Experimenting with the Web: Pune Based AmiWorks

Based in Pune, AmiWorks was founded with the aim to build integrated web based solutions. AmiWorks is into the business of creating premium websites using WordPress (under the brand-name WPoets). Along the way, they also keep experimenting with the ideas that they consider useful, which resulted in them creating PHPcamp.net, Magazinify.com and backupVu.com (which they use internally for WordPress backups and migrations). At AmiWorks, their mission is to experiment with ideas that can help others in tangible ways.The underlying idea is to make WPoets the premium website provider for corporates who need web solutions that can help them and support them in their marketing and sales needs, while AmiWorks continues to experiments with more ideas, and keep releasing useful web apps. WPoets is the source of revenue for all the experiments done at AmiWorks till they figure out ways to make money out of their Web apps.

“We understand Web and it’s potential. We understand that your website is your most important marketing and sales channel. So we actively suggest ideas and ways to take the maximum benefit out of your website,” says Founder Amit Singh.

For their WPoets business they are targeting pro-bloggers and SMEs who have or need websites that act as their marketing channel. While mostly focused on the Indian market for their service business, they also work with foreign clients.

Starting Up:

Amit did not start AmiWorks with any specific ideas. He just wanted to have a place where he could experiment with ideas, and build things that he found useful.Amit had joined Pune IT Labs, where he was responsible for building the PHP team. He started with a 2 people team, and when he left Pune IT Labs after 3 years, it was a 35 people company that only did PHP. Along the way he organised PHPCamp, which he believes to beIndia’s largest un-conference for PHP developers.

It was after this that, he and his co-founder, Savita Soni started AmiWorks in August 2009, by bootstrapping and doing service business in the hope that they'll have time to create few useful Web apps every year. Currently the WPoets team is 11 people, mostly developers. They are hiring PHP developers.

“Being able to say that ‘I built this’, is what keeps me going as an entrepreneur. While my main challenge right now is to find smart people who are willing to work with AmiWorks for longer than a year,” Amit concludes.