RS Joomla!

I decided that once in a while I’ll bring to the forefront a Romanian software company about which the Romanian press doesn’t write; company that you probably didn’t even know it exists, and that, nonetheless, is successful on the international IT market. Don’t shoot; I’ll probably become a better journalist in time 🙂 . Today, I randomly chose RS Joomla! And I’ll let Alex Lamba, the company’s CEO, tell you their story.

I encourage all of you to write comments that could help him and us.

Who is RS Joomla?
RSJoomla! is a young team whose goal is to provide a cheap alternative to Joomla! web developers by offering complete solutions for their different projects. As I like to explain to those who ask me (even close relatives who don’t understand what we do)… we develop applications that help those who build websites make them easier and cheaper.

How did you start and who were the members of the team?
RSJoomla! began in 2007. At that time I was working with foreigners and I was building websites non-stop, especially in Mambo and the newly launched Joomla! 1.0. At one point I made an application that helped the client build forms for his website. That’s where it all started. I started by giving the application for free. After the first couple of days, 800 people had already downloaded it, and a small community that supported me and suggested what to add to the new product was born. Things evolved so quickly that after two months I decided to make it commercial. At the beginning RSJoomla! was a one man show. I used to wake up, solve my clients’ problems on the forum; then I set about writing code and optimizations; then I published documentation articles and then I went back to sleep. I think those were the months when I started losing my hair. 🙂

If I were to go further back in time, I would say that I was born in Constanta in 1983. I discovered computers at the age of 14 and I was fascinated by computer programming. As a programmer, I have always been a self-educated man. After I finished high school in Constanta, I went to Italy where I worked for 2 year as a caretaker in a camping facility. Then I followed a one-year computer programming course in Italy that gave me the chance to work as web master for a company in Italy for another two years. That is also where I worked on a management software such as SAP. It was my first “child” and there I defined myself as a programmer. Before RS Joomla! I had an online computer store that I abandoned because I was not satisfied with the profit.

I came back to Romania in 2006 and I started working with clients from abroad. In 2007 the craze began. We started RSJoomla!. At first I took care of everything and then I gradually found very good people to help me continue the project.
Currently I coordinate RSJoomla!’s projects and I take care of marketing.

What business strategy did you have at the beginning? How did you change it in time and why?
It all started from the desire to give something to the community. That is why I started by giving the product for free. At first, I tried to make some money through Adsense (paid ads on my website), but after a month and 30$ collected, I realized that I cannot go on like this. Then, one day, I changed the product’s license. I released a new version and I announced it would be commercial. There were few who complained, claiming they had suggested new features and they were the ones who had told me what bugs the product had. I offered them free license and everyone was happy. Gradually I perfected the license going from 1 domain life time support, adding unlimited domains 6 months and 12 months and in 2011 I gave up life time support, changing it to 1 domain 1 year support.

What kind of software do you sell online and in how many countries?
In these nearly 5 years, we have diversified our products and we have tried to cover with our solutions almost all the categories of websites that can be built. We have clients from all over the world.

Who is your target client?
Our client is usually the website developer… the web master or the web design company that works with Joomla!. Also, a considerable proportion is made up of website owners and communities.

What is the market for your applications?
We are focused mainly on Joomla!. We started with applications in this field, we made a name for ourselves and now people know us. It is very nice for people to come and congratulate you at all sorts of events and tell you that they are very happy with the products you make.

Why this niche?
Like I said, it all started from a game… from the desire to give the audience something I made. Why Joomla!? Because I grew accustomed to the framework easily and, in the beginning, I chose to build websites only on this framework.

What differentiates you from other companies that produce similar software?
I would certainly say the attention we give to our clients. We are very attentive to their needs and we’ve never hesitated in giving them more assistance than we were required to. If they have problems with other applications and they complain to us, for example, we don’t just tell them that the problem is with that particular application. We also indicate exactly where the problem is and clients appreciate that. Another difference would be the usability of our products. We try hard to create applications that are as easy to use as possible, and lately we have really been able to feel the difference.

What are the main 3 advantages of a Romanian entrepreneur in the tech field?
First of all, the manpower. Programmers in Romania have a good price/quality ratio. Office costs are low. You can start in a two-room apartment with good internet connection. I still have to find the third advantage 🙂

What are the obstacles?
I honestly believe there are few obstacles. My opinion is that the state could help entrepreneurs more; it should realize that nothing can actually stop a developer like me from opening an account in Belize, for example, and decide what taxes to pay.

Would you start everything all over again? Would you change anything?
Yes. I would start everything from the beginning anytime. I would certainly not make the same mistakes; I would probably reach our current state faster.

Where do you see your company 5 years from now?
I am convinced RSJoomla! will grow more and more. Since we started the company we have had a steady growth. We always come with improvements and new ideas and I am certain that in 5 years we’ll be among the best 🙂

Have you been approached by investors? Do you want to sell? How would the ideal buyer be?
I haven’t been approached by investors. If I want to sell? Hmm… 3 years ago I would have said a definite NO. Now I’m beginning to discover other passions and I would say a more moderate no… as for the ideal buyer: he should be very much involved in the field; he should have what I call “the common sense” of using applications. He should know how to improve applications and make them increasingly easier to use.

What would you do if the company were bought tomorrow?
I would buy a B & B in Italy with a few acres of ground and I would start to produce wine, olive oil and prosciutto 🙂

A few “technical” questions:

What is the shareholding structure?
I am the only shareholder.

Is there a Board of Directors?
No.

How many people are there in the Company? Is there such a thing as ESOP (Employee Share Option Plan)?
Currently we are 8 people in the company. There are bonuses according to results.

Is the company profitable? If so, what happens to the profit? If not, what is your financing source?
The company was profitable from the very beginning. So far, I have not reinvested the profit.

What is the next step?
Diversifying the range of our services and improving current ones.

What is your personal goal? What is the company’s goal and that of the employees? And how do these goals come together?
The goal is to provide the best possible services.

(English version by Teodora Popescu)