“Even though we are best known as a tech company, our ecosystem consists of every service that’s needed to develop successful products. Only a third of our staff are developers, another quarter is made up of marketing professionals, twenty percent are dedicated to customer support and the rest are working in the back office providing legal, financial or HR services” says Tesonet’s head of HR Monika Okmanė.
More than 30 products and projects
According to Monika, Tesonet is not your typical IT company, but rather an accelerator fostering ideas that later become independent products and businesses. Since its beginning in 2008 Tesonet has constantly strived to build the ecosystem and infrastructure for attracting the best talent out there. A strong emphasis on knowledge sharing creates the perfect environment for employees to quickly create, test and launch new products.
Over the past decade, Tesonet has developed or invested in more than 30 products and projects – from cyber security and big data to data automation, media and PR. Products created in Lithuania have now penetrated more than 80 markets including the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany and many more. The accelerator is also actively investing in other ventures. Most notable examples are Hostinger, Eneba, Turing College and a real estate project in Vilnius.
Culture is key
Even though every new idea born in Tesonet is set to become an independent venture, they are always part of the community united by a shared DNA.
“All teams are invited to our events, share knowledge and go on workations. We also keep in touch not only in person but anytime via our virtual tools. Everyone at Tesonet feels that it is vital to constantly improve and learn from the best people in the industry. This and the ability to work with globally renowned products is the key to attracting top talent and sustaining astronomical growth,” says Monika Okmanė.
How astronomical is that growth? Five years ago, there were only 50 people within Tesonet. Last year this number reached 900 and now it is more than 1300. What is more, quarantine had no effect on hiring – during those few months more than 140 people became a part of the Tesonet team.
Even more impressive is that Tesonet has sustained this rate of growth with only internal resources and without any outside funding. Currently, Tesonet is working on the next big thing, their new home – an oasis of technology that will house all the accelerator’s talents under one roof. This campus will also be open to other Lithuanian tech ventures.