#ep2014

I want to start this post with a quote by Steve Jobs which simply says:

‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.’

For me ‘great work’ is defined as doing something that you love about something you care about with people who share your values, and with that in mind 2014 has been a great year for TickBox in our quest to do ‘great work’.

We’ve had so many ups and downs throughout the year that it would be hard to write them all down. So I want to concentrate on 3 key things that have happened in the last 12 months that have taught me a lot about what I do.

1. Student Union elections

TickBox was originally built as a website that allowed students to search and compare candidates in student union elections. Despite the little resource we had available, we launched our first ever version at the University of Exeter Students Guild Sabbatical elections.

The first model was quite complicated to use, required a lot of work to get right and taught us a lot about what we did and didn’t know. Without wanting to sound like one of those boring subject review forms that asks questions like ‘What did you enjoy about this module?’ and ‘What could your teacher do to improve?’ (those in University would probably get what I’m on about).

Our first ever launch proved to us that there was a demand for such a service and that that we were going to have to do a hell of a lot better if it was to become suitable for the masses.

2. European election 2014

Every person has a moment they look back on and say ‘I did that’. It might be a school project that took hours to make, a poster on a wall showing your work or standing in front of thousands of people during your graduation. I honestly believe that people do what they do for other people, we celebrate each others successes even if we don’t really know the person.

In May 2014 that moment for me arrived.

We launched the European Election website to the public and within 36 hours over 40,000 users had visited before the election was over. This was significant to me because it proved that out there, strangers were coming together in the common belief that their view mattered and we allowed them to create the change they wanted to see in the world.

No amount of money, power or fame can make up for the heartfelt and honest voices shown via Twitter and Facebook when people started talking about #TickBox and what it meant to them.

3. An idea is only as strong as the team behind it

Starting a business is a lonely, stressful and time consuming ordeal, teaching you a lot about yourself and what matters to you. Growing something from nothing and moulding/shaping it the way you like it often means that you think no one else can possible care or understand what you are creating.

The battle that goes on inside your head is a struggle between keeping control of your creation because you know it best and inviting in other people to help build it as they bring in their own experience, passion and beliefs. Giving up part of your company is no easy task and after months of deliberation I finally opted to invite other to join in the TickBox Story.

This has to be one of the best decisions of my life and whilst we have a lot to prove to ourselves, the world, our beliefs and those around us I believe we can do it.

I guess that leaves me just to say one last thing...

To all of you who have known us from the beginning and seen us grow we’d like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done for us. To the early adopters, Student Unions, press and investors and friends and family, we say thank you! We would not be here today without you.

TickBox wants to show the world that it can be profitable to be ethical, we do what we do because we love what we do. Will you do what you love in 2015?

Until next time,