As of the 27th of May 2023, Velstar is seven years old and has come a long way. As part of our celebrations we thought it would be a great time to start off a new series of team interviews with employee number one.
First off, who are you and what do you do?
Daniel Sheard, CEO of Velstar.
When was Velstar founded and how do you feel about how far it’s come?
Velstar was founded in May of 2016, with the sole aim of being exclusively a Shopify Development agency. It’s been an incredible journey so far!
I always thought we’d be successful - we had a good offer, great experience and a strategy to execute that we worked really hard on. Seeing everything come to life in the way it has, though, is beyond all initial expectations and I'm proud of what we've done.
What have been the biggest changes to your role in the last twelve months?
We've grown a lot in the past 12 - 18 months, and also acquired another agency which has come with plenty of challenges. Being involved in the acquisition was a great learning experience.
My role has changed from being very hands-on in the commercial side of the business to integrating a new business into the original Velstar, growing teams and hiring a lot of people. A lot of it is uncharted territory for me but it’s been really fun diving into it, I’ve also had a lot of support from the management team and the hugely experienced board of Directors at Velstar.
Where do you see yourself and the business in the next five years?
Hopefully, I'll still be CEO and setting new goals and targets. We’ll continue to grow organically and add some more acquisitions along the way. Going international is a strategic goal of ours, so we’ll be in multiple countries around the globe at that point too!
What would be your best piece of advice for people who’d like to be where you are now?
Start. You can learn as you go. The key is starting. Mistakes will happen along the way, but that’s the same for everyone.
I had no experience of running a business before I started one. I still make mistakes, but I have the opportunity to fix them and keep improving the business.
You never stop learning, and you’re never finished. I would have killed to be in our position now when we launched Velstar in 2016, but now I feel like we’re only just beginning.
What books, podcasts, or people have been the most influential on your journey?
I follow a lot of people I admire on Twitter, and learn a lot from them in micro snippets with their tweets.
I love the How I Built This podcast and, specifically for DTC, and to get into the mindset of brands, the Limited Supply podcast.
The most influential people on the journey so far, though, have been the Velstar board of Directors who I’ve got to know very well since they bought out my business partner nearly three years ago. Their experience and expertise has been vital to the growth and strategic vision of the business.
Congratulations are in order for Dan, and for the wider Velstar team as we hit seven - but we'll also be hearing from more of the wider agency over the coming weeks and months with more words of wisdom.
In the meantime, if you'd like to celebrate our seventh birthday with us by getting in touch about taking your brand's next steps in ecommerce - get in touch!
