Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Kissel.
Andrew, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Technology was a natural fit for me in high school. This was the late 90s in Seattle. Grunge Rock and Microsoft ruled. It was the perfect time to build a foundation in IT.
I joined the U.S. Navy as a cryptologist and furthered my growth in tech. Serving in the Navy was beneficial in ways both tangible and intangible, but most crucially it helped me jumpstart a career in tech and provided me the tools to go at it alone as a freelancer.
In 2007, I officially started operating my business, known today as codecreative (codecreative.co). I remain a very small web development boutique that focuses on website hosting, web design & development, and SEO strategy. Along the way, I met my wife, Emily, and we now have two beautiful little girls. Emily, a 15 year veteran of commercial real estate marketing, joined my entrepreneurial jetstream and together we founded Propmaker (propmaker.com), a Dallas-based luxury event rental company, and just recently opened the virtual doors to Gray & Lane Kids (grayandlane.com), an online play and educational shop for kids, and finally with her help just recently launched WaveHost (wavehost.com), my official small business website hosting platform.
And it works: my wife and I are able to work together professionally and yet maintain a strong marriage. It can be tough at times, especially as we’re working to raise two young but strong girls, but our focus has pivoted so much in that everything we do, we do for them now.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Entrepreneurship is never smooth! I’ve had failed businesses. Ruined client relationships. Months with no income. Worries about the next steps. However, having a partner in both a business associate and a wife has made all the difference. Our failures become lessons on future successes.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Codecreative – what should we know?
codecreative and WaveHost together offer a full stack solution for small businesses: company branding, website design & development, professional website hosting.
We are different because we are small: our clients receive high-quality support and communication that has been praised by 100% of our client relationships. While we’re small, we offer the full stack of services any small business needs to be successful.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
When I first moved to Dallas in 2006, I contracted for David Heimer, the COO of a B2B service/contractor-based startup. Not only did he become my first client, he encouraged me to go it alone and work for myself. Through the years, he remained supportive of my ever-changing efforts and strategies for business growth.
And of course, I couldn’t be doing what I am doing without the support of my wife Emily. She’s my business partner and my life-long friend. We’re in this together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://codecreative.co and https://wavehost.com
- Email: andrew@codecreative.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wavehostpro/
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