💭 It all started as a dream of 3 young Slovaks with great ambitions bigger than the borders of their homeland. A dream that became reality when Flywize was created at the beginning of 2021 😊 Read about us and our journey below.
Oľga 'Oli'27 years
I was always an average student who just wanted to travel a lot. So, I decided to study in Brezno at Hotel Academy as they had an opportunity to work abroad during the summer. I hadn't been selected with my grades for the first time. So I started to study from one day to another 3-4 hours a day. Thanks to that I made my dream come true, and I went work to Italy. Learning another language in a different country showed me that everything is possible.
Therefore, I applied to study aviation management at a university in the United Kingdom. During my studies, I wanted to go as a lifeguard to the USA, but the problem was that I couldn't swim "crawl technique". So, I went to the kitchen in my student accommodation and asked: "who can swim? I need a favor."
From someone who couldn't speak any language, didn't travel, and couldn't swim, I became a person who lived and worked in 4 countries. I love the quote: "You don't need to find yourself, you have to create yourself", and I am trying to live by that.
Igor 'Igy'38 years
Coming to Flywize was a long journey for me. It took me 2 master degree programs, 15 years in professional IT services, 3 years of backpacking and 5 years of freelancing to realize that working on my own bussines is what keeps me focused and happy.
I’ve never thought that my early experiences from corporate world would somehow be helpful later in my life. Yeah, it was fun and I really enjoyed working with the coolest technologies out there but it was still a corporate job and I felt my results were lost among thousands of other people. I suppose burning out was the best thing that could possibly happen to me at that time. Completely lost I bought a one way ticket to Panama and spent the next 8 months travelling around Central America, no clue what I was doing.
But more than 3 months in Carribean scuba diving 4 times a day showed me the next part of my journey. Over the land from Slovakia to Philippines crossing the whole Russia and China by trains and busses to become a scuba diving instructor. The whole idea of teaching in Asia’s warm waters was a dream come true. Well … until I found a job offer from Iceland.
The next thing I remember was earning my living by diving and snorkeling in the clearest and coldest waters on earth. Life felt amazing, Iceland became my second home but I was still missing something. I knew I want to keep my freedom but at the same time I wanted to use my IT skills and build something meaningful from scratch.
And so few years later here we are. We have big plans and dreams and hopefully you will be a part of them.
Dominik 'Domčo'24 years
I remember my beginnings - I was still in elementary school and I coded the first websites for €8. I was excited to go to high school, which was supposed to broaden my horizons, but unfortunately I didn't get to see it. So I started freelancing alongside school. The truth is, I know more programming languages than human languages. Even though I'm the youngest member of the Flywize crew, I don't feel that way. The older I get the more sports appeal to me. If I'm not sitting at the computer or standing on a skateboard, I'm cooking something good or reading books. But most of the time the work wins 😃
How did I end up here? Completely by chance - when Olga first contacted me, I didn't even read the message properly and rejected her. Only when she found Igor, she find out that he and I have been colleagues for many years. That was a little over a year ago. Now we are here, hopefully helping you the best way we can. I also brought my girlfriend to our team recently, to help us with social networks - Hi Nika 😊
Q&A
1. Tell us something you are learning right now.
Oľga: I am trying to learn to do things ahead, not last minute all the time, that was, and that is my biggest challenge.
Igor: Few things actually. Besides frontend technologies and startup slang I constantly learn how be the best and coolest dad around.
Dominik: Skateboarding, breath holding, writing automated tests (a script that checks if everything works correctly, you don't need manually click and try when something changes in the program). Also, managing myself, which includes working in a team. Everyone should always move in a certain direction and always learn something new. I personally love the feeling of learning.
2. What is the best thing you have done in the last year?
Oľga: Self-development. Last year I understood that having the vision to do something is not enough without knowledge, people, mentors, podcasts, books, workshops and accelerators programs. I believe that last year I made a strong ground for next year. And I cant wait for it.
Igor: Bought a camper van.
Dominik: We have devised a very clever centralized system (brain) of our internal applications, thanks to which all our systems will communicate with each other very easily. The creation of new functions for our customers will be much easier and faster. We have it figured out, we are working on its implementation and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will succeed as soon as possible.
3. What is your superpower?
Oľga: When I believe in something, I won't stop until it's done!
Igor: All my superpower comes from Yerba Mate, secret herb from South America.
Dominik: Definitely find the right solution to the problem – and quickly. I don't mean only solving problems in programming, but also in life and business. I use it for good - so it's a superpower, right? 😅 As it turns out, I use it more than I thought 😂
4. What are your favorite five apps?
Oľga: Gymshark – Ben Francis, Canva – Melanie Perkins, Whatsapp, Spotify, Eventbrite.
Igor: Spotify, park4night, Quora and Patagonia.
Dominik: I don't use any app on a regular basis. But if I had to, I would like it to be Sleep Cycle - you can improve the quality of your sleep. On the other hand, Todoist, which I use almost every day, simply does exactly what it is supposed to do — helps me organize my daily tasks. I can't forget Spendee, a nicely designed app for tracking and categorizing your expenses.
P.S.: I would welcome advice on an app for learning and holding your breath. Freediving is my next activity to learn.
5. What would that look like if you had total freedom to design your own job here?
Oľga: Travelling around the world, talking with people to make awareness of what amazing we are creating and how helpful it is for millions of people. Attending conferences and finding other amazing people who can see the vision and the bigger picture. To create an environment where people working with us feel appreciated and love their job.
Igor: I would be traveling with my family and working remotely most of the year. I think there's no such thing as work life balance if you love what you do.
Dominik: Work does not take more than 4 hours a day, we are all connected online. We are not dependent on each other and we are not dependent on the continent or time zone.
6. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Oľga: Good leader, wife, mother and person.
Igor: Cool dad.
Dominik: Travel with my family and live in different corners of the world. Learn and improve our culinary skills from local "chefs". To accept everything that the place gives us and use it for favorite activities 🏄♂️🛹📚🏀🏸🏂⛸🤿🏔🧘🧗🥋
7. What do you love about your team?
Oľga: Our differences. It's a fun fact because, thanks to that, we argue the most, but at the same time, it is one of the best things that could happen. My most used phrase is "That shouldn't be that hard", while Igor is like ", Well, that is going to be a problem", and Dominik is like a bridge because he usually finds a solution to problems and realistically sees the next steps.
Igor: How we complement each other and how we are able to cover most of the areas in our startup. Each of us has different background and experiences.
Dominik: Our different way of thinking and perspectives on things leads to incredible brainstorming sessions with great ideas. We have already had long-term cooperation with Igy on several projects and we still „can't get enough“ of each other. Olga brings the wind into our sails with enthusiasm and motivation.
8. What would you be doing if you weren’t building your startup?
Oľga: Probably, I would work in another start-up with ambitions to be the best in their field or at least the best in Europe.
Igor: Spending time with my daughter, freelancing full time, working from my camper van, thinking about new startup ideas, biking and learning Icelandic.
Dominik: I would probably still do freelance and try to build another startup in the SAAS (software as a service) that would provide regular passive income. Thanks to this I would gain financial and time freedom.
9. What book are you reading right now?
Oľga: Haha. Personal MBA (Master of Business Administration) — as I still have so many things to learn 😊
Igor: Andri Snær Magnason - On time and water,
William Finnegan - Barbarian days: A surfing life,
Jessica Bruder - Nomadland (this is probably the 6th time I am reading it and I love it even more).
Dominik: Until recently, I only read non-fiction and motivational literature. After tasting and reading the book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the horizons expanded a little to other categories. The currently read book Predictably Irrational provides psychological insight into the issue of decision-making, including everything from emotions to social customs. I sometimes look at the book How to live Japanese - a guide to everything that Japan provides, from history and tradition to metropolitan cities flourishing with famous delicacies. Next in line, hopefully, will be Why We Sleep, which I've been putting off for a long time and I can't get to it.