"Kentico is a love brand that grows with its customers," says our Product Strategist

How Did You Get into Development?

I’ve always loved computers. But I had a weak computer at home, so I couldn’t play games. Instead, I started programming websites—and that's what made me love development

How has Kentico been with you throughout your career?

My first contact was with Kentico CMS, the predecessor to Xperience by Kentico, while migrating all the content for the Structural Funds website. I earned my first Kentico certification on version V, and it was the best choice. Over the years, I worked for Kentico partners like Sprinx Systems, Titio, and Actum Digital. 

You’ve known the product from early versions–from Kentico CMS to EMS to Xperience by Kentico. How do you view Kentico’s evolution?

From the start, it’s offered a lot and it’s been packed with features. Developers get a toolbox and can pick what they need. Websites can be built quickly and with a lot of options, and customization is the focus. This makes Kentico a love brand for developers. 

Why do they like It?

Imagine digging a ditch and being able to choose your shovel. One is basic—you know it’ll break sooner or later, even though you depend on it. Or you could choose a top-quality shovel, lightweight, with a rubber grip and a titanium blade. That’s Kentico. 

Developers work with this product daily, and its quality directly impacts the final result. 

There are constantly new features being added to make the work easier. Developers today have choices. There’s a shortage of them, so they won’t work with something that doesn’t interest them or doesn’t work well. 

According to our surveys, developers enjoy working with our product—it’s straightforward, not overly complex, and we have good documentation and a community that supports each other. 

Many of our competitors don’t have that, so they must overpay developers to work with their solution. 

Xperience grows with its customers. Initially, it was the ideal solution for small businesses, but today we’re a leader in the mid-market segment. 

How does Kentico reflect market changes?

Fourteen years ago, not everyone had their own website—they were hard for small businesses to afford. Competition wasn’t as fierce, so we put all our efforts into ensuring websites worked well and were fast. 

At that time, agencies delivered Kentico mainly to larger clients. Almost every Kentico-skilled acquaintance I knew had side projects where they implemented Kentico’s free edition for small businesses. 

Later, customers increasingly needed visibility among others as competition grew. Organic search optimization on Google was done with clean code, proper semantic headings, and XML sitemaps, which was enough. 

Today, a website not only has to attract customers but also retain them. This requires tools to track what customers do, need, lack, when they leave, and why. That’s why our current DXP platform is a comprehensive solution with many applications to meet all these needs. 

How Did You Join Kentico.

After leaving my previous job, I looked carefully. When you go to an interview, you wonder if you’ll fit in there. You look to see if your future boss is senior enough to teach you something and who shares your values.  

Nowhere felt right; something was missing. I thought I’d approach it as I always advise others—I thought about what my love brand was, and Kentico came to mind first. The people I knew from there were always easygoing—I chalked it up to their being based in Moravia. 😊 

There’s a saying that if you fall in love with a company, you should go to reception and say: I won’t leave until I meet the owner and explain why I should work here. 

I met Petr Palas once, so I thought he might remember me. I wrote to him directly. I was lucky; Petr replied promptly, and so did Tonda. We spent the following day on the phone, clarifying what we do and where we’re headed. 

So you convinced them.

Yes, I talked them into it. Before starting, I created a personal mission, something that would get me up for work every morning. 

I want to help the company get as many people as possible to use Kentico—it's a great product. I believe in it, and I know it works well for both developers and marketers. 

Ironically, COVID helped me. Kentico’s Brno location was a limitation before the pandemic; I’m from Prague, and I didn’t want to relocate. Today, however, we have open office in Prague so I can  go twice a week to office and rest stay flexible and work from home.

What’s Kentico like as an employee?

The work-life balance here is fantastic. Kentico respects that I have a family and need to rest. The company embodies this—the goal isn’t to drain people. I have, for example, two hours blocked off in my calendar after lunch every day to walk with my wife and young daughter. Thanks to that, I can enjoy her childhood, I’m calm, and I’m content. 

At Kentico, we plan quarterly, with a one-year outlook. It completely changes the work dynamics and stress level in the company. The company is also very stable—its culture, organizational structure, expectations, and way of working. 

Many companies take talented people, use them, and then kick them out. Kentico operates differently, it’s very culture based. Everyone is friendly and genuinely tries to help and support each other. 

We hire people interested in the work and eager to learn. We work intensively with them. And as they grow professionally, we offer them new roles, promotions, and development opportunities to keep their work enjoyable. 

People don’t mind moving between positions—it’s not about titles but the product and advancing the company because they care about it. Petr selects a specific type of people and then gives them freedom because he knows he can rely on them. 

As Product Strategist, where are you leading Kentico?

That ties into my mission. Honestly, our product is great. So, I work with the marketing team to ensure as many people as possible learn about us and that we speak about the product in a way that reflects its quality. 

David has his mission in sight every day. 

I fulfill the role of product manager for the Xperience by Kentico. We’re adding many new features, hoping they’ll increase interest in our product—attracting potential clients not only with what’s already in it, but what’s planned for the future. 

We’re working on a new generation of Kentico Xperience—a completely new product. My agency experience comes in handy because I represent the voice of our implementation partners, ensuring we don’t forget about them during development. We’re building the product to ensure Kentico remains a love brand for everyone working with it. 

Author.