From Employment to Data Outsourcing: It’s Not About Code, but the Business Value of Technology
Today, I am the founder and CEO of Dastellar, a small but focused IT outsourcing company. We specialize in building data platforms and developing analytics and AI solutions for businesses that work with large volumes of data.
I am focusing the company’s growth primarily on the US market, while also working with requests from Europe, particularly Poland.
My career began in employment, where I developed as a technical specialist. At a certain point, I came to a key realization: working in IT is not just about writing code. Much more important is understanding the business value of technology and being able to explain it in terms of results.
This way of thinking became the foundation for my move from employment to entrepreneurship and the launch of my own company.
Data Companies Are Falling Short—I Decided to Go Deeper
How did the business idea come about?
The business idea grew directly out of my experience as an employee. I saw that companies in the data market often fail to offer clients a full range of services and fall short on quality. I wanted to take this work further, broader, and deeper—not create isolated fragments of solutions, but build an end-to-end process: from collecting data in one place and making it accessible to generating insights through analytics and AI/ML. This is what prompted me to create Dastellar.
Technical Expertise, Explaining ROI in the Client’s Terms, and a Problem-Oriented Approach
What key skills helped you launch the business?
The foundation of my growth consists of three key components.
First, a strong technical foundation—without it, it is impossible to evaluate solutions or ensure quality execution.
Second, the ability to turn complex technical concepts into clear business value, including explaining them in terms of ROI for the client.
Third, a problem-oriented approach: I start with the client’s real problem and build a solution to address it, rather than using it to showcase technology.
A Niche, Large Clients, and Delegation Instead of Total Control
What were the 3 most difficult challenges you tackled in the early years?
At the beginning, the three most difficult tasks were:
First, finding a viable niche and resisting the urge to “sell everything to everyone.”
Second, learning to work with large clients, since they are the ones with significant volumes of data and a real need for comprehensive solutions.
Third, gradually letting go of total control and moving toward delegation so the company could grow without constant hands-on management of every detail.
The First Months Without Clients Taught Me Not to Wait, but to Fight for Every Opportunity
What crises has your business faced, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest crisis was the first few months without clients, when operating expenses kept coming in but there was no revenue. This taught me not to wait, but to act—to fight for every opportunity and demonstrate our value before a contract was signed.
A Free One-to-Three-Week Trial as the Strongest Growth Driver
Which decisions proved most effective for the company’s growth?
The strongest growth driver has been our free trial model. We offer a prospective client one to three weeks of work at no charge and with no obligation, formalized through a contract. For the client, this means minimal risk; for us, it is an effective way to start working together. If we address the need precisely and demonstrate quality, it becomes much easier to expand the relationship afterward.
“Everything for Everyone” Scatters Your Efforts—Focus Determines the Pace of Growth
Which of your mistakes do you now consider your most valuable experience?
The most valuable experience came from a period of losing focus early on. I often agreed to take on different requests and positioned the team as one that did “everything for everyone.” This scattered our efforts and made it harder to develop a strong offering. The main lesson is that you need to define your niche earlier and stick to it more consistently, because focus directly affects both quality and growth rate.
