Meet Paul Rhodes, founder of WellGiving

Paul Rhodes is the founder and developer of health and wellbeing platform, WellGiving, and Technical Director of established Ruby on Rails software firm, Green Gorilla Software. After his extensive experience with developing bespoke software solutions for businesses, Paul wanted to create a product that would help to connect remote and hybrid teams amidst the pandemic. The WellGiving platform was born to encourage and improve the mental and physical health of employees, offering teams an accessible way to partake in fun fitness challenges and create much needed water cooler moments. Every minute of exercise from over 60 sports is converted into monetary donations to help support the vital work of charities that the employees truly care about.

There’s always a lightbulb moment before the beginning of a new venture. What was that moment for you?

I knew I wanted to start my own product business, and I wanted this new venture to be based on a genuine passion I had. The pivotal point for me was an ultimatum set by my own team. We had already tried numerous times to develop products with limited success. I was given 100 days to find my own passion project - one that could be a viable, commercial opportunity. The first thing I did was to find an accountability partner. Gabe, who lives in New York, was embarking on his own 100-day challenge and we met every week to hold ourselves accountable. It was a case of either finding an idea that had vision and passion, or simply giving up on the idea altogether and revert to focus 100% on service work. Given that music was such a huge part of my life, I always thought it would be related to that, but my experience of running half marathons – with and without fundraising – made me explore the link between charity as a powerful motivator for fitness and health, and how it can turn ordinary people into superheroes.

What is your day-to-day role with the company?

My time is currently split between the service aspect of the business and the WellGiving project. I spend about half of my time managing my team and overseeing projects, with the rest of my time spent on sales, marketing, and leadership. I think the goal of any entrepreneur should be to essentially make themselves redundant in the day-to-day operations of the business, and instead focus on executing their vision. I’m now in this transitionary period and working on scaling my team so I can concentrate on steering the business in the right direction. 

Tell us about your experience prior to launching your business?

I’ve spent much of my life working in the tech sector, starting in 1997 as a software engineer. I graduated and started out as a junior developer in digital agencies and worked my way to senior positions in product companies. I’ve always been around product development and service work, using lean and agile to enable happy developers to do their best work, and qualified as a Scrum Master in 2005. I was fortunate enough to attend a conference in Boston in 2008 that for me had “rockstar” developers talking about the exact problems I was facing in my role as Development Manager.

When I returned to the UK and discussed these approaches with my boss, it was clear nothing was going to change. So, I started my first business in 2009, with a simple idea that there is always a better way of doing things. This first attempt at being an entrepreneur started great and the business grew very fast but sadly folded due to cashflow problems in under 3 years, I was very, very naive. I applied these lessons to the launch of my next business, Green Gorilla Software, which is currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary. I’ve been a huge advocate of remote working since 2015, so in creating WellGiving I wanted to offer a real solution to some of the issues affecting remote and hybrid workers.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

I’m a big believer in creating as many support networks around yourself as possible. Many business owners try to go it alone and end up becoming isolated and ultimately burning themselves out. I find my family, team, friends and long-term business relationships that I’ve built over the years totally invaluable for overcoming times of doubt. The practice of talking through an idea, or having my own pre-conceived notions challenged by those I trust helps me to process and organise my ideas in a way I simply wouldn’t be able to do alone. The three things I try to do each day are to be open, be honest, and take action.

What are your thoughts on failure?

It’s only a failure if you didn’t learn something from the experience. I come from a tech background, where we run constant trials to innovate, improve and find better ways of doing things - in essence we are constantly experimenting and testing to see what works and what doesn’t. I look at my journey as an entrepreneur in much the same way, and accept the fact that obstacles and things not always going to plan is simply a part of that journey and an opportunity to learn and improve. My goal as a business owner is to manage the risks for me, my family, my team and clients. 

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

When I started my first business in 2009, I was still very much in the mind of a technician, and not a business owner. One of my darkest moments was when it fell into insolvency, and for a while I couldn’t see a future for myself as an entrepreneur. I also didn’t tell anyone, including my family, believing I could pull it back from the brink and save the business if I just worked harder. I felt like I was trading on quicksand. That experience taught me so much about what it takes to run a business, that an invoice is simply a promise to pay, and why you should never underestimate that “cash is king” when it comes to business. The biggest lesson I learnt and one that is throughout these answers is to talk openly about the challenges you face. Being open, honest and transparent is one of the best things you can do.

With all the success stories around entrepreneurship and how innovative people have to be to take the leap. How do you think you’ve innovated your sector and why?

At the core of everything we do is the idea that “there is always another way”. As a founder, your job is to validate or disqualify your ideas and assumptions by putting them to the test, and let the market decide what they want and how much they are prepared to pay for it. It’s this mentality that has led us to create a solution that is the complete opposite to many of our competitors – it may sound like a cliché, but when everyone else zigs, we zag.

We collaborated with our target market as we built the WellGiving platform, talking to them and taking the time to understand their specific needs, then got the product in front of them as soon as possible so we could take feedback and improve it from there. As a company, we have developed a truly remote, flexible and open way of working where all ideas and issues are discussed openly, which has led to unbelievable engagement and opportunity. While you need an amazing team to execute ideas, your role as an entrepreneur should be the vision and the glue that holds everything together.

What plans do you have for WellGiving over the next two years?

The WellGiving platform left its Beta phase at the start of this year, and I’m delighted that we are already on target to raise £1 million for UK charities. As a platform, our goal is to improve the lives and health of our 100,000 users, and continue to closely collaborate with those that use our platform so we can continue being the best and only solution for our customers. WellGiving was built on working alongside our end-users, and my goal is to keep that personal touch as we continue to grow and scale.

What advice would you give to early-stage founders wanting to harness the power of technology to create a positive impact?

Getting started in the tech sector has never been more accessible, you only need a mobile to start making your idea a reality. Building a network around yourself is absolutely crucial – seek out trusted mentors who will be able to advise you, and don’t be too precious about your idea. Identify and interact with your target audience, you should know your customer better than anyone else, and sell before you build to ensure you have validated the market before you launch. When you do execute your idea, be patient and don’t try and achieve perfection – strive to make 1% progress each day towards your vision.

Do you prioritise self-care as an entrepreneur?

Absolutely. Turning an idea into a reality is hard work, and it’s important to put your own lifejacket on first and avoid burnout at all costs. Everyone responds to stress differently, so it’s all about finding what works for you, whether that is exercise, meditation or journaling. Personally I’m a huge fan of the Pomodoro Technique. As a founder it can be tempting to work around the clock, but you need to take time out for yourself, and identify your most productive hours, which for me usually means stopping for a longer lunch to refresh and then resuming work after the school run!

Has the COVID-19 crisis placed more pressure on the mental health of business owners?

Having been a business owner pre-COVID, I think the pandemic definitely had an effect, yet for many business owners it also offered time to reset and think about where they were heading and why. It’s also important to remember that in business there are always going to be external factors that are outside of your control. I started my first business, just after the global crash, and since then, there have been many scares along the way. If you’re going to succeed, you have to focus on the things that you can control. When it comes to the effects of the pandemic, the most we can do is stay safe, look after our loved ones and remember to take time out for ourselves.