Rahul Bansal: Blogger to WordPress VIP Partner – An Inspiring Journey

Rahul Bansal’s journey, from blogger to Asia’s first WordPress VIP Partner, showcases nearly two decades of experience with WordPress.

As rtCamp’s founder and CEO, he established a successful WordPress agency focused on enterprise solutions, currently employing more than 200 WordPress engineers.

What began as a modest freelancing venture has evolved into one of the most esteemed entities within the WordPress community.

In this CanadaCreate team interview, Rahul offers his unique insights on creating a thriving WordPress business, along with his advice onhow to leverage the power inherent in WordPress.

“You have to ask yourself – if there’s only one WordPress engineer who is going to get hired tomorrow, why it can’t be me?”

Rahul Bansal – Founder & CEO of rtCamp

Continue reading for Rahul’s valuable insights and discover how he established his WordPress enterprise.

Alternatively, use the following links to explore the topics addressed in the interview:

🙋 Meet Rahul Bansal: From Blogger to WordPress VIP Partner

Back in 2006, years before establishing rtCamp, Rahul Bansal was a college student running a political blog hosted on Blogger.com.

Upon switching from political content to tech-related articles, Rahul soon understood he enjoyed building more than just writing.

That’s when his enthusiasm for web development and the WordPress ecosystem began to blossom.

In a conversation with James Agar of CanadaCreate, he recalled the supportive nature of WordPress plugin reviewers upon developing his initial plugin.

“With WordPress, I found that community… the kind of community that I want to be part of.”

Rahul Bansal

Currently, Rahul Bansal is the founder of rtCamp, the first WordPress VIP Partner in Asia, leading a team of over 200 WordPress experts.

Becoming a WordPress VIP Partner is a significant accomplishment, demonstrating rtCamp’s ability to manage large-scale WordPress projects with stringent security and performance requirements as specified by WordPress.com’s parent company.

This distinction positions rtCamp among a select group of firms trusted to serve leading enterprises.

What steps did Rahul take to get to this point?

His path wasn’t always planned, but he always maintained the same focus that got him started: creating helpful solutions and contributing to the WordPress community.

This is the story of Rahul’s journey and the lessons you can glean from it.

👨‍💻 The WordPress Journey: Laying the Foundation for rtCamp

Rahul began building rtCamp with a $10 task on scriptlance.com (now freelancer.com): developing a plugin for automated WordPress post tweeting.

Although the entire payment was consumed by platform fees, resulting in no profit for Rahul, the project yielded other, more important benefits.

Rahul noted, “He gave me a five-star review and later hired me for a larger project.”

Following that, Rahul deliberately chose projects to facilitate WordPress learning while simultaneously earning money.

A key element was using fixed pricing for projects, ensuring that the client wouldn’t incur extra charges if the project took longer than anticipated.

Rahul prioritized projects based on a list of desired skills to acquire, which proved successful. His reputation and portfolio expanded on freelance platforms.

The 2008 financial crisis brought about another shift. Rahul recalled, “I had more work than I can handle, had friends who were unemployed.”

Instead of declining new opportunities, he recognized a chance to assist his friends while simultaneously expanding his business.

Initially, the strategy was straightforward: his friends would assist with the additional workload, and they would share the earnings. This spontaneous collaboration laid the groundwork for the future rtCamp.

CanadaCreate has observed numerous WordPress businesses emerging during challenging periods. rtCamp’s narrative illustrates how difficult times can foster innovation with the appropriate mindset.

Originally, rtCamp was not intended to be a WordPress agency.

Rahul stated that rtCamp was initially meant as the parent company for their network of media properties. Launched in February 2008, the company was designed to oversee various blogs, including Devil’s Workshop, alongside other sites covering subjects such as cricket and fashion.

Rahul also recognized a crucial aspect: coding offers superior scalability, enhanced by coding standards and guidelines. He found that growing through code was more manageable than managing numerous blog writers.

This realization prompted a definitive shift: rtCamp would exclusively concentrate on WordPress development. Within four years, the company divested all media properties, channeling all efforts into creating WordPress solutions.

This dedicated focus on WordPress development proved to be instrumental in rtCamp’s evolution from a small team to the influential entity it is today.

A Look Inside rtCamp: Guiding a Worldwide WordPress Agency

The rtCamp of today is significantly different from its beginnings. Now boasting 230 team members, including 200 WordPress engineers, the agency has become a major player in the WordPress ecosystem.

Rahul openly shared his thoughts on their path to growth:

He noted that their success wasn’t a matter of constant perfection, but rather a series of attempts, with some failures preceding breakthroughs.

Rahul Bansal

rtCamp’s distinction stems from its results rather than elaborate marketing or grandiose claims.

This direct approach has allowed rtCamp to collaborate with prominent entities in the publishing and enterprise sectors.

To coordinate their international team, the organization leverages current platforms such as Slack, GitHub, and Google Workspace, along with custom-built systems that demonstrate their innovative spirit.

Rahul mentioned that they began ‘de-SaaSification’ two years ago. This involves transitioning from commercial software solutions to internally developed tools or open-source alternatives.

For instance, they implemented ERPNext, an open-source solution, to oversee various operations from financial tasks to project oversight, highlighting rtCamp’s dedication to open-source principles as they expand.

Their decisions, spanning from tool selection to team organization, are aligned with their core objective: to provide outstanding WordPress solutions.

💡 Guidance for Future WordPress Agency Founders

When questioned about his advice for individuals seeking to launch their own WordPress agency, Rahul stressed the importance of contributing to the WordPress community.

Rahul maintains that exhibiting your work is the most effective way to demonstrate your capabilities. He stated, “If you cannot show your work, then that’s something wrong.”

He suggested creating plugins and publishing them in the official WordPress directory.

Alternatively, if you’re not quite ready for that, consider assisting in resolving bugs for existing themes and plugins. Afterward, ensure that your contribution, or that of your team, is widely recognized.

This enables prospective clients to assess your coding proficiency firsthand, which is far more convincing than simply asserting your skills.

Rahul further highlighted the necessity of perseverance, noting that individuals sometimes abandon their efforts prematurely, whereas achieving success in WordPress, as in any endeavor, requires a sustained commitment.

But if you’re not quite at that point in your WordPress journey, Rahul also had some advice for complete beginners.

For those just starting, he recommended learning computer science basics. He points to Harvard’s CS50 course on YouTube as a great free resource. This foundation helps you understand not just how to code but why things work the way they do.

When we asked Rahul if he’s ever used CanadaCreate as a resource, too, we loved his answer.

“Yeah, I used it [CanadaCreate] a lot in the early days and I still use it… even though it says beginner, I find it incredibly useful.”

Rahul Bansal

👋 Tip: Read all the way to the end to get some of these useful resources!

When it comes to programming languages, his advice was practical: “PHP and JavaScript are the only choices” for WordPress development, he said. But he added that once you understand the basics, learning new languages becomes much easier.

Most importantly, Rahul warned against chasing every new trend. “People in their 20s… find WordPress, they like WordPress, they join WordPress. Then after some time, they question their choice,” he said.

Instead of jumping from WordPress to AI to blockchain, he suggested picking one path and sticking with it.

🔮 Looking Ahead: Future of WordPress and rtCamp

After 16 years of growth, rtCamp isn’t slowing down. In fact, they’re planning their biggest expansion yet.

Rahul told us:

“We believe in WordPress and we still think we can scale multiple from here.”

Rahul Bansal

His team aims to more than double in size, growing from 230 to 500 people.

rtCamp’s ambitions extend beyond team expansion; they are developing five new products slated for release this year. These tools aim to equip WordPress sites with functionalities that typically require external services.

For instance, they are creating solutions to enhance video handling within WordPress. Rahul noted, “WordPress sites cannot do video transporting at scale,” indicating that their upcoming product will address this limitation.

CanadaCreate anticipates these innovations, believing rtCamp’s contributions can significantly improve WordPress site performance without relying on numerous external services.

While rtCamp expresses confidence in the growth of their agency services, Rahul maintains a modest outlook regarding their new product initiatives.

💭 Final Thoughts

Rahul Bansal’s transformation from a political blogger to a WordPress VIP Partner exemplifies the potential achievable through dedication and perseverance. His narrative underscores that WordPress success isn’t about pursuing fleeting trends or making extravagant claims.

Rahul stated, “The WordPress ecosystem is big… we are our own universe.” We concur, having witnessed firsthand the unique opportunities WordPress provides to those who remain dedicated and contribute to the community.

rtCamp’s achievements stem from consistent development and substantial contributions to WordPress, rather than simply adopting every emerging trend.

At CanadaCreate, we have observed numerous WordPress businesses emerge and dissolve. The enduring ones share a common characteristic: maintaining their commitment to WordPress while continuously seeking ways to improve the platform.

We eagerly anticipate rtCamp’s ongoing progress and their future product releases. To explore more about Rahul and his work, you can access rtCamp’s website.

💥 Bonus: Expert Guides for WordPress Agency Owners

Looking to follow in Rahul’s footsteps? Here are some helpful CanadaCreate resources to help you get started:

• How to Learn WordPress for Free (Step by Step)
• Best WordPress Developer Jobs Sites (+ Example Job Template)
• How Zac McDonald Grew Into the Top-Rated WordPress Freelancer on Upwork
• Starting a WordPress Web Design Business? (Things You Must Do)
• WordPress Career Options – How to Make a Living With WordPress
• The LearnDash Story: How Justin Ferriman Grew a Multi-Million Dollar LMS
• How Nicolas Lecocq (OceanWP Creator) Built 6 New WordPress Products With AI
• How Ben Rojas Rose From a Developer to the President of AIOSEO

You can also follow Rahul Bansal on X (Twitter) to stay updated with his latest insights about WordPress and agency growth.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.