I am Anna, and my story begins in the picturesque city of Kherson, Ukraine. It’s where I spent my childhood, filled with warm memories of traveling around the region and the country with my family. From an early age, I was fascinated by learning languages, and over the years, this passion has become an integral part of my life.
My educational journey led me to study Computer Science, and my university years opened up new horizons — I became involved in community work and youth policy, which I actively pursued for over seven years.
Today, I am temporarily living in Romania, continuing to explore the world.
The Journey Began
At university, I studied an IT-related field, and one of the courses was focused on website creation. However, this was before I had even heard of WordPress. Building websites was a fun process, but at that time, my ultimate dream was to learn C++. Fun fact: our web development lecturer was quite eccentric. After submitting my course project and creating my first website, I confidently declared that I would never pursue this field. But, as it is said, never say “never”. This January marks 11 years of my journey with WordPress.
To be honest, my journey with WordPress began entirely by chance. After graduating, I started job hunting and sent out my resume to every relevant position I could find. One day, a company responded to my application for a technical support role. They got interested in my technical background and language skills, and I was curious about diving into something new.
Although I had studied the IT field, most of my life at the time revolved around youth policy and activism. Starting as a WordPress support team member, I gradually learned the platform step by step. Through challenges, growth, and countless experiences, I found myself where I am today — the CEO of Crocoblock.
The Need for “Crocoblock”
Crocoblock Logo
At the beginning of Crocoblock’s creation, we made plugins for ourselves. The company has been around for 6 years now, but our team has been working together much longer. Initially, we focused on developing templates and complex themes with advanced functionality. Our developers always thought about structure and the future, which led us to create our own framework and later plugins to speed up our work. We needed these plugins because there was nothing on the market that could meet our needs.
Frustration sparked our inspiration when the template and theme market started gaining momentum, and new visual builders like Elementor emerged. One day, we decided to try selling our internal plugins on CodeCanyon, and customers received them well. This became the spark for creating a separate project.
Crocoblock stands out from other companies because we didn’t start with a commercial goal. We began with our own needs, and we created an “honest” product that solved specific problems. Another important feature is our support. Many on the team started as support agents and, over time, became part of the team of managers, testers, copywriters, and developers. This allows us to keep the focus on our customers and involve them in the product creation process.
When we started working on Crocoblock as a separate project, the main challenge was that it was our first experience creating an actual brand (not just a product). We had to consider not only monetization but also technical implementation and marketing—and we had never dealt with marketing before. The budget was limited, and in reality, it was an experiment inspired by customer feedback.
Marketing has definitely become one of the major challenges. However, the product sold itself. Although we didn’t invest heavily in marketing in the early years, we still grew because we offered a quality solution.
From the very beginning, we agreed that the core principle of Crocoblock would be honesty: an honest product, honest work, honesty with customers, and being open about both our successes and failures. I think this was one of the secrets to our success.
Stay in Touch
The worst experience didn’t involve the product launch. Our biggest challenge was the war. We didn’t stop for a single day, even though most of the team was in extremely difficult conditions. Mutual support and the desire to keep our clients and maintain project momentum helped us push forward. Staying focused on work helped many of us get through the first months of the war, as it was important to have something to concentrate on aside from the explosions.
I am proud of everything we’ve done: creating the product, building the best team, establishing an incredible customer community, and building a network of amazing partners. We’ve come a long way from a small, energetic team with experience only in development to a large company that considers itself an expert in development, partnerships, marketing, support, and many other areas.
Myself with my Brilliant Team
Anna with her team
Advice for Business Owners
- Don’t reinvent the wheel. Avoid creating products or services that already flood the market. Instead, focus on offering a unique perspective, solving a specific problem.
- Surround yourself with experts. Build a team of people who are better than you in their respective fields.
- Invest in your team and nurture talent within your company. Employees who grow alongside your business will share its values and have a deeper understanding of its vision.
- Take action, don’t wait. The perfect moment doesn’t exist. Start now, learn from your mistakes, and keep moving forward.
I don’t believe in a single “perfect” niche. Success can be found in any field, whether it’s agencies, blogging, hosting, development, plugins, or themes. What truly matters is your passion. If you have the drive to create something unique and valuable, that’s your niche.
Although, it’s important to have a clear understanding of the business you want to start. Jumping into entrepreneurship with nothing but the desire to “have a business” can be risky. While some succeed that way, the real magic happens when you love what you do and see the positive impact it has on others.
I Have a Life Other Than the Work
In my free time, I try to add variety to my life. Recently, I started learning to play the guitar. I’m also studying two new languages and occasionally pick up brushes to paint with watercolors. Traveling and running have also become essential parts of my life.
For me, big holidays are always about family and close friends. There’s nothing better than spending time in a cozy atmosphere with those who truly matter. My little, adorable dog is also part of my family.
When it comes to traveling, I love combining the useful with the enjoyable. Attending WordCamps or meetups gives me the opportunity to connect with partners and clients. It’s always an exciting experience to exchange ideas, receive feedback, and learn more about a country’s culture. Locals can show incredible places not found in travel guides and introduce me to the local cuisine. Of all the places I’ve visited, Delphi, Greece, holds a special place in my heart.
I Reward Myself by
I reward myself for my dedication to learning new languages, my passion for exploring the world, and my desire to discover its hidden corners. But my greatest love is running, which fills me with energy.
