Wrench is one of the tiny handful of technology creator companies that is still thriving twenty years later. Here’s how we did it – and why it matters.

If you had asked me back then what my dream was, I would have said “building my own company and running it my way.” That’s what ‘sustainable’ meant to me.  I’ve achieved that, but because I chose against VC funding, I had to rely on my own wits rather than a well-lined pocket (and the VC connections that go with it) and there were times I could have done with external guidance when it came to strategy.

For example, when we entered the Gulf, I tried to hire a local consultant for new business development. He was extremely well-connected – he went everywhere and knew everyone, and I hoped he could open doors for us. Long story short, it fell through because he insisted, we change our name.

In one sense he was right – after all we had grown from a simple CAD tool into an enterprise solution – but I didn’t want to alienate my old customers who knew us as Wrench. Plus, changing the name just didn’t feel right to me, so for whatever reason we stuck with Wrench. Whether it cost us or not I cannot say. But apart from a few new orders via word-of-mouth it was mainly repeat business that kept us above water for the next decade or so until the EPC market matured, and our longevity and track record started paying off.

Slowly the inbound enquiries started coming in and I was able to expand operations to the point where for the first time since Wrench started, I didn’t have to be so hands-on. By then I also had the money to pursue other passions and interests. But it was never about the money. Success to me never meant ‘money’. As I often say, follow your passion and the money will come.

I get a lot of pushbacks on this topic, on the lines of “Oh, it’s easy to talk when you’re well off and have the security etc. etc.”

To which I say: are you kidding? Who knows about lack of security better than me? Or indeed, any self-made entrepreneur? What you see now is the last step. You’re forgetting the decades of struggle preceding that, including loans and family and health and everything else. But here’s the difference: I did not see ‘struggle’ as some great calamity to be avoided; I saw it as an opportunity to be seized – and enjoyed! I always enjoyed my life – with or without money. Life doesn’t stop when you are poor, and it doesn’t start when you are rich.

I hear young people say oh, After I achieve such and such then I will find a dream and follow my passion. But that is wrong. You need to cultivate the mindset first, regardless of circumstances.

And now you will say – how do I get that mindset? I don’t have any great hobbies or passions, what do I do?

Simple. Try new things. Stop being a sheltered mama’s boy – or girl – and take a step into the unknown. Dreams and goals live there, not in your comfort zone. Yes, you will fail, that’s a given. So what? Get up and try again. Failing is nothing. Succeeding is nothing. Doing is everything.

So – what’s next for Wrench?

Right now, it’s AI and machine learning, but technology is advancing so rapidly it’s hard to say exactly where we’re heading. The only thing I know for sure is that we’ll get there the same way we got here – by ‘doing’.

Until next time! signoff.