Last updated - April 3, 2023
Today, on ‘Expert Speaks‘, we have Ivan Popov, CEO of Vipe Studio.
We are indeed grateful to Ivan, for making time to answer our questions and enlighten us with his thoughts and opinions. We thank Ivan for inspiring us with his words of wisdom.
You would definitely love reading his fun-filled informative answers, Here it goes!
Can you tell us about your background and what led you to become a CEO?
Coding became my passion in my teenage years and I steadily followed my professional aspirations through developing my skills. This led me to my freelance web development career that I simultaneously continued while working as a technical leader. Eventually, I decided it was time to focus entirely on WordPress, web development, and executing clients’ projects so I founded Vipe Studio – it was basically the next logical step needed in my professional growth.
What inspired you to start Vipe Studio, and what is the company’s mission?
Vipe Studio represents my team’s views on work ethic and how we imagine successful work processes look like. At some point I realized that in order for me to be able to put my ideas and workflow out there, I needed autonomy – essentially, the studio depicts a customer-oriented approach together with the latest web development practices. Of course, a ship’s captain is nothing without their crew – my employees share the same aspirations and we all inspire ourselves daily.
How do you ensure the quality of your work and maintain customer satisfaction?
Both in my customer and employee communication, I rely on transparency and easygoingness – I’ve discovered this to be the best shortcut toward satisfaction and getting the job done. I frequently engage in honest conversations with my clients, asking for their input and expectations – in return, I offer straight-to-the-point professional consultation and try to be as clear as possible when it comes to providing the needed information. I like to let my clients be a crucial part of the whole development process.
What sets Vipe Studio apart from other WordPress agencies, and what unique value do you bring to clients?
We rely on the “back to basics” approach – we appreciate technology’s development and try our best on a daily basis to be one step ahead of our competition when it comes to integrating the latest trends and solutions. While advertising our work is also important, we maintain a solid focus on our projects speaking for ourselves and what we do. Custom WordPress development is what we mainly specialize in – we love it when customers request a unique and extremely customized service that we are able to provide for them.
What leadership style do you typically adopt, and how has it evolved over time?
I love the effect transformational leadership has both on my team and myself – I prefer granting my team control over their work processes and trusting their professional expertise. This helps us all to evolve since nothing brings a team closer together more than mutual respect and appreciation.
Can you share any success stories or memorable projects you have worked on with Vipe Studio?
Each time my team and I manage to provide for your clients in terms of service and working solutions is a success story. Every project is a memorable one since it allows us to add yet another useful experience to our list of successful case studies and numbers.
How do you determine the scope of a custom WordPress development project, and what factors do you consider when providing an estimate?
During the initial consultation, I like to pay close attention to the client’s ideas and then combine them with our own professional take on the matter in question. The main goal is to end up with impeccably functioning solutions and projects – if I believe my team and I are able to offer a top-notch performance, we’d go for it at full speed. When it comes to providing an estimate, we usually aim at finding the perfect balance between the client’s budget and Vipe Studio’s professional expertise. Of course, each project is a whole other world and it all comes down to individual consultations.
How do you see the future of website development evolving, and how is your company adapting to those changes?
Our main focus has always been to stay on the right track when it comes to learning new technologies and following their lead. In addition to this, we aim at maintaining the perfect balance between WordPress and high-quality web development in general – as in the case of open-source platforms, anyone could contribute but not nearly every contribution lives up to developers’ and clients’ standards. So it’s crucial for us to deliver outstanding service.
How do you prioritize & balance the creative aspect of Custom Development services with meeting the needs and expectations of clients?
Luckily, most of the time the clients acknowledge our years-long experience and trust our judgment when it comes to the creative aspect. I’m not afraid to offer bold and creative ideas since I’m certain their realization into practice is possible. Of course, I also listen to how the client views the end project in their heads – through brainstorming we oftentimes manage to come up with truly inspiring ideas together.
How do you handle WordPress updates, and how often do you recommend updating a website?
Updating WordPress, its themes and plugins is vital really – each update offers elevated performance, added functionality, and increased security. Essentially, it’s the CMS’s way to keep moving forward and add more and more layers to its scalability and capacity. Backing up, however, is an update step no one should miss.
How do you like to spend your free time? What hobbies or other activities do you enjoy?
I’ve always been an avid sportsman and to this day doing sports is one of my biggest passions – it helps me take care both of my physical and mental health! Besides, it’s a great solution to work-related stress – inevitably we all need a healthy way to restart after a busy day and deliver even stronger results afterward.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in starting their own company?
My advice is to take time and reevaluate their own aspirations and passions – experience in business taught me that the ones who truly love what they do manage to succeed in the end. Don’t get tangled up in what’s popular or trendy; rather, trust your intuition and check where your talents stand. From then on its persistence, constant work, and a never-ending desire for improvement and growth.
