Read about the story of a friendship born on one of the boats during an ITCORNER cruise, as a result of which, long-term business cooperation was established.

Strategy and… the loneliness of a leader

We are just finishing a 10-day stay in Croatia, during which we had the opportunity to spend time together on one yacht, sailing the picturesque waters between Sibenik, Vis, Svar, and Trogir. The charm of the September sun-soaked nature, the islands we were passing, the incomparable colors of the Mediterranean cuisine, and a few interesting yachting challenges.

The opportunity to socialize in a group of nearly 30 owners of companies belonging to the ITCORNER cluster – talking and singing until dawn, sharing different experiences, making plans for the future. It is a pity we have to return to everyday life – “Next year we will definitely meet again….” – it’s not a coincidence these words are repeated by the majority of the ITCORNER veterans.

After we return, we meet several times to define the goals of our cooperation and build mutual trust. It turns out that the history of Marcin’s company, which he has been developing for 10 years, overlaps at many points with our business experience. We talk about the organization’s vision and analyze different strategic possibilities that the company can pursue in the near future. The most fun is when we discover some of the “gems” hidden in the company’s portfolio, followed by close collaboration with the fantastic team of specialists who create them. Exciting discussions on the strategic “focus”, sorting out the sales, preparing for trade fairs, and polishing the company’s offer and its key processes. All this makes us feel more and more a part of the “EXSO family” and allows us to work together on increasingly better solutions.

However, the most interesting challenge turns out to be the “loneliness of a leader”, which sooner or later everyone who runs their own business confronts. The abundance of both opportunities and threats, the ups and downs, the need for constant decision-making, the fatigue and stress related to the responsibility for the fate of the entire corporate crew – one can probably find even more analogies to sailing. The question sometimes asked, ” What is all this for? Wouldn’t it be simpler to stay on shore and get employed by someone in a so-called cushy job?”. Working together on EXSO’s development strategy, we experience an incredible feeling of business togetherness – we become “silent partners” for Marcin.

Together we look for new solutions, learn from each other, and come up with ideas that neither of us individually would have thought of. Why? What unites us is the synergy of experience, the ability to speak the same language, the “mindset” of entrepreneurship.  “Knowledge and ability to understand the complexity of our organization, yet a remarkable openness and conversational ease” – this is the best compliment we could hear from Marcin at the end of the first stage of our cooperation, preparing the company for strategic transformation.

Development during the pandemic

Plans for 2020 have not yet had time to settle down when an unexpected blow falls on us – the COVID19 pandemic. March lockdown, momentary shock, fear for both physical health and business health. “What will happen next?” Fortunately, we work together in ITCORNER – and more than 100 other people ask themselves the same questions and regularly share answers:

• “We are not laying people off, but we are tightening our belts.”
• “We are taking even more care of our clients, understanding the horror of the situation in which they find themselves.”
• “We are looking for new innovative solutions to turn the crisis into success!”

These and many other inspirations help make necessary decisions at EXSO as well. We adopt a contingency plan for the next 6 months and involve all of the companies’ employees in its preparation. This pays off with increased commitment, trust, and a sense of unity, despite the obvious barriers associated with the immediate transition to remote work mode. Taking care of ongoing communication, maintaining the foundations of the team culture developed over the years, and thinking ahead become crucial. From that attitude, ideas for innovative products emerge that can be instrumental to the company’s clients in times of pandemic restrictions.

Product or service?

One particular story surprises even ourselves – just before the pandemic, we were testing the possibilities of launching a product that had long been “slumbering” in our portfolio. Visits to existing customers, talks with potential buyers, meetings at industry trade shows – now deprived of the possibility to continue these activities, we came into “lean startup” mode.

We build a prototype with the intention of testing as many market hypotheses as possible rather than software features. We select a few industries, identify the customers we can most easily reach, and start presenting clients with the solution as it emerges before their eyes. We gather feedback, add more ideas, and reduce what turns out to be unnecessary. We work in weekly cycles, a little “after hours,” in parallel with handling ongoing projects in which we support our now crisis-affected clients.

This strategy bears surprising fruit. After three months, the product prototype is ready for demonstration at a trade fair of the… yacht industry, which takes place overnight as a consequence of the holiday loosening of pandemic restrictions. At the same time, our existing customers appreciate the company’s focus on their needs and… despite the crisis, begin to increase their demand for our support, giving us the opportunity to continue working on improving the product. “We made it,” “The worst is behind us” – EXSO’s employees, maintaining health and a sense of purpose, create value in the form of new knowledge, ideas and solutions, while the company’s management has time to figure out what to do next.

We would do it during… the next ITCORNER cruise, which, due to the pandemic, is organized unusually in Poland, in August 2020. To our surprise, we discover the beauty of Gdańsk Bay and a whole new opportunity to de-stress, exchange knowledge, and build relationships. Four boats, four crews, and ambitious plans to internationalize the next edition of this unique event.

“For better or for worse”

When together with Marcin we ask ourselves today, “Why did we become friends?”, we answer without hesitation – “Because we are soul mates!”. What unites us are our common values, our approach to business, our passion for travel, the topic of our families and children, but most of all our conviction that… it’s not that easy to find someone you can trust “for better or for worse.” Ahead of us there are plans for further product development, a project to improve the managerial competence of EXSO employees, a joint business, and another vacation… which this time we are spending together with our families in sunny Cyprus. Thinking back about the Croatian cruise in 2019 – probably none of us expected that the acquaintance made “on the boat” would turn into friendship and long-term business cooperation. There’s something about the ITCORNER cruises, the atmosphere of trust and holiday adventure, that foster the relationships to grow and build.

Marcin Kuczyński, EXSO:

„Looking back from the perspective of these past few years – since Przemek and I met on a cruise and started our business cooperation – I am convinced that this was one of the key moments in my business life. We went from a stage where we did cool projects but at the cost of great stress and not necessarily satisfying financial results, to doing even more interesting projects, carried out with a lot of ease and with quite decent results. Moreover… we actually became friends (despite the differences in characters… :-)), which is great value for me!”