The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

136: The Power of Building the Best Product in Your Market with Tenko Nikolov of Siteground


Listen Later

For as long as he can remember, Tenko Nikolov has been obsessed with computers. From his very first computer at the age of 7, he fell in love with the simple green and black screen and was fascinated with all that this technology could offer.

Of course, he also got into some trouble, even accidentally hacking into a large US corporation's network with a friend at the age of 13. After a few days of fun messing with their systems and bragging to their friends, the duo eventually sent an email to the company letting them know what they did and how they did it.

The next few days were agonizing as they waited for a response, petrified that an FBI agent would be showing up to his doorstep in Bulgaria. To his surprise, however, the company reached out, thanked them for finding a security loophole and even asked them how much they'd like to be paid for finding it in the first place.

“I realized that I can actually be paid for the thing that I love to do most," Nikolov says.

Instead of asking for payment, Nikolov asked for his own server that he could play around with. After getting his first taste of entrepreneurship, he began seeing how far he could push the limits of computer technology. Looking back at it now, Nikolov pinpoints this as the exact moment that led him to develop SiteGround, a web-hosting server and provider.

But what makes SiteGround stand out from the thousands of competitors out there, is Nikolov's dedication to innovating.

In this week's episode you will learn:

  • How to build a product that not only learns from its customers, but also continuously improves
  • When to give up on perfection and focus instead on shipping
  • How to survive as a bootstrapped company for 13 years straight
  • How to read the trends and stay one step ahead of your competitors
  • What it takes to go from a company that nobody's ever heard of to a major player in your industry
  • & much more!
  • This podcast episode was brought to you by FreshBooks.

    When it comes to finding the perfect service to help you manage and track your invoices, time, and expenses, you can’t overlook FreshBooks. Designed for small businesses and entrepreneurs who don’t need full-blown, double-entry programming, but still want to keep their finances in check, you can’t go back once you start using it!

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Foundr Podcast with Nathan ChanBy Foundr Media

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    562 ratings


    More shows like The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

    View all
    The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast by Pat Flynn

    The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast

    3,440 Listeners

    The GaryVee Audio Experience by Gary Vaynerchuk

    The GaryVee Audio Experience

    16,831 Listeners

    Capitalism.com with Ryan Daniel Moran by Capitalism.com

    Capitalism.com with Ryan Daniel Moran

    727 Listeners

    Shopify Masters by Shopify

    Shopify Masters

    379 Listeners

    Entrepreneurs on Fire by John Lee Dumas of EOFire

    Entrepreneurs on Fire

    3,827 Listeners

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips by Eric Siu and Neil Patel

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

    1,264 Listeners

    The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell by Dan Martell

    The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell

    573 Listeners

    The Game with Alex Hormozi by Alex Hormozi

    The Game with Alex Hormozi

    4,457 Listeners

    The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett by DOAC

    The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

    8,484 Listeners

    My First Million by Hubspot Media

    My First Million

    2,653 Listeners

    The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

    The Startup Ideas Podcast

    205 Listeners

    The UpFlip Podcast by UpFlip

    The UpFlip Podcast

    251 Listeners

    Build with Leila Hormozi by Leila Hormozi

    Build with Leila Hormozi

    926 Listeners

    Moneywise by Hampton

    Moneywise

    660 Listeners

    BigDeal by Codie Sanchez

    BigDeal

    921 Listeners