- Clear from day one. How was the idea for Order Group born?
- It is the diversity of technologies that makes the job so exciting
- Core values were defined from the beginning. Above all… curiosity!
- Communication in the team and a good relationship with the client are crucial
Find out how Order Group developed its core values and why it’s a great place to grow for a senior developer - all that from the person who contributed to the company from its very beginning.
Clear from day one. How was the idea for Order Group born?
-At that time, I lived with another co-founder Michał Dżaman, and we both have already been friends with Paweł. We were still students then. Paweł came to our house once when we were playing on Xbox. He asked if we wanted to start a company. We said, "Yes, okay, but don't bother us now." and continued the game. And this is how the Order Group emerged.
Maciej, Paweł, and Michał already knew Filip and Karol - the future business-and-design core of the newborn company. Filip and Karol were designing websites and digital solutions for the event industry at the time, including the Stodoła club. All five eventually formed the Order Group.
-Admittedly, we did not sit down and decide what the company should look like. We were young, and we didn't know much about it. The vision itself, however, seemed clear from the beginning. Karol deals with graphics and UX, the three of us, Michał and Paweł - take care of technology, and Filip is responsible for sales, management, and customer service.
Maciek has been CTO from the very beginning of the company's existence. As he says himself, this was because, during his studies, he had his first experience with web technologies, for which there was a growing demand. That made him a tech leader of the freshly forming company, and his career as a senior developer could flourish.
It is the diversity of technologies that makes the job so exciting
-The project I especially remember was the Concept Box. It was a big project, and it had a lot of cool technologies - Python and Django by default, but we did that in C ++ too to make it faster. We were really excited about it. When there are a few technologies in the project, and you can make something using other means than usual, you learn and develop your skills. It's that simple. That was one of the very first huge projects. We have maintained this curiosity for years and have never closed ourselves off new. We believed we could do anything.
Maciej and the entire founding body love change, which positively impacts the whole organization, especially on selecting their projects. It is one of the reasons why senior developers are so eager to work in Order Group - a lot is happening here, also in terms of used technologies. One day they code in Python, the other in Java, and in the meantime, they learn and deliver front-end solutions. Also, people who come here immediately after graduation are happy to find a flat structure company where endless development opportunities complement a friendly atmosphere.
Core values were defined from the beginning. Above all… curiosity!
-It has always been my dream to have a project that I enjoy and a team that I really feel comfortable with. And this is a team of specialists with whom I can discuss and work out solutions that make us achieve high quality. It motivates me.
In projects, the client is usually interested in the final effect. How we get there is a matter of experience, intuition, and skills - this is where we can shine. Working at Order Group requires flexibility and readiness to learn - being a senior developer is not a dead-end, but the very start of an exciting journey towards excellence. As Maciek said, we approach each project as a problem to be solved. The more diverse projects we obtain, the more different issues we solve. And in our industry, solving problems is the greatest fun..
Communication in the team and a good relationship with the client are crucial
-Of course, dynamics in a workplace are not always wanted. There are days when the challenges posed by various technologies are simply overwhelming. I understand it perfectly. Fortunately, at Order Group, I don't have to smile artificially and pretend enthusiasm - I can be myself. I have my freedom - we created Order Group to have it, and it applies to everybody. So even if a person has a bad day, they can be honest and talk about challenges with the team, so we work out solutions. And at the end, everyone jumps back to efficiency and usual rhythm.
The company's flat structure helps to discuss further development or activities in individual projects honestly. Over the years of work, Maciek also realized that the role of CTO and tech lead is not just knowledge of technology. He paid more and more attention to communication with the client, and he wants everyone in the team to be aware of how the business works and how to take care of the relationship with the client properly.
-Knowing why we do something for the client and why everything goes the way it does, is needed and desired among developers. Everyone has to be more or less involved in it. In my case, it happened more intensely because I felt responsible as the owner. Inevitably, customer satisfaction had to become a core value for me - I learned it. It is necessary if you want to make good software.
For Order Group, a good understanding of the business by developers at all levels of seniority is crucial. Thanks to that, employees can grow in better and better projects and be promoted to roles that require more and more responsibility.
So if you are driven by curiosity and having a good understanding of the business is important to you and... well, you like to code, it seems that Order Group is the place for you too. Want to check out other ExtraORDERnary stories? Go to the article about Łukasz, our tech leader. Or straight to the careers page. :)
