What I learned from five years running Innatus Digital

What would you tell yourself if you could go back to day one of your business? Innatus Digital is five years old this year. I started in 2020, yes, that 2020, and somehow I'm still here, still growing, and still enjoying the work. Five years isn't a long time, but it's long enough to have learned a few things the hard way. Here are the ones that stuck.

Say no more often

In the first year or two, I said yes to almost everything. Every project, every technology, every client who asked if we could do something slightly outside our expertise. The logic was obvious: I needed revenue, I needed experience, and every project was an opportunity. But some of those projects cost me more than they earned, not financially, but in time, stress, and distraction. The projects where we were the wrong fit dragged on, required twice the effort, and left both us and the client unsatisfied.

The turning point was learning to ask: is this a project we'd be good at, for a client we'd enjoy working with, at a price that makes sense? If any of those answers is no, the project probably isn't right. Saying no to the wrong work is what creates space for the right work.

Process is freedom

I used to think process was bureaucracy, something big agencies did to justify their overheads. I was wrong. When we introduced proper discovery phases, structured project kickoffs, regular check-ins, and clear change request processes, everything got better. Projects finished on time more often. Scope creep reduced. Client satisfaction went up. And, this is the part I didn't expect, the work became more enjoyable, because I spent less time firefighting and more time building.

B Corp was worth it

I got the business certified as a B Corp in 2023, and I'll admit I was sceptical about whether it would make a tangible difference beyond the badge. It has. The certification process forced us to formalise things we'd been doing informally, our environmental commitments, my approach to diversity, our governance. It gave me a framework for making decisions about how the business operates, not just what it delivers. And it's opened doors with clients who care about working with ethical suppliers, particularly in the life sciences and third sectors.

Small is a feature

The team is five or six people now. I work with a network of trusted freelancers when we need additional capacity, but the core team is deliberately small. What this means for you is that clients talk to the people who actually do the work. There's no account manager translating between the client and the developers. There's no layer of project management between a question and an answer. The same person who discusses your requirements writes the code. That directness is something larger agencies struggle to offer, and it's something my clients consistently say they value.

Technology choices matter less than you think

I've built sites on Next.js, Sanity, Laravel, BigCommerce, WordPress, and Craft CMS. The technology choice matters, but it matters far less than understanding the problem, writing clean code, and being responsive when things go wrong. A well-architected project on the right stack will always outperform a trendy choice made for the wrong reasons. I have my preferences, Next.js and Sanity for most new builds, Laravel for bespoke applications, BigCommerce for e-commerce, but the thinking and the craft are what make the real difference.

What comes next

Five years in, I'm more focused than I've ever been. I know what I'm good at, who I serve well, and how I want to work. The next five years are about doing more of that, deeper expertise, better processes, stronger relationships, rather than chasing growth for its own sake.

If you've read this far, thanks for being part of the journey. And if you've got a project you think we'd be good for, you know where to find us, [email protected].