We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brannon Peterkin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brannon below.
Hi Brannon, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
As a business owner, you are constantly in the mind-frame of problem solving. Looking back, some of the best ideas for us have actually come from a pain point we experienced in a normal day to day action. A recent example is actually what inspired us to break away from our normal business comfort zone and start development on a consumer-facing mobile app and site that is geared towards an entirely different audience. A few months back, I had used an app. The app was great. but the business model was one that, when you break it down, makes it hard for the users to leverage the app to generate income. The next weeks were spent doing research on experiences that users had from not only the app/service, but its competitors and realized that this was just a common thing across the board. Once research was complete, I spent roughly 4-5 hours each weekday (and longer hours on weekends) writing the code and testing. There were several bumps along the way as there were things that I had no background knowledge on, so I had to learn certain aspects at the same time. To make sure that there was always a ‘forward moving momentum’ mentality, if I ran into something that I would have to pause to do research on and learn, I would continue to work on another aspect of the app and then read and do the learning portion before I went to bed. I didn’t want to have a day where a ‘knowledge hangup’ caused productivity downtime.
Brannon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi! My name is Brannon Peterkin! I am the founder and CEO of Think In Boxes and Craftr. I’ve always had a passion for technology. I learned the BASIC programming language back in middle school. By the time I got to high school, I knew I wanted to go to college to learn how to make video games. Once I actually got to college, I learned that there was so much more about technology and programming than video games so my view on technology and its use gradually changed. I worked at a Fortune 500 company, a startup, a mid-size business, and finally a large corporation, and got to see what technology in use looked like at each state of business. Being able to experience and see how technology helps make businesses more efficient and effective, I wanted to do what I could to help other businesses benefit from technology so that they could get more done without having to do more. That lead to the foundation and formation of Think In Boxes. I wanted to be able to provide access to the same technology benefits that Fortune 500 companies experience to startups, small businesses, mid-size and full scale enterprises, without having to pay the same amount as a Fortune 500 company. It brings me such joy to see how our clients grow and utilize the tools/websites/apps we develop for them in their day to day business. The main purpose of Think In Boxes is to make technology accessible for everyone and every business and I believe we have done a great job at maintaining that goal. This past year, I took our graphic design service from Think In Boxes and ended up branching it out to it’s own service called Craftr. My wife told me how much her company pays for graphic design services and I was floored. I eventually dug down and looked at every option and platform available and was just not satisfied with what was being offered to users vs. what they were being asked to pay. While enterprises an agencies tend to have a larger marketing budget to work with, I didn’t think that should mean it warrants outrageous prices. With the same founding belief of making unlimited graphic design services accessible for everyone, Craftr was born.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is that just because you believe you have the solution, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best solution. When I first started Think In Boxes I had an initial rough experience. I believe it was my 2nd client – they had requested a website. As they were describing what they needed, I had this image in my mind as to what I thought it should look like and how it should work. I presented that draft to the client and looking back, I’m surprised they didn’t just walk away on the spot haha. That draft missed the mark entirely. That experience changed my perception and how I execute projects. When someone has a request, I take myself out of the equation. I take the time to connect with the client, learn everything I can about them, their end goal with the project, what kinds of designs and styles they like. At the end of the day, the work is an extension of that client so everything should be a natural representation of them. I find that with that approach not only is the client happy but when we do the designs and drafts on our end, we can still provide cool and unique features and flair that flow in line with the client.
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
It’s interesting. When Think In Boxes started, it was designed as the one-stop shop for all of the technology needs that a business could have. With the creation of Craftr and the upcoming release of the finish’d app, we are starting to see the company structure change. You take what used to be a singular revenue stream, and now there’s segmentation. When I look at Craftr, I knew it would be risky because instead of graphic design being embedded with Think In Boxes, it would now be it’s own ‘entity’. This was the best thing that could have happened because our approach with Craftr is what I envision would have happened if Think In Boxes was founded from a graphic design/arts standpoint instead of a technology standpoint. Craftr is able to grow, innovate, and expand in a direction that is natural for it while still being under the Think In Boxes umbrella.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ThinkInBoxes.com
- Instagram: @ThinkInBoxesLLC
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkInBoxesLLC
- Twitter: @ThinkInBoxesLLC
- Other: Craftr: https://www.craftr.cloud
Image Credits
Headshot/Image of Brannon Peterkin taken by Alyson McClaran