My Startup Story: Ondrej Kratky, Co-Founder and CEO, Liftago

Hi, great to have you here! Can you tell us a little about Liftago?

We're the good guys in the competition of a lot of big bad boys. Liftago is a very successful although still very local Czech ride-hailing company. We're the best rated transportation app on both iOS and Android globally but we still have to learn to go international. Our service allows passengers to choose from offers of best licensed drivers around. This model fosters quality and driver happiness. Business-wise, we are building an auction-based marketplace for urban logistics.

What was it like starting a company from the scratch - did you or your friends and family have any doubts?

There have been doubts, there are plenty of doubts and there will be doubts in the future. Without doubts, you'd be building something really boring.

What do you feel like are your biggest responsibilities as a CEO?

Developing people both inside (my team) and outside (customers, partners, supporters, stockholders, the public) and always driving the vision of the company we are building.

Do you have a corporate experience to compare with?

Yep. I've been 5 years with a corporate company - in marketing and sales. This was my after-graduation career I've dropped pretty quickly. I have always focused on good people which is a strategy that has been successful both in corporate and start-up life.

What gave you the power to take on such important role? Was it your education, previous experience or something else?

It was the support of my co-founders - especially the personality of Juraj Atlas, who gave me a lot of space to grow and learn and then take over the role from him as a CEO.

What is it that you love about working for a startup?

Constant change, new learning, problems to solve and the thrill of building a service that is and will be changing the life of so many people for the better.

And tell me what is the hardest part?

The hardest part for me is to learn to rest, learn to say a lot of NOs and find something remotely as exciting as the work that I do to balance out my life.

Would you recommend working for a startup to other people?

I would definitely recommend everybody to find passion in their lives - both in their work and private lives. It doesn't matter if it is a start-up or not. If you're a born builder, then yes, I'd recommend to take on a start-up project.

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Thank you Ondro! 🙌🏻