Ondřej Šmakal (Orca Ventures): A process that changes with every exception isn’t a process, it’s chaos

In this episode of the CEO na ostří nože podcast, we talk to Ondřej Šmakal, CEO of the fintech group Orca Ventures, which provides non-bank loans. The company is based in Prague but builds its business in Denmark and Iceland. Šmakal co-founded it with an Icelandic partner, and he says the company culture comes from combining their two approaches.

The biggest difference between the Czech Republic and the Nordics, he says, is simplicity. “We overcomplicate everything,” he says. While Czechs add complexity even to EU regulations, Nordic countries try to simplify them so they work for people and for business. One example is the joint digitalisation of the whole Nordic-Baltic region. His Icelandic partner apparently reminds him in every discussion to keep things simple. According to Šmakal, Czechs still carry an Austro-Hungarian and German attachment to paper and rubber stamps: if it isn’t signed, it’s as if it doesn’t work.

Attitudes to work differ too. In the Czech Republic, Šmakal says, everyone acts as if whatever isn’t done today can never be done. Danes work until five, then meet friends and don’t do overtime. Iceland goes even further: “Missed the bus? Never mind, there’ll be another one next year.” Šmakal takes a healthy mix from both. Deadlines matter to him, because “capitalism is built on deadlines”, but he usually doesn’t set them for people. He lets them set their own, because it’s their personal commitment. If they miss one, it’s a sign that a conversation is needed.

The foundation of Orca Ventures’ culture is freedom. It works because the company brings together professionals who know their goals, not administrative staff who need constant supervision. Routine processes such as invoicing and reporting are automated. The same volume of business that took 80 to 90 people at his previous companies now takes 26. The second key value is openness. In interviews, he asks candidates directly whether they are comfortable working in the lending business. What he can’t stand are dishonest tricks, typically combining a Thursday home-office day with a Friday sick day and the weekend, instead of simply asking for two days off.

Another strong theme is separating work from private life, something the Nordic countries take seriously. Šmakal isn’t a big fan of working from home, because people then lose track of where work ends and free time begins. That’s why the company designs its offices to be as comfortable as home and hosts shared breakfasts and cooking sessions there. The management team, he says, should meet in person at least once a week. At the same time, he is very understanding about family commitments. If someone needs to take a child to the doctor or pick them up from nursery, the company accommodates it.

What else will you learn in the podcast?

• Why Czechs overcomplicate things and Nordic countries don’t

• How the pace of work differs in the Czech Republic, Denmark and Iceland

• How automation lets you run the same business with a third of the people

• Why it’s better to let people set their own deadlines

• Why working from home can be a trap for separating work and private life

• Why a process full of exceptions stops being a process

According to Ondřej Šmakal, the difference between the Czech Republic and the Nordics shows clearly in how rules are handled. Czechs create a process and then add dozens of exceptions to it. In the Nordics, the rules are clear, and if they don’t work, they get changed. “A process that changes with every exception isn’t a process, it’s chaos,” he says.