How a Startup Web Development Company Was Able to Thrive in 2020

We talked to Andriy Haydash of Progmatiq about small business web design services and he had the following to say about it.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Andriy Haydash: Thanks, that’s a good question. Thankfully, all of my family members seem to be doing fine.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Progmatiq.

Andriy Haydash: Sure…I started working as a web developer in July of 2014, after the second year of my studies in the university. After that, I’ve been working for about 3 years for 2 web development companies.

However, I wanted a new challenge, wanted to be able to control my time and have a higher impact on my earning ability.

Therefore, in July of 2017, I started freelancing, and in March of 2018, I started Progmatiq.

How does Progmatiq innovate? 

Andriy Haydash: Technology and Web Development space is constantly evolving, and new and exciting technologies are born every year.

Since we don’t build our own products, I can’t really say that we innovate in a classical sense of the word.

However, because we build websites for our clients, we constantly evolve and try new technologies and approaches to make the final product more robust, secure and user friendly.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Andriy Haydash: The thing is that 2020 was the most successful year for Progmatiq and me. I guess it’s because more and more people started paying attention to online space and websites.

Therefore, I can’t say that it was bad for me.

On the other hand, I’m a bit cautious since many businesses have been destroyed and people have less financial resources not just to invest in their business, but even to support their life.

This is not an ideal situation for anyone, as the poorer people become, the less work there might be for businesses like mine.

But I hope that the world will recover relatively soon and things will get back to normal.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Andriy Haydash: Sure, every business owner has to make difficult decisions in their life.

One of the main decisions that I’ve made in the last year was to niche down and focus on building online course & membership websites.

This is not an easy decision as at; first, it looks like you’re picking only a small segment of the market and you’re cutting off potential opportunities.

That’s why it was somewhat scary.

However, this was a great decision since I was able to differentiate my services from the competitors, attract better clients and make my processes more efficient.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety? How do you project yourself and Progmatiq in the future?

Andriy Haydash: One of the best ways to deal with stress is to do a lot of physical activity. Whether it’s running, working out or playing games like football.

After an intense session like that, you naturally become more calm, and you sleep better 🙂

Another thing that has helped me become more relaxed are cold showers. They have a great relaxing effect. Plus they’re great for your immune system.

As far as Progmatiq future is concerned, I believe that we can keep growing in 2021 and beyond.

It’s been only one year that our main focus has been building membership websites.

 I firmly believe that the more we focus on this niche, the more we can grow.

We will be able to make our process even better & faster, deliver better results and attract better clients.

Besides that, I think that staying as “lean” as possible is a great way for a startup to protect against the downside.

You don’t need to have a fancy office or hire multiple employees if you don’t have enough resources just yet.

 You need to be able to crawl before you can walk and run.

That’s how I feel, and that’s how I approach the current situation that I have with Progmatiq.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Andriy Haydash: At this stage, our main competitors are other WordPress developers/agencies that focus on building membership sites.

Luckily enough, as we’ve niched down to this market segment, the number of competitors has significantly dropped.

I think you have to focus mainly on your customer and worry less about your competitors to stay in the game. That’s what I try to do – serve my customer to the best of my ability.

Great service, great communication skills and building relationships with customers can go a long way.

Your final thoughts?

Andriy Haydash: I just want to wish everyone to stay healthy, both mentally and physically, exercise and don’t be afraid to take calculated risks, especially if you’re still young.

Once you start doing something difficult, you will be able to learn a lot about yourself. You can’t lose; you can only win or learn.

Your website?

progmatiq 

andriy.space