Shared learnings from building Portainer
Neil Cresswell took part in the Morgo CEO Leadership Program in 2023. As the CEO of Portainer, a software container management platform, he has been on a steep learning curve since co-founding the company in 2016. Morgo is incredibly proud to be part of Neil's journey as a CEO. In the following article Neil shares the 'warts and all' learnings of his journey with Portainer to date - learnings he hopes will help others on a similar path.
Neil started out to answer the question: what does it really take to build a global tech business from scratch, without a blueprint, a Silicon Valley board, or a safety net?
Raw unfiltered truth of what going global takes
In Lessons from the Trenches, he opens the curtain on the raw, unfiltered reality of scaling a startup. From humble beginnings as an open source side project to a product with millions of users across 170 countries -this is not your typical founder success story. This is the version you don’t often hear, the one told in real time, from the thick of the action, where every mistake costs money, and every lesson is paid for in time, stress, and sleepless nights.
Neil shares candid reflections on the moments that defined Portainer’s journey:
- raising capital before understanding the rules,
- hiring globally before mastering compliance,
- building a go-to-market engine that initially misfired,
- and learning the hard way that premature structure can choke early-stage momentum.
He explores the tension of serving a demanding open source community while trying to build a viable commercial business, and the constant struggle to align product, people, and purpose in a market still finding its shape.
Whether you’re a founder, an operator, or just someone fascinated by the chaos and clarity of startup life, this book offers a powerful mix of vulnerability, insight, and practical wisdom. It’s not a retrospective. It’s a field guide still being written, honest, imperfect, and unfinished...but we are delighted he is happy to share it with you.
