Episode 2: Kindness Is a Superpower
Dear diary, it has been a year since my last confession. LOL. Welcome back to another episode of twists and turns, highs and lows, and the ongoing chaos of my journey as a software developer and small business owner.
If Episode 1 was about how I became an owner, Episode 2 is about what kept me going. Kindness. Not the fluffy kind – the practical, painful, powerful kind that builds trust, products, and long‑term partnerships.
What Is Kindness?
People throw the word around a lot, but kindness is broad and often misunderstood (like me, HAHA). Here are a few classic definitions:
- "Kindness is doing good for others without expecting anything in return."
- "Kindness is choosing to do the right thing even when it is inconvenient."
- "Kindness is absorbing the pain so someone else doesn’t have to."
In the book of Warrentations 1:25 I define it as a combination of them:
I have always gone the extra mile.
I help where I can.
I often joke that I am bad at business because I always do more than I bill for.
But maybe that is what being human actually means.
I have always been a people‑over‑profits person. It is not always smart business, but it is always the right thing.
COVID Chronicles: Online Forms
During COVID, a chiropractor I met through BNI approached me needing digital forms.
I scoped it out.
I ran the numbers.
And I realised the cost would be higher than the value they would get.
So I made a call:
"I will build this as an OrganiCode product and you can pay a very reasonable license fee to use it."
Suddenly it went from tens of thousands of rands to R150 a month.
So gesê, so gedaan.
I built it.
They used it.
And OrganiCode eventually had multiple customers using it during and after COVID.
A pandemic, a chiropractor, and a bit of kindness accidentally created a product line.
All because the original decision was made from kindness, not profit.
The Five Form Client That Snowballed
A few years later, I was introduced to a company that wanted to digitise a few basic forms (thanks Cabbage).
I demoed the original Online Forms system, showing them the different kinds of fields and what it could do.
They were keen.
So I hit them with the classic Warren Special:
"I am not going to charge you for the base system that already exists. Only for the work to build your forms and any customisations."
We digitised five forms.
Then I got invited to a Teams meeting with a "Going Digital Roadmap" on the screen.
Fast forward two years:
- They have digitised more and more of their processes, with approval steps and document attachments
- We are building an offline app that syncs to the main system
- Automated reports go out based on customisable rules
- There is a job status tracker with documents, functions to redact documents, combine them and more
What started as "just five forms" turned into "please build us the future".
The Reboot: FlexForms
The original Online Forms engine has been reskinned, rebooted, reworked, and re‑energised.
New name, new swagger, new capabilities.
Online Forms hit the gym and came back yoked. Protein shake and form builder in hand.
The result is FlexForms, a flagship offering born from kindness.
The original system did not have a user‑friendly form builder, which made onboarding new customers slow.
FlexForms flexes its muscles with a drag‑and‑drop form builder that makes the whole process smooth.
Your customers do not need to "sign up" to complete a form, they get unique links which they log in to via an OTP mailed to them.
Even the UX decisions were made with kindness in mind – remove friction, reduce frustration, make it easy.
The Ripple Effect: HR Correspondence System
The same DNA that powers FlexForms became the correspondence system for FlexHR, the HRIS we built for OrganiCode’s new outsourced payroll arm.
That correspondence system has already earned revenue before the full product is even live.
One act of kindness snowballed into multiple systems.
It still blows my mind how one small decision can echo through an entire product ecosystem.
The Part No One Talks About: Sometimes Kindness Hurts
Everyone loves the inspirational quotes, but they leave out the thorns.
There have been projects that cost hundreds of hours and went nowhere.
I spent time kicking myself.
There were early days where I mis‑scoped, underestimated, or just got it wrong.
And when that happens, I take the hit.
I take responsibility.
I eat ass.
(Not literally. Calm down.)
If the mistake was mine, the cost is mine too.
That is the part where you bleed a little so the client does not have to.
Pain shapes you like no easy win can.
Closing Thoughts
I am not the biggest company.
I do not have a 50‑person sales team.
I do not have a marketing department with matching T‑shirts.
But I do have something better.
A track record of doing right by people, even when it costs me.
And in a world full of shortcuts, that is a superpower.
Before You Go
Curious what kindness accidentally built? Have a look at FlexForms and FlexHR. Proof that doing the right thing can sometimes create entire product lines. Who knew.
And as always it would be greatly appreciated if you hit me with some kindness and follow OrganiCode here:
OrganiCode's LinkedIn
OrganiCode's X
OrganiCode's Facebook
OrganiCode's YouTube
Before you go go... Kindness is part of my DNA
Long before FlexForms, FlexHR, when OrganiCode was a toddler, I wrote a song in 2019 about the same theme that has shaped my work and my life. It probably needs a re-recording at some point, but for now, here are the lyrics.
Everybody's on a journey Of their ooooown Trying to find some meaning In this we call life Sometimes you're flying Sometimes you're falling Sometimes you're walking Sometimes you're crawling We hurt We cry We live and love Don't hurt Don't lie Bring love and life