Who are you and what do you do?
I’m the founder and managing director of a digital agency specialising in the design and development of WordPress websites. We provide digital strategy, design and development services to create success stories for our clients. I started making websites when I was 14, at 20 was forced to leave university at King’s College London to pursue my work and by 22 had opened our first office and begun to grow the team. We’re going through a really exciting period of fast growth thanks to the results we achieve for our clients.
What’s your workspace like?
We’re located in the super cool Westbourne Studios, just off Portobello Road. We have our own studio space, a small meeting area with TV on the wall and we recently built a Virtual Reality area to begin experimenting with developing VR on the web. Oh, and the Nespresso machine – the most important item in the office.
What do you listen to while you work?
A real mix – usually I find a good YouTube playlist to leave on.
What’s your best time-saving trick?
Multiple monitors – I hook my Macbook Pro up to 2 external monitors – so 3 screens total. You’d be amazed how much more you can get done.
What are the 3 things you can’t live without?
My iPhone, my MacBook Pro and exercise.
What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else?
Always pushing forwards/never getting knocked back.
What’s your sleep routine like?
Sleep is vital for me – at least 8 hours otherwise I’m not on good form.
How do you wind down?
By going for a run or hitting the gym. Nothing clears the mind better than pushing yourself until you’re completely out of fuel.
What have you learnt, that you’d like others to know?
Running your own business is exhausting but exhilarating. Building a team, creating jobs in the economy, helping clients achieve their goals, doing award winning work that you are passionate about, and as sole founder having the freedom to drive the agency’s growth – all of these things are awesome. It can certainly be tough and lonely at times, but I would encourage everyone to get out there and go it alone if they have the chance – anyone can do it, once they decide in their minds that they can.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Bootstrap. It’s kept the agency lightweight, agile and streamlined – we don’t have any expenses that we don’t make use of or any employees sitting around with nothing to do. When I was at school I was doing ‘bits and pieces’ website work for £7 an hour – I’m really proud that I’ve built an agency from there, project by project, pound by pound, with no external investments. It was just me and my laptop to begin with – no portfolio, no industry connections, just a blank canvas.
Fill in the blank. I’d kill to see ____ answer these same questions!
Tim Berners-Lee
Anything else you’d like to add?
I can see the Yena website is built using WordPress – good choice 😉
Get in touch with Alex on Twitter via @alxprce
