Built hosting division from zero, diversified from single-client dependency to thousands of global customers. 5-year transformation journey as Co-CEO.
GCore, a global provider of hosting, CDN, and cloud services, faced a major challenge: an overreliance on a single client. This dependence led to financial losses due to unused equipment. The problem? Our main client, Wargaming, only wanted the latest and greatest technology. This meant our perfectly functional 3-5 year old equipment was relegated to the warehouse, gathering dust and costing the company money.
To turn the tide, the CEO brought me on board to spearhead a brand-new project aimed at attracting a wider range of customers and finally putting that outdated equipment to good use. I joined GCore back in 2016 with the mission of setting up a hosting department and tackling this overdependence on Wargaming.
Key Insight: The existing GCore team hadn't cracked the code on solving these issues effectively. Recognizing the need for a fresh approach, I decided to build a separate hosting project with the intention of eventually integrating it into the company's existing structure.
I started from scratch. No team, no technology, no customers. From scratch, I chose the right technologies for our hosting offering, set up operations, and built a dedicated team. I also launched marketing campaigns to attract new clients and tapped into my network to find promising leads.
Within a few months, we had our first customers. Within a year, we were serving hundreds of clients from all corners of the globe. Here's what made it work:
Result: From first customers in months to hundreds of global clients within a year.
Despite the older equipment, GCore had a significant advantage: a vast international infrastructure built for Wargaming. This infrastructure was significantly underutilized. I realized that if we offered hosting services at a loss in some locations, we could still generate a positive cash flow. Why? Because equipment sitting idle was already costing the company money. Generating even a small revenue was better than none at all.
The "Gold Digging" principle became our cornerstone: offer the cheapest hosting possible and scale up the customer base. It might not be highly profitable, but it generated substantial cash flow.
The Secret Sauce: Global infrastructure combined with the ability to separate different types of customers within each location. We serve a large volume of less-than-ideal clients while making sure they don't negatively impact each other. This allows us to refine our processes and build a strong team, ready to deliver top-notch service to high-value clients.
It's a continuous cycle of acquiring customers, providing service, and improving – a recipe for sustainable growth.
Initially, the project was mainly backed by GCore's CEO. But as its potential and success became clear, people from various departments jumped on board. I helped bring these teams together and integrate them into our existing hosting processes.
This collaboration, along with our expanding customer base, led to a massive team growth, exceeding 100 members.
The hosting project acted as a springboard for attracting customers in related areas:
5-Year Transformation: Over five years, the hosting division blossomed into a profitable and valuable part of the business, playing a crucial role in diversifying GCore's customer base and reducing our reliance on Wargaming. Today, GCore is a multifaceted service provider, serving thousands of clients around the world.
Every challenge presents an opportunity. By recognizing the inefficiencies and turning them into a competitive advantage, I built a thriving hosting business that not only solved GCore's single-client dependency problem but also paved the way for the company's global expansion into multiple service areas.
Whether you're facing single-client dependency, underutilized resources, or need to build new revenue streams, let's explore solutions together.