A reader recently inquired about the connection between WPBeginner and Awesome Motive. This has been a recurring question, and some competitors have spread misinformation about it.
We aim to clarify the question “how are WPBeginner and Awesome Motive related?” with transparency because we value your trust in our content recommendations.
TLDR: WPBeginner is a blog founded by Syed Balkhi in 2009 to help non-tech users learn WordPress. In 2011, Syed founded Awesome Motive to manage his business operations. Awesome Motive is NOT WPBeginner’s parent company.
Syed and his teams develop products based on WPBeginner reader feedback, which is why we recommend these tools, as they are designed for you.
Over 16 years, WPBeginner has helped millions learn WordPress, choose the right tools, and grow their sites.
This guide shares our origin story and details why we recommend certain products.
How Did WPBeginner Start?
In 2009, Syed Balkhi was a college student at the University of Florida. Using WordPress since 2006, he saw a lack of beginner-friendly guides. Tutorials were too technical for small business owners and bloggers.
Syed wanted a WordPress site that was easy to understand, so he created one.
In July 2009, Syed launched WPBeginner from his college apartment at age 19, aiming to help beginners succeed with WordPress. The response was immediate, with thousands visiting for WordPress help they could understand.
Syed tested plugins and themes, writing tutorials in simple terms. The site grew as satisfied readers spread the word.
Today, WPBeginner is one of the largest free WordPress resources for beginners, with millions of monthly visitors and over 3,000 expert tutorials.
Our mission remains: helping small businesses and regular people succeed with WordPress. You don’t need to be a tech expert to build a great website.
This focus on helping beginners shaped every product Syed built, with tools and tutorials aimed at helping WordPress beginners win.
Why Was Awesome Motive Created?
By 2011, Syed was managing more than WPBeginner. The site’s success led to other business ideas, and he needed a simpler way to manage team members across different companies.
Hiring for multiple companies was complex, with too much paperwork and legal hurdles. Syed needed a single company to simplify hiring and expenses. Not knowing about EORs or PEOs, he created a management company.
The idea came from his college apartment, inspired by property management companies.
In 2011, Syed created Awesome Motive, a name suggested by his girlfriend Amanda (now his wife). Everything they do has an “awesome motive,” making it a perfect fit.
Awesome Motive handles business tasks like payroll and hiring, allowing each business to focus on its strengths.
WPBeginner continued creating helpful WordPress content without worrying about HR paperwork.
This setup allowed Syed, a young entrepreneur, to grow his businesses without losing their special qualities, enabling small teams to move fast and focus on helping customers.
What is Awesome Motive?
Awesome Motive is a technology management company helping smaller product companies created by Syed Balkhi to be nimble and fast-moving.
It might seem like Awesome Motive builds and acquires software companies serving the small business market, especially in the WordPress ecosystem, but that’s not entirely accurate.
It’s more like a federation of independent companies choosing to work together for mutual benefit
