Webaholics
“Growing up in an orchard, you learn early that nothing just shows up because you want it to. You prune it, you water it, you protect it from frost, and you wait. That work ethic never leaves you.” That foundation - rows of apples, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, apricots, blueberries, and cherries stretching across eastern Washington - shaped Steve Paganelli long before he ever wrote a line of code or founded Webaholics.
Steve was raised in what locals called “apple country.” Washington State’s fruit belt was not just scenery - it was identity. Three generations before him were orchardists. His father, his grandfather, his great grandfather - all growers. In particular, Steve notes that there was no better role model than his father, both personally and professionally.
The rhythm of the year was measured in blossoms and harvests. Life was simple, rural, and direct. You worked because the trees demanded it. You showed up because your family depended on it. “It was old country living,” he said. “Simple life. But it teaches you loyalty and work ethic in a way the city does not.”
After high school, Steve did what many small-town kids do - he left as quickly as he could. He enrolled first at a community college in a small city about an hour away. He then continued west to another small college, and then a university in northwestern Washington. Computer science was the focus. Steve did everything but graduate. Instead, life pulled him in other directions. He followed relationships to California for a year. Then to New York for half a year. The story, as he calls it, has a “shorter version,” involving chasing girls and chasing possibility.
It was a layover, however, that changed everything. In 2007, flying standby from New York back to Washington, he stopped in Utah to see a friend and play a round of golf. That was all it took. “I fell in love with the state right away. Beautiful area. Beautiful people. Friendly. One of the cooler places I had seen.”
Steve went back to Washington, packed everything he owned into a Chevy Blazer, and drove to Salt Lake City. He lived in a buddy’s basement until he could afford a townhouse. He found work in event production - the kind of behind the scenes work that most people never notice. He set up printers for badges, hauled equipment, and solved last minute problems. This job opened the world.
For three years, Steve traveled constantly: Microsoft conferences, Adobe launches, real estate expos, pet conventions, the Detroit Motor Show, and massive tech gatherings across continents. He saw how global brands operated. He saw marketing machines in motion. And in the quiet moments between lifting crates and setting stages, he was teaching himself to code. “I was doing the grunt work,” he said, “but I was also learning software and marketing. I kept trying to get closer to that side of the business.”
Eventually Steve left the events world and moved fully into software development and digital marketing. He worked for smaller companies and then larger ones - running multimillion dollar campaigns, refining his skills, understanding what worked and what did not. Then a friend asked a question. "Why am I building this for someone else?"
In 2015, Steve started Webaholics. The name still makes him laugh. “You’re a web-aholic,” he jokes. But the humor hides something serious. Webaholics began as a digital marketing and web development agency focused on helping businesses build a strong online presence - websites, branding, SEO, software development, and strategic marketing campaigns. Over time, it grew into what he calls a three-legged barstool: first - the agency that builds and markets for clients, second - an e-commerce venture that has become a thriving online business, and third - proprietary software platform to manage it all. The OneApp platform allows e-commerce sellers to distribute listings across multiple sales channels and manage orders, fulfillment, inventory, and customer service in one integrated system. “It is basically a turnkey business platform,” Steve explained. “You can run everything from one place.”
Steve gives credit to his business partner, Jesse Dalton, for sticking with him for over the last decade. “I can count on one hand how many days he missed. I’ve never met a man with more loyalty and work ethic than him.”
Today, Webaholics operates out of a building on Main Street in Midvale that Steve did not originally plan to own. When his lease on a space expired, he was walking past a larger building and noticed that it was available. He asked the owner what it would cost to rent, then casually asked what it would cost to buy. The number was higher than he had budgeted, but he shook the man’s hand and walked away prepared to own his own place. “It was twice what I planned,” he admitted. “But I have a habit of going after more. That is where my work ethic pays off.”
There have been ups and downs: rapid growth, moments where the team expanded too quickly and had to recalibrate. But that recalibration has coincided with something transformative - the integration of artificial intelligence into their workflow. Webaholics now uses AI to assist with client communication, content generation, search engine optimization, and backend efficiencies. AI powered agents help draft blogs, build pages, analyze rankings, and automate responses. Instead of replacing people, Steve sees it as amplification. “If a tractor can do the work of ten men,” he said, “you do not fire nine. You have ten men now doing the work of a hundred.” For him, AI is a tool. It changes the scale of what is possible. It does not eliminate the need for judgment, relationships, or vision. He believes the businesses that thrive will be the ones that blend efficiency with authenticity.
Steve's wife, Morgan, now works alongside him, managing HR, accounting, and operations - “the company glue,” he calls her. She has pushed him further than he ever thought possible by always believing in him.
The team has expanded and contracted over the years, recently welcoming his cousin Adam Caganelli whose arrival felt like a breath of fresh air. Thirteen years younger, Adam brought new energy and a different generational lens to the company, challenging old habits and introducing sharper systems. He has been instrumental in weaving AI deeper into their infrastructure, helping streamline operations and rethink how a lean team can operate at scale.
Through it all, Steve measures success differently than he once did. Yes, revenue has doubled in strong years. Yes, the company has matured. But the through line is still that orchard - the patience and willingness to work through frost and drought, and the belief that growth takes time. “I always come back to where I started,” he said. “My dad, my grandpa, my great grandfather - they worked hard for what they had. They busted for it. That work ethic was instilled in me and my sister.”
Steve may have left apple country to chase girls, cities, golf courses, and global tech events. He may build software instead of tending trees. But the roots are the same. “You plant something, you nurture it, and you protect it,” Steve said. “That is what they did in the orchard. That is what I do in business.”
