Start-Up Journey
Starting CandySoftware, I balanced numerous roles to get the company up and running. With a small team of skilled developers, I steered the marketing efforts and handled the remaining operational responsibilities. This approach allowed us to focus our resources on high-quality development while ensuring the company ran smoothly. It was a hands-on, multifaceted experience, pushing my versatility and entrepreneurial skills.
MARKETING OPERATIONS
Social Media Marketing & Relationship Management
Twitter became CandySoftware’s primary social platform after I realized the strong presence of our target audience. I designed the online tone of our brand to reflect our vibrant color scheme, using a friendly and playful tone to create a sense of approachability. This lighthearted and humorous approach became a trademark of our online identity and resonated well with our audience.Â
Through continued engagement and strategic content development, I was able to dramatically grow our Twitter following to an impressive 25,000 in two years. Considering the unique nature of our market, this was a significant achievement. Twitter acted as a billboard for our brand, showcasing regular updates, celebrating milestones and sharing valuable industry information.
To further foster a sense of community and boost conversions, I took a hands-on approach by implementing a range of interactive strategies. These included hosting giveaways, initiating online puzzles, and organizing in-person events in New York, Seattle, and Vancouver. These tactics effectively amplified our brand's visibility and engagement, promoting active dialogue among our followers.
A big aspect of my role was relationship management. I invested considerable effort to build genuine connections with other business owners within our niche. This was not just about promoting a spirit of collaboration, but about establishing a network of mutual support and knowledge sharing. This proactive and sincere approach resulted in over 35 meaningful partnerships, each one enriching our resource pool, expanding our reach, and cementing our standing within the industry.
A testament to my social media marketing. Years later.
Design (Graphics & UI/UX)
At CandySoftware, I was soon knee-deep in all things graphic design and UI/UX. With no previous experience, I played it smart and brought a talented graphic designer on board. Together, we dug in and got the job done.
As the company started to pick up some speed, I saw an opportunity to shake things up. I wanted to give our customers something more modern, more user-friendly. So, I teamed up with a contracted UI/UX designer. I essentially architected the design of the UI, dictating what features should be on each page, their layout and position, and how interactive elements should function. And just like that, we turned my vision into something real.
Our website got a similar treatment. One idea I'm particularly proud of is a cool interactive feature I thought of. Visitors can play around with a sample of our program's user interface - even the buttons work (you can check this out under "LIGHT-SPEED", directly to the right).
When it came to our video advertisement, I was more than just an overseer. I was in the director's chair, outlining the storyboard for every single frame of the video. I envisioned an artful scene with a wall of vintage black-and-white TVs, each playing candy commercials from the 70's. The purpose? To symbolize the evolution of our software from version 1 to version 2. The transition from black and white to color as the camera zoomed into one TV provided a visually striking representation of this evolution. Beyond the creative aspects, I also decided which image to use, what text to overlay, etc. It was a hands-on, detail-oriented mission to ensure our video told the CandySoftware story just right.
CandySoftware Website Design
CandySoftware 2.0 Announcement Video
Influencer Marketing
Ready to launch version 2.0, I knew we needed to do more than just announce - we had to make an impact. To do this, I teamed up with some key players in our niche, offering them a unique opportunity to be part of our journey. As part of our brand revamp, I collaborated with a talented illustrator to craft a custom font and an endearing mascot to capture CandySoftware's essence.
Appreciation for our partners was crucial. Thus, I prepared personalized thank-you gifts: CandySoftware-branded cereal boxes filled with goodies, from t-shirts and chocolate bars to USB drives loaded with program licenses. Adorned with our custom font and mascot, these packages delivered a memorable and unified brand experience.
Taking a leaf from Willy Wonka's book, I crafted a fun twist for our 2.0 launch. Partnering with Munsons Chocolates, we developed custom-branded chocolate bars with a special surprise. 1 out of every 10 bars came with a 'golden ticket' for a free program license!
The best part? Owing to the loyal community I've nurtured, we were able to set a higher price point for these bars and still sold out our initial 200-bar run in a blink - less than a minute, to be precise. Customers not only enjoyed the chocolate's quality, but also the excitement of potentially uncovering a golden ticket. This unique strategy played a significant part in making our 2.0 launch memorable.
(I still have people asking me to send them a bar years later haha)
(I still have people asking me to send them a bar years later haha)
Diving Into the Code
When I say I dove into the tech side of things, I mean I really got my hands dirty. The software was a complex beast, but I wasn't just going to sit back and watch from the sidelines. That's just not how I roll.
Keeping up with the tech jargon and development techniques became a daily part of my life. This wasn't just about communicating better with our developers - this was about understanding the very foundations of our product.
It was a steep learning curve, but it allowed me to oversee the process with a keener eye. From managing server aspects and updating code, to building, obfuscating, and shipping, I gradually added more technical skills to my arsenal.
But it didn't stop there. Being the sole MacOS user in the team, I found myself taking responsibility for building and shipping the Mac version of our program. Terminal commands? I became a pro.
These experiences didn't just make me a better leader at CandySoftware. They gave me the tools and confidence to later manage development teams at another company. I started as a marketer, but I left with a wealth of technical knowledge. And let me tell you, that kind of growth? Priceless.
