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Interview: David Kratochvíl and Web Service
Jaroslav Ludvík
Jaroslav Ludvík
Updated on 10/10/2023 – 8 min. reading
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Hi David, please introduce yourself. Who is David Kratochvíl?
Hi, I’m David and I lead a team of great people at an agency where we make custom web applications. I would say that David Kratochvíl is quite a cheerful guy :), an athlete and a person with life values. But it’s hard to say how much I have a distorted view of myself, those who know me have to judge that.
Tell us more about the Web Service. what are you doing What makes you special? What projects are you involved in?
We primarily program, code and draw. If I had to say it specific database by industry very generally, we simplify company processes and save companies time by building systems tailored to the client’s business. Typically, a company comes to do some activity and we design and create a system for it. It can be, for example, an e-shop – we do most of that, or a system for corporate communication.
I consider vaseliga.cz to be one of the largest and most complex systems that we have made . We also made a technical documentation system for GE or an internal communication application for Moneta. Then from the eshop eshop.autopalace.cz , or bola.cz or artisan.cz , which has about 10 stores. We also partly participate in the development of your VPS center .
Why did such famous clients choose you?
Mostly due to the fact that we are able to devise and implement a system that does not annoy employees, but helps them. E-shops come to us mostly because we have experience with complex systems, we know how to work with a large database – for example, we have a client with 13 million products. And at the same time we have insight into online marketing.
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What are you most proud of for the Web service?
Recently on our latest version of the Weseus system. Which is the core on which we build our systems. It is technologically up-to-date, we can scale it, develop it and maintain it in the long term.
We’ve also pretty much picked up company processes, so we manage to plan better, stick to budgets and deadlines – which is sometimes a problem for developers. But I’m not saying it’s 100% yet.
Where do you see the Web service in 5 years?
I would like to move more abroad. We already have a system ready for this and we already have several clients in Slovakia and one application is running worldwide. We will launch your league in several European countries in October. But I would also like to look beyond the sea.
Do you have any company values and how are they reflected in the running of the company?
Definitely. We try to be open as much as possible. Either to people in the company or to clients. I try to say everything straight. Our people know how much we invoice to whom, how much work we have, what are the plans, outlook for the future and we also have open salaries. But he also sees the worse side. For example, who does not pay us, or who will quit, but these are fortunately only exceptions.
Why did you decide on an open company policy? What motivated you to do it?
It was several impulses, primarily experience. PEOPLE are interested in the company – they ask, I am personally quite honest, and we were also inspired by YOUR LEAGUE, which has been practicing this concept since the beginning and it works for them. And last but not least, literature. They are already sloppy books, but Happiness Delivered and Radical Openness helped me a lot .
How many people work for you and what tools do you use to manage them?
There are currently 8 of us and we are not planning a large increase in people yet. We will be hiring a maximum of 1-2 people. Last year was a year of investment in a new system for us, so we need to return the investment to profit. We are building a company based on certainty = profit, not turnover.
In addition to Freela for project management, we use Spreadsheet for financial planning. Then classically Slack for communication.
How did you get there? Have you always wanted to start a business?
He wanted I was modeled on my uncles, they both ran businesses and I liked it, even though they both had a hard time. One is still in business with truck transport – and quite successfully.
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Karel Dytrych brought me to WS when I started as a marketer while still in Pardubice.
How does your typical working day go? Do you have any routines you recommend?
Make coffee in the morning. :)) No, it’s really great for me to get up early, to do the hardest tasks of the day, as soon as possible. Alternatively, plan a day in advance. Set 3 main tasks that I want to accomplish the following day. And rest too. Working 12 hours a day is not efficient in the long run.
Are you going to make a business failure? You can do more.
For example, when I thought at the beginning that everything would be fine, somehow without work. Or when we underestimated financial planning, hired more people, bigger offices and all of a sudden we almost quit because there wasn’t so much work for marketing and some clients quit.
Also when I kept people in the company with whom I was not 100% satisfied. The problems after them dragged on with us even a year and a half after their departure. It might sound like I’m blaming them, but I’m not at all. My decision must follow me.
What precautions did you take?
First of all, we started planning our finances better. We made a plan of expenses, income and projected income. We retrospectively evaluate months, but also clients. It was also necessary to adjust some collaborations with clients that were not profitable for us. Which is one of the most difficult tasks for an existing client to agree to new terms. Explaining to the client why this is a problem for us and what will happen if we continue to do this has worked well for me.
We are also more careful with costs, we keep an eye on it.
Which project was the most successful for you? I don’t mean the biggest client, but maybe something that you look at years later and say, yes – that worked.
I’m really excited about our new core system – Weseus, which agent email list not only we like, but also our clients. We already have quite a few projects on it and so far everyone praises it. We have a big milestone coming up in September. We will launch two e-shops on the new system, where each makes about 70 orders per day and the turnover is around 7 million per month… Both e-shops will also have two language versions. With one client we go to Slovakia, with the other we go from Slovakia to us.
David, you are a great athlete. Does sport help you in business? Do you have any overlap in it? Would you say that entrepreneurs are athletes in something specific?
Clear your head. I also learned two useful things in sports. Lose and don’t give up. I primarily overlap with VAŠI LIGUA , where I play tennis and run. I would say that business athletes are more competitive. For example, I always challenge myself and bet on beers.
And don’t those bets cost you money?
Not much. I’m a data-driven person, so I only bet when there’s a high probability that I’ll win. So I usually win. :))
Where will e-shops and e-commerce be in 5 years?
I don’t know, I don’t think anyone knows, maybe people like Bezos . I’m not one, so I don’t want to predict nonsense.
What do you do to keep up with it?
In the long term, we have to educate ourselves, advance the system, advance methodologies. Trying to implement sensible things, not VR shopping fads and such. This is nice to look at, but I don’t think it will be usable anytime soon.
Who has influenced you the most in business and what?
About Tony Hsieh in the book Happiness delivered . By his openness to people and his approach to them. Otherwise, I don’t have many role models or mentors in business. I like to do things according to my own thinking and the thinking of people here. These are people I trust and who have insight into our business.
You have been in contact with our VPS Center for a kiel desegni gimndan afiŝon: merkati vian trejnsalejon efike few years now. What is his best and worst quality?
The best thing is probably the intuitiveness of the entire VPS center, I’m not a very proficient (and now I’m sorry for the word) “dude”, so I only know a few commands in the terminal, but I don’t even need to know more, because I can click everything in the ce nter without the risk that I would like something after..
Worst? Faster implementation of the roadmap you have in mind, but that’s also partly our mess – they’re not people. :))
Please recommend some websites, articles, books or podcasts that we should not miss.
