I am Rytis Lauris, co-founder of Omnisend, and I live in Vilnius, Lithuania. I spend the majority of my time there, but due to business needs, I travel quite a lot, primarily to the United States, the UK, Australia, and Canada.
My educational background is in political sciences, but I never worked in that area. I started my first venture while still a student when my friend asked me to cofound a business, and I have been involved in various businesses since then.
I used to be very shy as a kid, but people these days call me extroverted when they meet me; that is because a big change happened in my life when I was 14 years old when I started my first business.
The Journey Began
Rytis Lauris – Omnisend
Regarding my digital life before WordPress, I used to run a digital marketing agency over 10 years ago. WordPress was not as developed then, but it was trendy to have a blog, so we used WordPress for content publishing and blogging alongside our own content management system.
When we launched Omnisend, we integrated with various ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, including WordPress and WooCommerce. Initially, WordPress didn’t perform well for us, so we discontinued support. However, we later relaunched our integration, and now WordPress is the fastest-growing ecosystem for us.
The Need for “Omnisend”
Omnisend Logo
The market was crowded when we started Omnisend, but our focus was on ecommerce stores, which set us apart from a lot of generic email automation tools. We believe in embedding best practices into Omnisend to simplify and provide a flat learning curve for small and medium-sized businesses.
The biggest business challenge was understanding the product-market fit and where we could create value for our customers so that they would be happy to pay and stay with us for a long time. For me personally, I find my biggest challenge is delegating tasks properly to people better suited to do the job than myself, and empowering others by delegating to them.
Moments that make me proud are when I see ideas implemented and solutions in action that originated from discussions with the team.
Omnisend’s website and blog are built with WordPress, providing educational material to our users on email marketing, SMS marketing, and so on. We also built Omnisend’s WordPress connector plugin that connects Omnisend to WordPress.
Advice for Business Owners
Omnisend Team at the Office
I advice business owners to bring their ideas to the market as soon as possible. Procrastination can hinder progress, and real customer feedback is invaluable. Stop overthinking and launch the MVP. In the beginning, you might get negative feedback, but that’s okay. You will know if there is a need for your product.
Regarding starting a WordPress-based business, I wouldn’t emphasize a particular niche. Choose an area where you have experience and can create the most value.
Stay in Touch
WordPress & Beyond
Omnisend Team Collaboration
Omnisend is already an established solution, and we are completely bootstrapped with 200 people on the team. Our plans for Omnisend involve a focus on growing within the WordPress ecosystem and proving our value both to end customers and the ecosystem itself.
In the next five years, I hope WordPress attracts more Gen Z and younger developers. It needs to become more user-friendly for the younger generation to maintain relevance.
My Love for the WordPress Community
Omnisend Team at an Event
I attend WordPress meetups and WordCamps; I find them beneficial for understanding the community. Contributor days are particularly useful for making contributions and being involved.
I like to attend WordCamp US, EU, and Asia. I am looking forward to attending WordCamp Asia this year in Taiwan. It’s new, and it will be fun going to that side of the WordPress world.
The WordPress ecosystem is very welcoming. Some individuals, like BobWP from Do the Woo, Jonathan Wold, and Robert Windisch, have been supportive within the WordPress community from the early days when Omnisend entered the WordPress world.
How I Keep Myself Updated
Rytis at office
To stay updated, I subscribe to various newsletters from the WordPress ecosystem and analyze industry trends through various channels along with my Omnisend team.
I Have a Life Other Than the Work
In my free time, I enjoy reading, bike riding, squash, and sometimes tennis. Family time is also a significant part of my free time.
For holidays, my wife and I negotiate where to go. She prefers going to warmer destinations as winters are very cold in Lithuania, and I enjoy traveling to places with a significant change in weather or landscape. However, I would love to go skiing .
I don’t have a favorite travel destination. I used to travel to large cities, but now I prefer places with a notable change in landscape, like mountains or remote regions.
We don’t have any pets due to our frequent travels. I think it would be unfair to have one, given our always on-the-move lifestyle.
I Reward Myself by
Omnisend Team Retreat
When I achieve something outstanding, I celebrate with a party with our team. Celebrations, donations, and ongoing routine activities are important aspects of recognizing achievements..
Omnisend focuses on donating to causes related to education globally, financial support to those in need, and supporting Ukraine’s fight against aggression.
Special Discount
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