Our story

How it all came about

You see, the story of JOBKA is also my personal story about courage, believing in your own idea and how sometimes circumstances lead you to a completely new path. And it actually started innocently enough. In 2010, I was full of ideas. Some were great, some were less so, and some even ended disastrously. But that never deterred me. In 2018, I was working in the IT department of an automotive company when my boss came to me with a somewhat unexpected task. “Mark, you’re a musician, right? Could you provide a sound system for the lobby so we can play music and keep the employees up to date?” I thought, why not? After all, I already had experience with music, so I went for it. I got a couple of suppliers, we discussed the equipment, we measured the decibels, we prepared bids… And then it turned out to be a pretty expensive affair. And that’s when it dawned on me – we all have a mobile phone in our pocket. Why can’t we use something we already have instead of a sound system? A mobile app! At that moment, an idea was born that would soon change everything. I sat down with my colleagues and we started putting together a brief for the software company. Among those companies was Skeleton Software from Pilsen, a company completely unknown to me at the time

What surprised me when I got the bids was firstly the rather high price for the first version, which basically did “nothing”, and then the fact that all the companies came up with a similar price. However, Skeleton Software came up with something extra – an off-the-shelf, pre-made solution that fit our needs nicely. The decision was made. But the story doesn’t end there. When I had to present the project to management, I ran into a problem. There was simply no budget for it. The project was officially rejected. And now what, what next?

I knew I had something extraordinary on my hands. So I made what I would now call a life decision: I invested my own money. I gave up my life savings on the land where I was going to build a house and instead put it into getting JOBKA off the ground. I remember going to the director and saying that I was going to start the project on my own dime and that it was going to be my own business. He agreed. And so we ordered the first version of JOBKA 1.0. I had no idea how quickly it would take off. Within a few months, I sold the license to about ten clients and at that point Honza Netrval, now my colleague, managing director and co-owner, came to me to see if I would enter into a partnership with Skeleton Software. I agreed.

And from that moment on, things took off. Development has accelerated, with a new version coming out every month (sometimes twice a month) and our features are constantly expanding. My team has grown with enthusiastic people like Martina, Veronika and Honza, who are now the management of the company. Today I look back and feel immense gratitude for not being afraid to take risks. In the beginning it was a simple project, an idea to help the employees of my then employer. When I decided to invest in the development of JOBKA from my own savings, it was a bet all on one card. It could have gone either way, but I knew that if we succeeded, it could have far-reaching implications.

And I was right.

Today, it’s no longer just a lunch ordering app or a company communication app. JOBka is completely changing the way businesses operate. We’re helping managers better manage their teams, giving employees a simple tool for communication, and bringing efficiency to all businesses like they’ve never known before. I believe that every step we take, every new feature and every decision we make leads to us changing businesses across Europe for the better. And that’s not just my achievement. It’s the success of everyone who has put their energy, ideas and commitment into it.I believe that with JOBC we have started a revolution that is moving business for the better.

And you know what? This is just the beginning.