HeroPress, founded by Topher DeRosia in 2015, has obtained its first financial sponsor in XWP, a web development firm that specializes in WordPress. In recent weeks, DeRosia has added a sponsors page to the site that highlights businesses that are supporting the project.
Pantheon is hosting the site for free and Ninja Forms, Theme Foundry, Postmatic, and WordImpress have donated licenses for their products. I asked DeRosia how the funds are helping the project, “This covers about a quarter of the time I spend on HeroPress,” DeRosia said.
“There’s 100% coverage for Stacey Bartron, who makes the banners every week, plus a little for some skunk works experimentation. There will be more on that in November.”
DeRosia said he is grateful to be able to pay Bartron for her efforts, “It’s one thing to work for free on my own, but I have a really hard time asking someone else to volunteer their time for my project,” DeRosia said. “Yet she did it willingly, so I’m super happy to be able to pay her now.”
I reached out to Tine Haugen, managing director at XWP, and asked why the company is financially supporting the project. Haugen provided the Tavern with the following statement.
Storytelling is a powerful way to connect and inspire people. HeroPress is a platform that gives people in the WordPress community and beyond an opportunity to share their personal stories, make meaningful connections with others and inspire them in ways that can have lasting, positive impact on their lives. That is a compelling purpose and mission strongly aligned with our own.
It should also be said that HeroPress creator, Topher DeRosia, is a former XWP team member. Being part of his journey with HeroPress has been a wonderful way to stay connected and continue to cultivate our relationship with him.
We hope our contribution will inspire others to also give as a way to encourage its growth so that it can touch and impact even more lives.
If you’re interested in sponsoring or financially supporting the HeroPress project, you can contact DeRosia by emailing topher @ heropress.com. The additional funds will allow DeRosia to conduct more experiments with the site and travel to more WordCamps.