Vova Feldman and Freemius

Vova Feldman started one of the most popular plugin marketplaces in the WordPress space. His story is one that came out of filling a need, but also a realization: while there are a lot of people selling plugins in the WordPress space, we can be doing better. He offers advice on building your business, and a community around it, and much more.

Show Notes

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@VovaFeldman | Email: [email protected]

* Freemius
* We Used to Hate WordPress Page Builders – Now We Decided to Use One

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Transcript
Intro: Hey, everybody. Welcome to the last episode of Season 5, Episode 105. Today I’m talking with Vova Feldman of Freemius. Vova is somebody that I met at WordCamp US a year ago. So actually about a year ago, right? This is the week of WordCamp US as this episode comes out. He is an incredibly interesting person. He talked about how he started a blog with WordPress, and realized quickly that WordPress is the largest and least monetized platform. He set out to change that by building Freemius.
His story is really interesting, he offers a lot of really great eCommerce, and marketing and sales advice. And he talks about how he dog foods his own product. He built a small premium plugin that he still sells on Freemius to this day. So I think this is a really great way to wrap up Season 5. It’s been a big milestone season for the show. I’ve had a lot of fantastic guests, and Vova is high up there as one of my favorite interviews. I’m really excited for you to listen, and get in on the action here.
We’ll get into all of that in a minute, but first I do need to tell you about our sponsors. Pantheon has made this entire season possible, they sponsored all of Season 5. You’ll be hearing about them later in the show, but I do want to express my thanks to them for this entire season here at the top of the show. The show would not have been possible without their financial support, and I deeply, deeply appreciate. So make sure to listen in on their pitch later in the show.
It’s also brought to you by Creator Courses. You’ve heard me over the last couple of weeks talk about how WordPress 5.0 is coming, and the editor is changing. Creator Courses has a lot of courses for WordPress 5.0. So if you’re interested in those, go take a look over at CreatorCourses.com/Gutenberg. Use the coupon code “BUILDIT” for a discount.
So that’s all the housekeeping stuff. Without further ado, let’s get on with the show.
Joe Casabona: Why don’t you tell us a little bit about who you are, and what you do, and the idea behind Freemius?
Vova Feldman: Sure. My name is Vova, I’ve been doing startups for the past 9, 10 years. Freemius is my fourth startup, and the one that I’m most excited about. In a few words, Freemius is the easiest way to say and market WordPress plugins and themes.
In a few more words, it’s an eCommerce engine, as a service that solves all the pains for developers. So plugin/theme developers can focus on building their product,