Ondřej Krátký (Liftago): When a company has strong principles, it needs fewer processes

In this episode of the CEO na ostří nože podcast, we talk to Ondřej Krátký, CEO and founder of Liftago. Krátký once wrote that he owns almost nothing: he rents his flat, doesn’t have a car and combines public transport with taxis. The reason is freedom and personal flexibility. Long-term commitments, he believes, lead people to be guided by what limits them rather than by what’s good for them. He tries to build Liftago in the same flexible way, so that it can respond to future challenges.

Liftago doesn’t have its values written on the wall. But whenever they asked people in the team, they agreed on four: fairness, openness, flexibility and a drive to find solutions. The internal team has fifty to sixty people, and Krátký doesn’t want it to grow much. He would rather automate operations and hire only for high-value roles. But the company also includes a network of drivers and couriers, which is why, in his view, values can’t stay internal. “A company can’t think it can do one thing behind closed doors and present something else outside, as marketing,” he says. That’s why Liftago never bent the rules of the market and has always worked only with licensed drivers. The consequences would have fallen on the drivers, not the platform. The company publishes its financial results every year, and drivers have the same access to them as customers or the media.

Liftago barely needs to recruit drivers. It has long had a waiting list, because drivers tell each other that working with Liftago makes sense. Quality is ensured by the auction principle and competition between drivers, along with a system of ratings and alerts. The key, Krátký says, is to set clear expectations and explain why they exist. “Dictating doesn’t work. People need to know the rules and understand why we have them.” Most drivers are happy after a thousand rides. Around five percent realise over time that Liftago isn’t for them and leave.

He takes the same approach with the internal team. Krátký admits the company isn’t good at recruiting, yet it has great people because it tries to create conditions in which the right people thrive. It isn’t about the highest pay but about the chance to make an impact and about a team with no “mood killers”. Anyone who undermines the culture has to go, even if they perform. Krátký recalls someone whose negative impact on collaboration and trust in the team, as he and others took a while to realise, far outweighed what he delivered. The basis is that both sides speak up when they see a problem. If it turns out they want to go in different directions, it’s fine to part ways calmly.

Liftago is now changing from a taxi service into a delivery network for food, groceries and parcels. Partners often see it as a carrier and then discover it’s more like a cloud service they send instructions to. The company doesn’t work with demand forecasts. Instead, it motivates its driver network to stay online and absorb fluctuations that traditional logistics can’t handle. For the team, that means constantly clarifying what the company is right now. Krátký therefore keeps explaining priorities and tells people that everything is “fluid”. One principle helps: when a company has strong principles, it needs far fewer processes.

What else will you learn in the podcast?

• Why Liftago shares its data with cities and other organisations

• How to pass on company values to drivers who aren’t employees

• Why Liftago has never bent the rules of the market

• How to maintain quality in a driver network without dictating

• Why a high performer who undermined trust in the team had to leave

• How to lead a team in a company that changes shape every few months

According to Ondřej Krátký, what lies behind a company’s success is longevity. Taking off and growing fast is easier, he says, than staying at the top and constantly reinventing yourself. And for that, a company needs a culture that can handle change.