Eleven Years of Showing Up

Eleven Years of Showing Up

This week, Tech101 turned eleven.

We started in Kamaladi in August 2015. There was no plan for what the company would look like a decade later — only work to be done, and clients who needed it done properly.

This week we cut a cake, ate too much, and went back to work. But it seems worth writing down what eleven years has actually taught us, because the lessons weren't the ones we expected.

What we thought mattered

At the start, we thought the work would speak for itself. Build a good website, run a good campaign, and clients would stay.

That turned out to be about a third of the truth.

What actually matters

1. Clients stay because you answer the phone.

Some of our clients have been with us for most of the decade. When we ask them why, they rarely mention a campaign or a website. They mention that we were reachable when something broke, honest when something went wrong, and present when it was difficult.

Being good at the work gets you hired. Being reliable keeps you.

2. The hard conversations are the ones that build trust.

Every long client relationship we have includes at least one moment where something didn't go to plan. A delay. A misunderstanding. A problem that wasn't anyone's fault but landed on someone anyway.

What we've learned is that the relationship isn't decided by whether the problem happens. It's decided by what you do in the week afterward — whether you go quiet, or whether you pick up the phone first.

3. A team that looks after each other outlasts a team that's simply talented.

If you asked our marketing team what's best about working here, they wouldn't say the projects. They'd say that when someone is stuck on a deadline, everyone stays late and helps — often doing work that isn't theirs.

Nobody wrote that into a policy. It grew, over years, because people were treated well when it mattered. It's the single thing we're most careful to protect.

4. Nepal can serve the world.

When we started, our work was entirely local. This year, Tech101 has delivered for clients in Nepal, in India, and in North America — and been paid in three currencies.

That still surprises us slightly. It shouldn't. The talent in Kathmandu has never been the limitation.

What the next eleven look like

We're sixteen people now, working across websites, digital marketing, SEO, design and video. That's bigger than we were and smaller than we'll be.

The goal for the years ahead isn't only growth. It's building something that runs well because of its systems and its people — not because one person is holding it together.

That's harder than growth. It's also the only version worth having.

Thank you

To every client who trusted us with their business over these eleven years — some of you from the very first year — thank you. You took a chance on a small agency in Kamaladi, and we have never forgotten it.
 

To our team, past and present: this company is your work, not mine. I get to sign the letters.

The next eleven start Monday.

— Ujjawal Bhandari Founder & CEO, Tech Hundred One Pvt. Ltd.
 

Tech101 is a digital agency in Kamaladi, Kathmandu, helping businesses, institutions and public figures grow through websites, digital marketing, SEO and design. Get in touch.