4 min. read
An interview with Michał about 16 years of building, betting on horizontals, and turning “impossible” into opportunity.
Michał, you’ve been at OLX for 16 years. That’s a long time. How did it all start?
I joined in 2011 as a Business Analyst. It was a fascinating time – Allegro Group was buying Sherlock and rebranding it to Tablica.pl. The company was also starting to acquire different businesses across Europe.
Everything was fragmented. Each new company was on a different platform, different tech stack. There was no common database. My job was to build business intelligence – consolidating all this data into one system so we could actually understand what was happening across the business.
I was building the foundation for what would become a much bigger operation.
And then you moved from data to operations?
Yes. When Otomoto and Otodom were moved under OLX, the company started focusing on verticals – Motors, Real Estate. I became the operational director for sales structures at Otomoto. I hired the first salesperson there and ultimately started building the biggest sales team across the company which allowed Otomoto to grow faster than any peers
That’s exactly what excites me the most! I’m a builder. I love building things from scratch. Give me a blank canvas and a challenge, and I’m energized.
You then took over all of OLX Poland. What was that period like?
It was the golden age for OLX in Poland. We were making big investments in the brand, celebrating the first 100 mln page views 😉 and then quickly turning into one of top 10 websites in Poland with ⅓ Poles visiting it every month! Since 2017 I was responsible for OLX.pl turning relatively small categories like Jobs or Services into market leaders in their domains.
This was when category management was born at OLX. In years Poland became the best practice for the whole group. Because of that success, I was given responsibility for other countries – Central and Southwest Europe, managing horizontals.
Then came the pandemic. How did that change things?
Pay and Ship. We had to deliver a completely new solution during lockdown. It wasn’t perfect, but we implemented something functional in about six months reaching around 1mln transactions being shipped monthly which was an incredible success!. Under normal circumstances, that would have taken much longer, but the team did really great and was highly motivated!
Crisis forces speed & new opportunities. That’s when I find myself most useful and energized.
When Christian joined as CEO, the strategy shifted. How did that affect you?
Christian prioritized Motors and Real Estate at first. I had to fight to include Jobs across company priorities. For some people, that might have felt like a demotion. For me, it was an opportunity.
A new structure was implemented, and I took over the entire Jobs & Services category for Europe, including Ukraine. I remember in the past hearing “..it is not possible to build a leading and sizable Jobs or Services business on horizontals”.There were also not many successful benchmarks in the world of classifieds.
Together with the team we proved it is possible! We have built not only a $150M+ business but no 1 Jobs & Services brands in this part of Europe, and we are still hungry for more!
I love those kinds of challenges.
What do you mean?
When someone tells me something is impossible, that’s when I’m most motivated. I thrive on difficult topics, on things people say can’t be done. That’s where the interesting work is.
Sixteen years, multiple transformations. Why did you stay?
The drive. The people. The culture.
At OLX, you’re empowered to build big things, take risks and challenge the status quo. You’re encouraged to try things, even if they might fail. The people here are amazing – smart, driven, willing to experiment.
I could have left many times. But I kept finding new things to build. New challenges. New opportunities.
You’re known for being very energetic about change. How do you get your team to embrace it?
I sell them the vision. Change is an opportunity, not a threat. I want my team at the forefront of change, not reacting to it.
I genuinely believe there’s no such thing as a bad change. Each change opens new opportunities. You just have to be willing to see them and go after them.
I like fighting. I like competition. I like blazing trails. And I want people around me who feel the same way.
What’s the most exciting transformation happening right now?
AI. Without question.
This is the biggest transformation I’ve seen in many years. At Jobs, we’re at the forefront leveraging AI in every aspect of the business, it’s a massive opportunity to win segments that were not reachable before and make it fast! Just check out recently rolled out products like CV optimizer which reshape your CV in seconds fitting your strengths against a certain role or AI Interviewer where candidates can practice before a real interview and get feedback. And it’s just the beginning, you will hear a lot about us.
It’s opening up entirely new possibilities. New products. New ways to serve customers.
For someone who loves building and solving impossible problems? This is the most exciting time to be here.
Looking back on 16 years, what’s your biggest learning?
That the impossible is just something no one’s figured out yet.
Every time I was told something couldn’t be done – whether it was building a Pay & Ship solution within months, building a leading business out of Jobs or Services, or making horizontals highly profitable – it turned out to be possible. You just had to be willing to try.
And you need to love the process. If you’re only motivated by the outcome, you’ll burn out. But if you love building, fighting, proving people wrong? Then every transformation is fuel.
I’m not done yet. AI is just getting started.
Michał’s story is part of our “Built for Change” series, celebrating colleagues who’ve chosen growth over comfort. If you’re someone who thrives on transformation rather than stability, explore our open positions. Your first chapter at OLX could start here.
