I remember my early days on the web. Around the turn of the millennium I happily coded websites — until some “manager” at the agency tapped me on the shoulder. “I just need one tiny thing,” he’d say, and wreck my whole day. Evil, evil managers. The golden age of coding!
Twenty years later, I’m taking on the very role that used to annoy me — and I’m finally letting go of the shame of being a manager.
From coder and content maker to manager
In 2024 I made the definitive decision that the next chapter of my career would be managerial and entrepreneurial.
It hurt. Somewhere deep down, the question still lingers: “Aren’t you betraying yourself and the whole craft of web building?”
But there are moments in life when clinging to the craft means stagnation. And if there’s one thing I truly can’t stand at work, it’s boredom.
Last year we founded a company around PageSpeed.ONE, and one of my side activities became the main thing I do for a living.
For years I’d sensed the need for both strategic and day-to-day leadership across all my projects — PageSpeed.ONE, the Frontendisti community, the podcast. I was doing it, but somewhat reluctantly.
Who else, if not you?
Makers and craftspeople know the feeling. “I won’t deal with that — I’m doing my own work well, it’ll somehow work out.”
But then the very right question is supposed to arrive: “Who else, if not you?” And as Spider-Man says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” If you can see a problem and you have the skills to fix it, you simply must. When you’ve got a hammer in your hand and you spot a nail that hasn’t been driven in… well, you know the rest.
My circumstances and my own skills forced me into becoming a manager. Evil, evil life, plotting such a trick against me!
But in 2024 the turning point came. I found I actually enjoyed it.
Consistent wins started rolling in. I gradually delegated much of my original work at PageSpeed, did great teamwork with my partner Michal and the rest of the team. Fast iteration on problems, improving processes… and, given the size of the team, a solid drive toward the goal while keeping the vision and strategic direction intact.
In the Frontendisti community, thanks to a great team and our new colleague Kačka Macháčková, we pushed our FrontKon conference to a level we previously hadn’t even dared to dream of.
A new environment
While retuning my head, I also realised I had to surround myself with a new environment.
I started listening to business podcasts, reading books, and filtering my social feeds. The mind needs not only information, but also a good environment. These people and their brands shaped mine the most:
- The excellent Scale Up podcast by Roman Stupka.
- Cinkátko by Michala Gregorová.
- Lenny’s Newsletter by Lenny Rachitsky.
A new inner baby
My entrepreneurial-managerial part of the brain is like my new little baby. I cradle it, feed it knowledge. I watch it grow — its first steps are behind it, it can already handle quite a lot. It’s lovely to watch.
I wish you many such new inner babies in 2025 — no matter how old you are!
This text came about as the first output from my retrospective of 2024. I know for certain I won’t write the rest, but you know what? Let me at least stash them here briefly.
What else did 2024 bring me?
- I still write, don’t you think otherwise. Last year I wrote dozens of texts, mostly for the PageSpeed.ONE help docs, a big piece on writing for Vzhůru dolů, an article about INP on Lupa.cz, and after a long break an English piece for the WebPerf Calendar. I also write a lot on LinkedIn, which I’m simultaneously trying to tame so it serves me less bullshit and more substance. I enjoy writing for social networks. Maybe one day it’ll even be worth reading.
- I gave 8 talks and was a guest in 3 interviews. I’d highlight especially my talk for SEO Restart on INP, the talk at our FrontKon 2024, and the conversation for the Socials podcast. I accepted almost every invitation, and there were many. This year I’d like to retreat into my shell a bit more — write more, build more. And manage and run the business, of course.
- At PageSpeed.ONE we landed around 30 new consulting clients last year, including brands like SIKO and Heureka.cz. We officially started selling the paid monitoring PLUS version and shipped 5 new releases. We have ambitious plans, and the team is firing on all cylinders.
- My family and I spent 14 days exploring Tanzania on our own, and came back with dozens of stories — some genuinely adventurous. I got a massive culture shock there, even though I’d spent the whole year “training” by driving to Brno.
- I bought a gravel bike, which was the best investment in myself all year.
- I read nearly all six volumes of Dune by Frank Herbert, and I’m thrilled. I also saw at least two deeply harrowing films (The Zone of Interest and The Citizen). My excessive optimism about life genuinely needs that kind of counterweight.
Not everything worked out, of course. The planned step-change for the podcast is being postponed to this year. Exercising at the level I do is no longer quite enough for a guy pushing fifty, so it seems that in this phase of life I’ll have to step up my self-care a bit. And I still don’t really know what to do with Vzhůru dolů now that I write here so much less.
All in all, though, I consider 2024 a very successful and pivotal year for me. I’m curious what this year will bring.