Oliver Rolle
Founder and Entrepreneur
Developer
Oliver Rolle
Founder and Entrepreneur
organization size
1
Location
Hesse, Germany
Community member since
2020
Apps
Easy Asset Management
Track your IT assets and inventory in Jira and Confluence
Easy Find and Replace
Finds and replaces text with one click in your confluence space
Hemingway Editor
Write crystal clear documentation
Fun facts
Blending Business and Software Skills with Oliver Rolle
Oliver Rolle began his entrepreneurship journey on the Atlassian Marketplace in September of 2021. With an education in computer science and business, and a background in portfolio management, AI, and data science; his experience gives him a unique edge when it comes to taking on a role as an Atlassian Marketplace Partner.
We chatted with Oliver about what led him to start building apps for the Atlassian Marketplace, how his background proved to be valuable for him as a Marketplace partner, and his experimentation with marketing tactics to drive app installs and visibility. We hope you enjoy getting to know Oliver Rolle as much as we did!
How does your previous experience with Atlassian inform the apps you build?
When I worked at an asset management firm, I was the administrator in implementing processes, and learned how valuable it is to have solid ways to document processes or digitize workflows. My first introduction to Atlassian was actually when we started using Confluence at work. When choosing a solution, we decided to go with Atlassian because it is one of the longest standing companies in the space and has a great history from ticket management to all kinds of solutions for businesses. It also filled our need for making our entire system audit-proof.
Over time, I observed customers start to adopt Atlassian’s cloud solution, and saw the ecosystem grow tremendously. I noticed gaps in the cloud products that I felt apps could help solve for, specifically regarding use cases that I was familiar with from my own role in asset management. Having past experience in another industry prior to building apps can help you become an expert in your target personas and how they interact with Atlassian products.
Building with Forge for regulated industries
Coming from the finance and asset management industry, I can say with confidence that financial companies are hard customers to win because they have a lot of factors they need to fulfill like compliance, financial regulations, auditing. Atlassian fulfills all of these compliance requirements. Customers in regulated industries are hard to get, and Atlassian gets them.
With Forge, Atlassian takes care of data processing and storage, run time, and operations. Customers in regulated industries have already onboarded Atlassian, so the fact that data they share with my app, which is also hosted by Atlassian, makes it all the more easy for them to onboard my app.
Being able to speak to this makes it easy for me to instill confidence in potential buyers that my app is reliable and secure. It’s a very powerful statement to tell customers.
With Forge, Atlassian takes care of data processing and storage, run time, and operations. Customers in regulated industries have already onboarded Atlassian, so the fact that data they share with my app, which is also hosted by Atlassian, makes it all the more easy for them to onboard my app.
Knowing and marketing to your customers
When it comes to building apps, It’s not just about figuring out the technical stuff, it’s also about figuring out what marketing tactics will work and what channels my future customers tune into. Although I studied business in university, learning how to market an app is a completely different ball game.
Here are a few things to consider when marketing to your customers:
- Understand where they are and try targeting them using Google and LinkedIn Ads to target them
- YouTube is a great resource for learning marketing techniques. I’d recommend starting with Chris Cooke’s video on how to grow an Atlassian app to top vendor status
- Increase search visibility using Google keyword manager
- Learn how to craft your marketing message in a way your customers will understand
- Research and gain customer proof points to find a problem worth improving, building, and solving for
I’d recommend starting small with basic app marketing and really focusing on making your app’s Marketplace listing the best it can be by highlighting what problem it solves for a customer. Use your knowledge from your experience in other industries as insight to understand your customer base to market to them better. Even a small amount of effort can go a long way!
Looking ahead
Right now, I am loving having more control over my schedule and living life as an entrepreneur. I’ve thought about going the funding route, but I also love having free cash flow and the freedom to make business decisions on my own — I think it’s proof that my business model works.
Despite being cautious, I am optimistic about the future of my business, and inspired to continue to build apps that solve important problems for my customers. In the future, I would love to diversify my revenue streams by exploring opportunities to grow, potentially with more developers on my team.
We’re looking forward to seeing what the future holds for you, Oliver!
We loved hearing how you become an app developer on the Atlassian Marketplace by combining your software development expertise with your business background. Using niche experiences, like working in the finance industry, is a great way to better understand customers and build just the right solution for Atlassian customers. We wish you all the best on your journey as an Atlassian Marketplace partner.
Contact Oliver on the community with questions about apps for regulated industries, marketing tactics, and more.
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