STX Next is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It started in 2005 in the Netherlands with 3 founders and has since grown significantly. It now has offices in Poznan, Wroclaw, and Pila, Poland and has become larger than its original parent company. The CEO reflected on how the company has grown from fitting in his Toyota to requiring multiple vehicles to transport employees. Clients praise STX Next for their expertise and commitment to deadlines. Lessons learned include the importance of trust, paying salaries on time, focusing on win-win partnerships, and focusing on costs while maintaining profitability.

1. STX Next
10 years anniversary
Maciek Dziergwa, CEO

2. 10 years ago in the Netherlands

3. STX Next milestones
● 03.2005 the beginning (Peter Valkunberg, Andrzej Mleczko, Maciej Dziergwa)
Alt Control Internet & Communications Poland Sp. z o.o.
● 09.2007 start working for Van Buuren (Henk Van Leussen)
● 03.2008 Softax buys ACC Poland (Pawel Pokojski, Ryszard Srokosz)
STX Next sp. z o.o.
● 11.2008 start working for the first bank - Inteligo (Rafal Cytrycki, Ryszard
Srokosz)
● 07.2012 start working for Key Ingredient (David Goodman)
● 07.2013 start working for Hogarth World Wide (Steve White)
● 03.2013 start an office in Wroclaw (Konrad Rotkiewicz)
● 12.2013 STX becomes bigger than Softax (STX employees)
● 12.2013 start an office in Pila (Patryk Gruszka)

4. STX Next Today

5. STX Next Today

6. STX Next Today

7. STX Next Today

8. STX Next Today

9. STX Next Today - Poznan

10. STX Next Today - Poznan

11. STX Next Today - Wroclaw

12. STX Next Today - Pila

14. First employees quotes
“Earlier: The whole company fits into the Toyota of Maciej.
Today: To transport all employees, Maciek would have to replace Kia with Autosan.”
“Earlier: The CEO used to code together with us.
Today: The CEO probably doesn't have a code editor installed.”
“Earlier: K: Beside development we did all chores ourselves (MD made bank transfers and minor
renovations, Majestic was taking care of the admin’s job).
Today: We have a whole buch of people for that stuff.”
“Earlier: Maciek had iPhone 3G.
Today: Maciek has iPhone 6.”

15. Why people work at STX
● great atmosphere, friendly people,
● development opportunities,
● possibility to work with the newest technology
● Agile and the opportunity to work with scrum,
● flexible working hours,
● internal initiatives,

16. What clients say about STX Next
"Their demonstrated knowledge of Python and Plone is bar none; they're…"
(Decernis, WA, USA)
"The results have been great, and we are very happy with the work they delivered. They very often
went above and beyond the parameters of the contract, but never asked for more money."
(State Forests Information Cetner, Poland)
"They seem like they go above and beyond in terms of commitment. There have even been times
when the developer we use has stayed late and worked weekends to get things finished for us by our
deadline."
(Cielo24, CA, USA)
“They’ve collaborated with us on a number of high-priority projects, and the end customers have been
consistently impressed with our deliverables.”
(Houston, TX, USA)

17. Lessons learned
● Business is about trust (not about friendship)
● Pay salaries always on time (always last day of month)
● Win-win or no deal
● Focus, specialize
● Keep an eye on costs
● Never cheat, be fair
● Always be profitable

18. Lessons learned
● It is important what you decide not to do
● Things don’t happen by themselves, you have to make them
happen
● Listen to, but don't do everything others tell you
- don’t go to the Netherlands, find job in Poland
- sell licencess
- Python is a niche
- do your own products

19. “Stay hungry...Stay foolish”
- Steve Jobs
Never be satisfied, and always push yourself…..
…..Do (or be willing to keep trying) the things people say
cannot be done.