James Hodgkinson of Webinfinity
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with James Hodgkinson, the founder and CEO of Webinfinity, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Webinfinity – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
Webinfinity was born out of nearly two decades of experience in building and supporting business portals and web applications for a wide range of companies. Our team had come to the realization that it was just too hard and difficult to make a great portal and there had to be a better way. A few years later, we are starting to see that theory working in reality, with a solution that enables our clients to achieve top quality results without the risk and cost normally associated with implementing portals.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
Changing our business model from a profitable, service-led business (with established revenues) to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company licensing a relatively immature and unknown new technology was not easy! There are very few companies that successfully make that transition and having now been through it, I can see why.
What does the future hold for Webinfinity?
The most exciting opportunity we have is because we dared to be different, creating something that stands apart from other solutions in the marketplace. That is now leading to strong interest from really big, established companies who want to use our platform to drive their own go-to-market objectives. As a small company, it’s really exciting to take a small team with a good concept and have the opportunity to make a big noise in the market.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Huntington?
I’ve been really impressed with it and enjoy being a part of the community. The evening events at Launchpad are numerous and really good – just a great scene to be around.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Try to get the balance right between taking advice and trusting yourself and your instincts. There are a lot of people who think they know better than you and want to tell you how to run your business, but they are not always right. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way – for example, hiring ‘experts’ who in reality did more harm than good to our project.