191 Tenko Nikolov, CEO of SiteGround

We Interview Tenko Nikolov, CEO and Managing Partner at SiteGround. SiteGround is a successful hosting company with hundreds of employees. Located in Europe, its CEO, Tenko Nikolov, has been fixated on growing his brand by focused on success across the team and for their customers. It's evident that SiteGround knows what they're doing -- and the photos tell a great story about a great company culture. Tenko has shared his experiences with us in the interview below. We highly recommend you read it to learn how this young CEO has made his company so incredibly successful. Tenko share with us about the future of hosting, Siteground's commitment to innovation, and what they look for in hiring for their team. We'll also hear the story of how Tenko rose from technical support to being the CEO. Lastly, what huge plans does Siteground have for the future. It's an episode that will give you great insight into one of the leading hosting companies out there. ==================   Table of Contents for Episode 191   0:00 Podcast intros. 0:29 How did Tenko first come to work at Siteground? What was his start with technology? 3:19 Did Tenko plan on becoming on CEO? 4:10 The three core values of Siteground and the role each play in the company's success. 6:54 Some of the technological innovations that Siteground  have as features, and ones that they are working on. 9:27 What are the qualities that Siteground looks for in hiring team members? 10:23 Why the term "the cloud" is redundant. What the future of hosting will look like. What company is actually pushing web hosting forward. 13:03 What features Siteground has to keep sites secure. Some things they are currently working on to make their hosting environments even more secure. 17:21 Who are Siteground's target customers? How does marketing differ between small business and enterprise customers? 22:03 How is marketing changing for hosting companies within the WordPress space? What word does Tenko want people to associate with Siteground? 25:43 What is Kyup? Who is it built for? What might it be in the future? 27:01 Does Tenko think Amazon or Google will enter the hosting market directly? Where does he see hosting in general going over the next decade? 28:39 What other projects is Tenko involved in besides Siteground? 29:25 Has the technical background in Bulgaria helped Siteground find some talent? What factors contribute to the talent pool in Bulgaria? 32:28 What is Siteground's top priority over the next twelve months? 34:29 Are clients asking more about renewable energy? What efforts are they making towards being eco-friendly? 36:20 Is WordPress more or less secure than other CMS? What contributes to its reputation? 37:20 What marketing efforts are they integrating with their technological innovation over the coming year? 38:46 What events is Siteground involved in throughout the year? 40:21 Podcast outros.   ==================   Links mentioned during the show:   Let's Encrypt Kyup WordCamp Europe 2014 WordCamp Sofia (archive list from WordCamp Central) Bulgaria PHP Conference   ==================   Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website: https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/tenko-nikolov-ceo-siteground/   ===================   Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes