the entrepreneur behind the entrepreneurs. In this interview I do just that and talk with one of the talented people running a successful WooCommerce development agency: someone who is bringing to life the dreams of eCommerce entrepreneurs by designing and setting up their online stores, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. More
Three65 Underwear Subscription: Never Run Out of Clean Undies Again
By Kirby Prickett on October 21, 2015 — 8 mins read
Some of the best candidates for subscription products are day-to-day necessities, like toothbrushes, toilet paper, and pet food. These items might not be the most exciting, but all (or most) of us need them on a regular basis. William Strange and some friends realised that underwear is something that you just need to buy (especially once you grow up and your parents stop buying them for you). But getting to the shops to buy them can be a hassle and expensive. Inspired by Dollar Shave Club, Will decided to launch Three65, an underwear subscription service for men. In this interview, Will reflects on the story behind Three65, his experience pitching the business on Shark Tank Australia, and some of the challenges he's faced. More
A Subscription Box for Today's Gentleman
By Kirby Prickett on October 7, 2015 — 12 mins read
What better way to celebrate the release of WooCommerce Subscriptions 2.0 than with a subscriptions-based entrepreneur interview? John Haji and the team at Gentleman's Box have spent the last couple of years building a successful subscription box business for today's gentleman. John has tirelessly pursued his vision of a carefully curated Gentleman's Box since first conceiving the idea in 2013. In the process he's built an impressive list of brand partners featured in each month's box, as well as a partnership with GQ Magazine. Read on to learn more about the Gentleman's Box business, their inspiration, advice, and plans for the future. More
Bump Boxes: A Pregnancy Subscription Box Dedicated to Safe Products
By Kirby Prickett on September 23, 2015 — 5 mins read
Pregnancy can be a confusing time, especially for first-time mums and parents. Suddenly the pregnant mumma has to be much more careful about what she eats, drinks or puts on her body! Bump Boxes is a pregnancy subscription box business that's dedicated to making it easier for expecting families to choose safe and healthy products for their growing baby. Powered by WooCommerce and WooCommerce Subscriptions, Bump Boxes offers a regular delivery of safe and healthy pregnancy samples or products. The founding parents of Bump Boxes are Christine and Leland Deehring. Christine took the time to answer some questions about the inspiration for Bump Boxes, the ins-and-outs of their business and marketing operations, and her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. More
Bullymake: A Pet Subscription Box for Power Chewers
By Kirby Prickett on September 9, 2015 — 5 mins read
Bullymake is a pet subscription box, which targets power chewing breeds (that is, dogs that destroy all of their toys). Colin Hatzmann is the founder of Bullymake and last week he was kind enough to jump on the phone with me to answer a few questions. Colin has been running Bullymake for about a year now, and it sounds like business is going very well. Read on to learn about Colin's inspiration and processes, his experience using WooCommerce Subscriptions to run a subscription box business, and his advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs. More
A Toilet Paper Subscription Business With a Twist
By Kirby Prickett on August 26, 2015 — 9 mins read
Toilet paper. We all need it, and I expect most of us know the frustration of unexpectedly running out. It's the perfect example of an everyday item that is ideally suited to a subscription delivery model. TPFactory is making the most of this common sense business opportunity, but with a twist. Customers can select a charity partner of their choice to receive 5% of their monthly subscription fee as a donation. I had the opportunity to chat with Lee Jossel, the founder of TPFactory a couple of weeks ago. He shared his experience running this toilet paper subscription business, which is powered by WooCommerce and WooCommerce Subscriptions. More
HDPiano: Bootstrapping a Successful Video Subscription Business
By Kirby Prickett on August 5, 2015 — 15 mins read
HDPiano is different to many of the other subscription businesses we've spoken to as part of this interview series. Because their product is a video subscription business—a membership to view videos of piano lessons—HDPiano don't have to worry about shipping, inventory or many of the other hassles that consistently plague eCommerce entrepreneurs. Another distinguishing fact about HDPiano is that YouTube is their top lead generator. Founder Sean Lee, told me that to date they haven't spent anything on paid advertising to build HDPiano's audience. Read on to find out how Sean was able to build HDPiano from humble beginnings with a $500 personal investment with no programming skills. You'll also learn a little bit about Sean's digital nomad lifestyle in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and how Tim Ferriss's The Four Hour Work Week influenced his approach. More
Proper Socks for the Modern Gentleman: An Interview with Bertrand's
By Kirby Prickett on June 24, 2015 — 9 mins read
This week we have another eCommerce interview out of the UK, this time with Bertrand's Proper Socks. Bertrand's Proper Socks is using WooCommerce and WooCommerce Subscriptions to sell funky, high-quality men's socks to the discerning online customer. I spoke with Founder Xixi Zhu over Skype about the origins of Bertrand's Proper Socks, what they've been up to recently and their plans for the future. More
What's Life Without Risks? Our Interview with Snaps
By Kirby Prickett on May 27, 2015 — 12 mins read
Josh Gare is the founder of Snaps, an eCommerce retailer of high-quality, yet affordable, sunglasses in the UK. We were excited when Josh reached out to us about Snaps, and jumped at the chance to hear more of his story. You see Josh isn't your typical entrepreneur (if there's such a thing). He's currently finishing his final exams for his economics degree at the University of Bristol. He's also had a number of successes building iOS apps, something he's been doing since he was 16 years old. Read on to hear more about how Snaps has used clever partnerships to overcome early marketing challenges, the process they went through to find suppliers, and their plans for the future. More
Renting Out Clothes With WooCommerce
By Kirby Prickett on April 1, 2015 — 6 mins read
Clothing rental subscriptions make a lot of sense. Customers are happy, because they receive regular deliveries of new items to wear. They also get to benefit from the expertise of professional stylists. When a customer gets tired of a particular item, they can easily send it back for somebody else to enjoy. That means less waste and fewer items sitting forgotten in the back of cupboards. I recently spoke to one such business owner, Vladimir Paniouchkine, the CEO and Co-Founder of The Mr Collection, a clothing rental subscription business for men. Vladimir gave me some great insights into the origins and experience of running The Mr Collection and its sister business The Ms Collection. More
WooCommerce and the Chocolate Factory
By Kirby Prickett on March 25, 2015 — 11 mins read
With WooCommerce businesses scattered all over the world, it's not often I get to do an interview in person. But this is an entrepreneur story that could only come from San Francisco. Last week I spoke Dandelion Chocolate founder Todd Masonis, at their factory location in San Francisco's Mission District. After selling their consumer internet business to Comcast in 2008, Todd and business partner Cameron went down a path of experimentation and discovery that eventually led them into the business of fine, small batch chocolate making. Read on to learn more of Dandelion Chocolate's unique story. More
WooCommerce, Subscriptions and Good Karma: the Story of Alpha Dog Food
By Kirby Prickett on March 4, 2015 — 13 mins read
Royce Reed has taken his passion for healthy pets and harnessed the power of WooCommerce to build his pet food subscription business, Alpha Dog Food. I had the pleasure of chatting to Royce last week about his experience starting and running Alpha Dog Food. Some of the highlights include: how they've implemented their Ambassador (affiliate) program, which benefits Alpha Dog Food and many of their clients, including great animal charities like the Humane Society of Atlantic City;
Royce's seven favourite things about WooCommerce (we agree Royce, it's so hard to choose!); and
how Alpha Dog Food wound up accepting Bitcoin payments, and Royce's experience with that so far. I hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as I enjoyed doing it! More
Using WooCommerce to Build a SaaS in 3 Days
By Kirby Prickett on February 4, 2015 — 11 mins read
Bryce Adams is a WooThemes ninja who—in his spare time—built a handy little SaaS (Software as a Service) business called Nomad SMS. Nomad SMS allows you to easily create a local phone number in over 15 countries and receive SMS messages to that number in your inbox and online. Anybody who's had the frustrating experience of being locked out of their bank account while traveling or overseas will see the benefit of this simple idea. Bryce got some love from WooThemes and others on Twitter for Nomad SMS, but when it was featured on the hot product aggregation site Product Hunt, traffic to Bryce's little side project really took off. Bryce was kind enough to talk to me about the whirlwind experience of building Nomad SMS in three days—using WooCommerce and Subscriptions—and releasing it to the world. More