This week the first company I started will be 18 years old.
Over these 18 years, the company has generated over £2 million in revenue. Despite this, it’s never turned a significant profit or distributed a dividend. On paper, its age might seem like the most impressive thing about it.
Financially this is one of many failure modes that businesses fall into. If I'd known what its future was going to look like back in 2006 and understood why I really created it, I would have done things differently.
You might expect me to list “18 things I’ve learned” at this point but there’s really just one key lesson that took me all this time to grasp.
For years, I believed I started the company to gain independence and become a business owner.
It didn't take me long to learn that I should not have started a company for those reasons. Owning a company without a clear path to profit doesn’t equate to true independence. It’s much more rewarding to solve a specific problem for a specific group of people.
Over the years I partnered with various cofounders and investors, each time giving up a bit of that perceived independence.
Now, looking back, I realise the real reason I started the company was much more personal – I was lonely.
I can see it in some of my writing from back then. I wanted to spend more of my time working with people who were more like me. I convinced myself that the way to get that kind of company was to start a company... so I could hang out with other company owners.
I'm fairly sure 25-year-old me would not have admitted to this.
However, when I look at the things the company has done that I'm most proud of, they all centre around combating loneliness:
- Hosting events that brought likeminded people together.
- Creating a Coworking space where they could hangout more often.
- Forming teams to build better businesses together.
Because I was a software developer interested in building software businesses these mainly (but not exclusively) helped technical and SaaS people.
It turns out I was solving a specific problem for a specific group of people all along.
The now 18 year old company started life as Inuda Innovations Ltd in 2006.
We started the Open Coffee Sussex (now known as Sussex Founders) meetup in 2007.
In 2008 we took on an office with Carl, Ellen & Steve - we'd got to know them at events we'd organised.
Here's a nostalgic video of when we first got the keys to the The Skiff:
By 2017 it was beyond obvious that The Skiff was the core business of the company so we changed it's name to The Skiff Ltd.
We're in a different space now. Our 4th since 2008. It's *much* more comfortable. But still very different from the Coworking spaces that have come since.
The Skiff has not only helped me through some of my darkest and loneliest times but also accelerated the growth of my software businesses. And I know I’m not alone in this experience.
I often wonder how different things might have been if I had understood the true problem I was solving back in 2006.
Hopefully I'll be able to put this insight to good use over the next 18 years.
The Skiff isn’t the only place or community in which these kinds of experiences happen. I’d love to hear your stories if you’ve had similar journeys.
Best wishes,
Jon
PS The Skiff is doing its first promotion in ages this month and next. It's limited to just 18 new (or returning) coworkers. Keep an eye out for my next email or hit reply to let me know if you can't wait.
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