Applifting
25th October 2021
Jan Hauser is the CEO of Applifting UK, a London, and Prague-based international software house with experience in digital product creation and innovation for both established corporate clients and fresh start-ups.
Seven years ago, Jan Hauser joined Applifting, a software development company in Prague.
“Everything started with a nice cold pint of foamy Pilsner Urquell in a small pub in Prague. Two tech weirdos reached out to me, asking me to come and discuss their company and a project they needed help with. They were Vratislav Kalenda and Filip Kirschner (one of whom I knew from back when I was in college), founders of a company called Applifting.”
Fast forward to December 2019 and the team at Applifting began the discussion of opening a London office in the most unconventional setting.
“The best strategic decisions always happen in a conference room, right? Well, not really. The idea of opening a London office and showing off our fintech skills on the UK market was made at Applifting’s 2019 Christmas party at 3 AM in the morning.”
In 2020, Jan moved to London and into Level39 as a hot desk member, marking the official opening of Applifting in the UK.
“This is our first-ever physical international expansion. And when I say physical, I really mean it; the difference between being on a call and actually meeting in person has diminished significantly during the last two years.”
Applifting specializes in full-stack end-to-end delivery of web and mobile applications. From analysis through validation, UX/UI design, and solution architecture to implementation and testing.
“We help our clients bring their ideas to life. Applifting is their partner in all phases of the product creation process. According to the Deloitte Fast 50 report for 2020, we are the eighth fastest growing company in the Czech Republic, ranking 22nd in Central Europe.”
Applifting belongs to so-called teal companies, where profit is only a tool for achieving higher goals and where the satisfaction of employees and clients comes first. It is based on the unique principle of complete openness, flat structure, and personal responsibility. The company’s main clients include Erste Group, Jablotron, and Komerční banka. Applifting has grown to more than 120 employees, delivering over 190 apps all around the world.
“During the seven years that we’ve been on the market, we have made significant progress. We started out as a pure software development company and then started to focus more and more on all aspects of digital product creation. Nowadays, we can support our partners in everything related to technology, product, design, marketing, or HR.”
“I personally am a tech guy, developer, and software architect, but I have a certain passion for product development and validation too. In my opinion, today’s market is oversaturated with too many new apps and oftentimes meaningless products. Launching to the market at any cost isn’t the way to go. Only those products that solve real customers’ problems should see the light of the day. Applifting helps to keep my sanity in this matter. We make sure that everything we create makes sense and helps to make someone’s life easier. All of us, regardless of position or seniority, have the chance to help evaluate the ethical aspect of every product we create. We do not work on projects until there is a company-wide consensus.
“It’s been a year now since I moved to London and started to work for our UK branch, so it is due time to evaluate these 12 months. We were able to engage in many valuable discussions and grow our business network quite significantly. The Level39 mentorship program was very helpful, and I warmly recommend it to everyone. We successfully helped another member of Level39 to accelerate their product. At the same time, we’ve also started to grow our UK team: we’ve successfully onboarded our first UK Applifter.”