FULL TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH ANTONIE POTGIETER
ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT ANTONIE POTGIETER
You can also find additional information about ANTONIE POTGIETER at his website.
Please enjoy the audio interview with Antonie Potgieter. He provided a in-depth interview of someone who started at just 19 years old to develop his own WordPress plugin (a newsletter plugin system for websites) that quickly allowed him to build this into his company called Tribulant. (Antonie is from South Africa.)
Here’s an introduction directly from Antonie himself.
About Antonie Potegieter
When I was in school I did well academically but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I get older. I had some ideas of becoming an attorney, studying medicine, etc. but never had my head set on it.
By the time I came close to finishing school I knew that studying might not be an option as there weren’t funds and I had to start looking after myself from the age of about 17 – 18 so I had to work as a waiter in a restaurant to make money for rent and other expenses.
About a year later I started at a more stable job position as a sales person in a photography shop where we sold photography equipment and related products. We also developed both digital and analog photos in the shop for the public. Not long into the job I realized that I didn’t want to work for someone and it was frustrating to work such long hours including weekends for a very small and fixed salary.
So I quit my job and started freelance graphic design on the internet. I didn’t have any experience with graphic design at all, a very old computer and worked on a mobile internet connection through my cellphone which cost me an arm and a leg but I was determined to do it. I wouldn’t say I’m a very creative person and that I created very good designs as it would be a lie. I had a client tell me not to quit my day job after flopping a project of his while he was relying on me to create a professional graphic for his business. I cannot remember what it was but I just remember not being praised for it, the opposite in fact.
I did this graphic design work for roughly 6 months to a year when I started discovering web languages such as HTML, CSS, Javascript and then later on server side languages like PHP and MySQL. This lead me to WordPress (and other frameworks) and I immediately knew that this is something I love. I really loved the way that code worked. Writing something “ineligible” which created a result, something beautiful and useful at the same time.
Tribulant Software started when I built a newsletter plugin for WordPress. A very small and basic plugin with the purpose of being able to send bulk emails from within WordPress to a list of subscribers. This plugin expanded and became a commercial solution which resulted in additional development on other packages from my side. We do this up until today, 6 years later.
I wouldn’t say that there is anything I would change to be honest. Life is the way it is and everything happens for a reason. As long as you stay positive and enjoy the good things while dealing with the bad things you’ll be fine and you can enjoy your life and work at the same time.
About Tribulant
Contact Information
Antonie Potgieter (Managing Member)
Tribulant Software
https://tribulant.com
support@tribulant.com [br] [br]
Including approximate earning potential, and more.
