187 Dusty Davidson, CEO of Flywheel

We sit down to talk with Dusty Davidson, the CEO and co-founder of Flywheel. He tells us how the hosting company got started, early years and growing, what they look for in hiring, their acquisition of Local, and much more. We also ask Dusty about early years and growing, what they look for in hiring, their acquisition of Local,  and much more.   ==================   Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting. Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.   ==================   Table of Contents for Episode 187   0:00 Podcast intros. 2:57 How did Flywheel get started? Why they decided to start a hosting company in the first place. 5:39 What gaps in the hosting market was Flywheel trying to fill? 9:06 Some common hosting problems that Flywheel sought to solve. Growing the company using pure hustle and guerrilla marketing. 16:47 What does Flywheel look for when hiring? What challenges have they faced when growing the company? 20:44 As Flywheel grew, who did Dusty look to for advice? How do organizations change as they grow? 23:21 Dusty's early involvement in Silicon Prairie News and the growing tech scene in the Midwest. 30:34 Bootstrapped vs. Venture Capital funded. 32:49 The trend of hosting companies consolidating services by buying other companies and tools. The decision process behind Flywheel purchasing Pressmatic (now Local by Flywheel). Thoughts on GoDaddy acquiring Sucuri. 39:21 Is the future bright for plugin developers? What's the future for themes and plugins? How does this affect the perception of other products in the WordPress space, like hosting? 46:44 What is the future for growth for WordPress the platform? 49:00 Podcast outros.   ==================   Links mentioned during the show:   Silicon Prairie News One Million Cups Local by Flywheel   ==================   Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website: https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast-episodes/   ===================   Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes   https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2   ===================   WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress podcast.