Tech Entrepreneur Chris Hughes Recounts His Journey From a College Dropout to a WordPress Powerhouse

We often hear about the success stories of tech entrepreneurs. Each of them inspires and ignites passion because of the work they do and the way they lead. Some famous and successful business leaders are often admired because they have started small and risen to the top after encountering seemingly undefeatable odds to survive and succeed. Tech entrepreneurs are undoubtedly worth looking up to, and it wouldn't do to overlook how challenging their journey has been, especially in the first few years of the business. But their unshakeable belief in themselves and their product or service is what makes them stand apart from the rest. This is how the UK-based tech entrepreneur, Chris Hughes, commenced his journey in the world of entrepreneurship, proved his love for technology and created an excellent experience for end-users.

In Hughes's opinion, people are motivated to start their business to get rid of the job they dislike. However, having spent over two decades in the industry, he believes that to innovate and make an idea a reality, the individual ought to be committed. Otherwise, the lack of passion is likely to throw a spanner in the works. "Clients will sense it, and the business will never get off the ground," adds Hughes. In his case, his curiosity towards technology led him to establish his first web hosting company in the UK in 1996. At an age when most people of his age chose to pursue higher education, Hughes decided to embark upon his entrepreneurial dream, through which he ended up hosting over 50000 websites of clients across different sectors. His quest to grow and expand his business drove him to sell his venture to the largest hosting company, Fasthosts, in late 2002.

Looking back, Hughes feels the early years of his career as a tech entrepreneur have been extraordinarily intense and have demanded more time, energy, dedication, and hard work, than the phase now. And yet, he adds that juggling different roles and trying his hand at different things have helped him learn a lot that he wishes he'd known before. At present, Hughes divides his time between designing and developing different tech products and services, engaging in as many events as possible, and working alongside his employees to upgrade client offerings.

Since 2003, Hughes has been focusing on running multiple businesses simultaneously, most of which include handling the award-winning pub & bar guide site, hotel booking platforms, and cruise & destination portals. His zeal to experience the offline business model and interact with customers in real-time pushed him further to establish a bakery in the small Cotswolds town of Cheltenham. Through all this, tech remains at the core of everything he does. Subsequently, the launch of another hosting company happened in 2017, which was later pivoted to WordPress development and maintenance services in 2019.

The chief among these ventures is his recently launched software acquisition and development arm, RedLettuce. So far, having established, supported, and scaled several tech businesses, Hughes gets looked upon as a pioneer in his own right. He advises other aspiring entrepreneurs to keep pushing themselves, develop a network of mentors, and not get discouraged. "If the concept is good, it will find its way in the market," he adds.