SmartFile logoSo, how’d SmartFile get to where it is today? How did we come alive? Well, I took it upon myself to have a chat with our entrepreneurial president, John Hurley, to better understand our history and to drill him on some questions about SmartFile’s journey from its founding in 2000 until now.
Why the file sharing industry?
John chose the file sharing industry because it was a natural fit. Being a graphic designer, he understood the need for such a product and already had several individuals using his platform to transfer files from point A to point B. “There was a niche for this in business,” John stated as he explained the growing trend of outsourcing IT and the rising familiarity with ‘cloud’ terminology.
What inspired the name ‘SmartFile’?
Originally, SmartFile began as ftphosting.net. As this wasn’t ideal, John hunted for over a month for something simple, clean, and appealing to a broader audience. Eventually, John bought the domain name ‘SmartFile’, and it has stuck ever since.
How did the company begin to take shape?
“Where we started is a lot different than where we are today,” explained John. Basically, he wanted to create a place for anyone to setup an FTP server. After several individuals used his platform and feedback was obtained, SmartFile began to form into what customers truly wanted.
What do you expect for SmartFile in the future?
“I expect great things from Smartfile in the future.” John sees SmartFile moving more from software as a service to a platform as a service, creating many ways to connect to our product. He predicts that our new API will open our product up to things he couldn’t even imagine as people begin to write to our platform and use it as a stepping-stone in their own business development.
Any advice for young entrepreneurs?
“Plenty of it! The most important thing is to understand your strengths and weaknesses. For a lot of people, it’s easy to identify with strengths and much harder to identify with weaknesses. The biggest piece of advice is to figure out what you lack and surround yourself with people who fill in those gaps. Those people will be your greatest allies.”
So there it is…SmartFile’s history in a nutshell. Now, tell us your business startup story! Any advice you’d like to give young entrepreneurs?