2011 State of
            iThemes Address
           By Cory Miller
           Founder / CEO
           @corymiller303
           cory@ithemes.com



Friday, May 20, 2011
My goal today ...

          To show you what
          we’re all about


Friday, May 20, 2011
Looking back
          How far we’ve come




Friday, May 20, 2011
The dream
          What I wanted to build




Friday, May 20, 2011
What our team does

          We climb and conquer
          summits together



Friday, May 20, 2011
Our purpose & why we do it:

          To make people’s
          lives awesome



Friday, May 20, 2011
My role is ...
          To lead the way
          My personal goals are ...
               To inspire our team to greatness
               To innovate and be pioneers
               To offer value to the world
               To enjoy what I do & offer the same
               To leave a lasting legacy
               Oh, and to entertain sometimes


Friday, May 20, 2011
Our Team
          Getting to know the team members
          who serve you as you support us




Friday, May 20, 2011
iThemes
          Building the most easy-to-use, beautiful themes on the planet

          Chris Jean - team lead / code ninja
          Brad Ulrich - designer
          Justin Kopepasah - front-end developer
          Cody Smith - designer




Friday, May 20, 2011
PluginBuddy
          Building the most easy-to-use, and useful plugins
          that help people do more with WordPress

          Dustin Bolton - team lead / code ninja
          Skyler Moore - developer
          Josh Benham - support / developer-in-training
          Ronald Huereca - developer
          Jesse Clark - developer-in-training


Friday, May 20, 2011
WebDesign.com
          Offering professional, practical training to
          build your web design business ... right from your home

          Benjamin Bradley - team lead / instructor
          Justin Seeley - instructor / designer




Friday, May 20, 2011
AllureThemes.com
          Joint venture with Lisa Sabin-Wilson to offer high-quality feminine themes

          Lisa Sabin-Wilson - team lead / designer




Friday, May 20, 2011
Support Team
          The frontlines for serving & helping our community solve
          problems and answer questions about our work
          Ronald van Weerd - team lead / support ninja
          Sridhar Katakam - support / themes
          Jeremy Trask - support / plugins
          Our community - those who help out & pitch in!




Friday, May 20, 2011
Central Team
          Serving all the brands, team and our community
          Cory Miller - founder / CEO
          Matt Danner - COO
          Nina East - marketing director
          Charleen Green - sales
          Barbara Skelton - accounting
          Brandon Irby - video intern



Friday, May 20, 2011
Our core values
          and philosophies
          What we’re all about




Friday, May 20, 2011
Make people’s
          lives awesome.



Friday, May 20, 2011
Learn and grow,
          then teach and share



Friday, May 20, 2011
Innovate and improve,
          or whither and die



Friday, May 20, 2011
Be flexible and adapting,
          ready to pivot when
          necessary.


Friday, May 20, 2011
Be human. Be real.




Friday, May 20, 2011
Work hard. Play hard.




Friday, May 20, 2011
Be a tribe.




Friday, May 20, 2011
Bleed the brand.
          Be ambassadors &
          champions of our work.


Friday, May 20, 2011
Solve people’s problems.




Friday, May 20, 2011
Belong and contribute.




Friday, May 20, 2011
2011 Strategic Objectives
          The mountaintops we’re aiming for




Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #1: Team focused

          Become an extremely
          cohesive yet autonomous,
          efficient and devoted tribe.


Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #2: Build and ship

          Release good products
          often & make them better
          with time & customer input.


Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #3: Grow dynamic brands

          Build & grow great brands
          w/ unique personality,
          values, philosophies &
          community.

Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #4: Always be improving

          Evaluate & improve
          what & how we do it,
          in all ways, always.


Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #5: Customer community centered

          Love & serve our community
          and make raving fans.



Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #6: Show, tell, teach, sell

          Be aggressive creative
          guerrilla marketers for
          our brands & products.


Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #7: Scout new opportunities

          Explore new ways & areas
          to expand & diversify our
          biz; innovate, test & refine
          new ideas & products.

Friday, May 20, 2011
Objective #8: Work that doesn’t suck

          Offer a creative, fun &
          productive workplace
          where people do fulfilling,
          passionate work that matters.


Friday, May 20, 2011
Team Direction
          What each brand is planning & doing




Friday, May 20, 2011
iThemes
        Builder turned 1 last December
        Chris Jean has been with us 3 years in Sept.
        Hire Justin and Cody to amp up theme
        production
        4 themes in last two weeks
        32 themes for Builder (and more coming!)
        The roadmap (aka great things in store to make
        it even better)



Friday, May 20, 2011
PluginBuddy
        BackupBuddy 1.0 launched March 2010
        BackupBuddy 2.0 launched this April
        Only complete backup solution for WP
        Now at 17+ plugins including DisplayBuddy series,
        EmailBuddy, Contact Buddy, VidEmbed and more
        AND ... 15+ more coming by year end!
        Hired Ronald Huereca in April
        LoopBuddy in the works
        The roadmap




Friday, May 20, 2011
WebDesign.com
        Benjamin Bradley full-time last July
        Just hired Justin Seeley as new full-time instructor
        Will be launching new Design track this summer
        Over 250+ hours of training now (and more coming!)
        May’s 4-Day WordPress Developer Course (highest
        attendance yet)
        Vibrant, active and helpful community in forum
        The roadmap




Friday, May 20, 2011
AllureThemes.com
        Launched in April 2011
        Joint venture with Lisa Sabin-Wilson
        Offer high-quality feminine themes
        Offer designs on main WP frameworks including Builder




Friday, May 20, 2011
Support
        Our best moderators have come as customers first and
        be extremely helpful (Ronald, Sridhar, Jeremy)
        Scattered throughout world (and in-office) to cover more
        hours than we guarantee
        Offering support, help and being available to do so ...
        enabling our customers to do more, do better
        Understanding not just specific problems but what our
        customer wants to ultimately do so we can help them
        achieve it
        Offering iTips email newsletter to educate, provide value
        to more people



Friday, May 20, 2011
Support
        Our best moderators have come as customers first and
        be extremely helpful (Ronald, Sridhar, Jeremy)
        Scattered throughout world (and in-office) to cover more
        hours than we guarantee
        Offering support, help and being available to do so ...
        enabling our customers to do more, do better
        Understanding not just specific problems but what our
        customer wants to ultimately do so we can help them
        achieve it
        Offering iTips email newsletter to educate, provide value
        to more people



Friday, May 20, 2011
Company Wide
        Attract the best, brightest & ‘right fit’ talent to our team
        Continue to build our Affiliate network
        Take our video production to the next level
        Help build & promote Oklahoma City as a tech hub
        Give back to our local community, our community & WordPress
        Train in and build our culture
        Recruit customer ambassadors
        Continue to design / offer shirts for tribe
        Continue to meet more of our customers face to face
        Continue to underpromise and overdeliver; build more & more value
        for community
        Stay small ... while growing



Friday, May 20, 2011
2011 State of
            iThemes Address
           By Cory Miller
           Founder / CEO
           @corymiller303
           cory@ithemes.com



Friday, May 20, 2011

2011 State of iThemes Address

  • 1.
    2011 State of iThemes Address By Cory Miller Founder / CEO @corymiller303 cory@ithemes.com Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 2.
    My goal today... To show you what we’re all about Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 3.
    Looking back How far we’ve come Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 4.
    The dream What I wanted to build Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 5.
    What our teamdoes We climb and conquer summits together Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 6.
    Our purpose &why we do it: To make people’s lives awesome Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 7.
    My role is... To lead the way My personal goals are ... To inspire our team to greatness To innovate and be pioneers To offer value to the world To enjoy what I do & offer the same To leave a lasting legacy Oh, and to entertain sometimes Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 8.
    Our Team Getting to know the team members who serve you as you support us Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 9.
    iThemes Building the most easy-to-use, beautiful themes on the planet Chris Jean - team lead / code ninja Brad Ulrich - designer Justin Kopepasah - front-end developer Cody Smith - designer Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 10.
    PluginBuddy Building the most easy-to-use, and useful plugins that help people do more with WordPress Dustin Bolton - team lead / code ninja Skyler Moore - developer Josh Benham - support / developer-in-training Ronald Huereca - developer Jesse Clark - developer-in-training Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 11.
    WebDesign.com Offering professional, practical training to build your web design business ... right from your home Benjamin Bradley - team lead / instructor Justin Seeley - instructor / designer Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 12.
    AllureThemes.com Joint venture with Lisa Sabin-Wilson to offer high-quality feminine themes Lisa Sabin-Wilson - team lead / designer Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 13.
    Support Team The frontlines for serving & helping our community solve problems and answer questions about our work Ronald van Weerd - team lead / support ninja Sridhar Katakam - support / themes Jeremy Trask - support / plugins Our community - those who help out & pitch in! Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 14.
    Central Team Serving all the brands, team and our community Cory Miller - founder / CEO Matt Danner - COO Nina East - marketing director Charleen Green - sales Barbara Skelton - accounting Brandon Irby - video intern Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 15.
    Our core values and philosophies What we’re all about Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 16.
    Make people’s lives awesome. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 17.
    Learn and grow, then teach and share Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 18.
    Innovate and improve, or whither and die Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 19.
    Be flexible andadapting, ready to pivot when necessary. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 20.
    Be human. Bereal. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 21.
    Work hard. Playhard. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 22.
    Be a tribe. Friday,May 20, 2011
  • 23.
    Bleed the brand. Be ambassadors & champions of our work. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 24.
  • 25.
  • 26.
    2011 Strategic Objectives The mountaintops we’re aiming for Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 27.
    Objective #1: Teamfocused Become an extremely cohesive yet autonomous, efficient and devoted tribe. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 28.
    Objective #2: Buildand ship Release good products often & make them better with time & customer input. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 29.
    Objective #3: Growdynamic brands Build & grow great brands w/ unique personality, values, philosophies & community. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 30.
    Objective #4: Alwaysbe improving Evaluate & improve what & how we do it, in all ways, always. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 31.
    Objective #5: Customercommunity centered Love & serve our community and make raving fans. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 32.
    Objective #6: Show,tell, teach, sell Be aggressive creative guerrilla marketers for our brands & products. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 33.
    Objective #7: Scoutnew opportunities Explore new ways & areas to expand & diversify our biz; innovate, test & refine new ideas & products. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 34.
    Objective #8: Workthat doesn’t suck Offer a creative, fun & productive workplace where people do fulfilling, passionate work that matters. Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 35.
    Team Direction What each brand is planning & doing Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 36.
    iThemes Builder turned 1 last December Chris Jean has been with us 3 years in Sept. Hire Justin and Cody to amp up theme production 4 themes in last two weeks 32 themes for Builder (and more coming!) The roadmap (aka great things in store to make it even better) Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 37.
    PluginBuddy BackupBuddy 1.0 launched March 2010 BackupBuddy 2.0 launched this April Only complete backup solution for WP Now at 17+ plugins including DisplayBuddy series, EmailBuddy, Contact Buddy, VidEmbed and more AND ... 15+ more coming by year end! Hired Ronald Huereca in April LoopBuddy in the works The roadmap Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 38.
    WebDesign.com Benjamin Bradley full-time last July Just hired Justin Seeley as new full-time instructor Will be launching new Design track this summer Over 250+ hours of training now (and more coming!) May’s 4-Day WordPress Developer Course (highest attendance yet) Vibrant, active and helpful community in forum The roadmap Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 39.
    AllureThemes.com Launched in April 2011 Joint venture with Lisa Sabin-Wilson Offer high-quality feminine themes Offer designs on main WP frameworks including Builder Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 40.
    Support Our best moderators have come as customers first and be extremely helpful (Ronald, Sridhar, Jeremy) Scattered throughout world (and in-office) to cover more hours than we guarantee Offering support, help and being available to do so ... enabling our customers to do more, do better Understanding not just specific problems but what our customer wants to ultimately do so we can help them achieve it Offering iTips email newsletter to educate, provide value to more people Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 41.
    Support Our best moderators have come as customers first and be extremely helpful (Ronald, Sridhar, Jeremy) Scattered throughout world (and in-office) to cover more hours than we guarantee Offering support, help and being available to do so ... enabling our customers to do more, do better Understanding not just specific problems but what our customer wants to ultimately do so we can help them achieve it Offering iTips email newsletter to educate, provide value to more people Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 42.
    Company Wide Attract the best, brightest & ‘right fit’ talent to our team Continue to build our Affiliate network Take our video production to the next level Help build & promote Oklahoma City as a tech hub Give back to our local community, our community & WordPress Train in and build our culture Recruit customer ambassadors Continue to design / offer shirts for tribe Continue to meet more of our customers face to face Continue to underpromise and overdeliver; build more & more value for community Stay small ... while growing Friday, May 20, 2011
  • 43.
    2011 State of iThemes Address By Cory Miller Founder / CEO @corymiller303 cory@ithemes.com Friday, May 20, 2011