Two decades in the life of the company, you can trust. The trust becomes a commodity, the competitive advantage in decision-making. It’s hard to earn and very easy to lose. It is a quality that is not tangible; however, the results of that quality are very tangible in a good business partnership.
Start and build trust.
2005-2006
We trusted each other when we started laying down the company's foundations, and that's what we promise we will do. That was our starting point, and it paid off. Just a few months after the official launch of our website, an ambitious startup called Twitter * (X now) contacted us about their project. It was a two-way affection; the sympathies clicked, and Twitter started its journey. We didn’t realize back then how guys from Twitter trusted us with their business idea; it comes at you later.
How many of you remember this screen? This was August 2006.
They wouldn't have returned for the redesign session two months later if it weren’t for our trust in our capabilities and professionalism. We proved ourselves in agile product development. Does the screen below ring a bell? That was October 2006
The third time, magic followed in 2007 when Twitter took off with the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000, and the company experienced rapid initial growth thereafter.
We continued to cooperate with Twitter until 2012, when they contacted us with their request to take control of the development for their transactional emails.
Being 20 years on the market isn’t always a fairy tale, and we, too, experienced bumps in the road. Whether it was a bad review in the comments in the company's early days or unpaid invoices from the clients, it made our lives harder.
Keeping the trust
2007-2009
Another good example of the client's trust is our cooperation with FOX Broadcasting *.
We started cooperating with them in April 2008, and it was a textbook example of a word-of-mouth referral and trust vetting project. Our former client referred us, who gave FOX such a powerful reference that we ultimately became a part of their web development team, working in their web environment, using their tools daily. The cooperation was such a success that our sister company, X-Team, continued to work with them over a decade after we started.
Our work includes many shows, such as Dollhouse, Fringe, Hell's Kitchen, Prison Break, Terminator, 24, American Idol, and X-Factor.
The first project with FOX started in April 2008 and it was their homepage refactoring and code optimization.
Updated homepage of FOX released after code and design refactoring in December 2008.
During our cooperation with FOX, we established an event that later became xfive days, and that time, it was in Prague from October 5 to 7, 2008. Unfortunately, no photos were saved from that event, but people who met those days were Mihai Crantea, Viorel Cojocaru, Josh Johnston, and Stano Dzavoronok. The idea of that event was to get to know company members better, hang out, exchange opinions and knowledge, and generally have a good time with colleagues.
Trust Expansion
2009-2012
During the 2009 campaign, we acquired another strategic client that became pivotal in the company's history. Cooperation with Rogers Media concluded in late 2010 with the establishment of an office in Krakow, Poland.
The number of clients and projects that required managed teams has grown since the early company days, and Krakow, with its location and talent, appeared to be an ideal choice. It is located between Melbourne and California.
Projects like KiSS92.5 or Canada’s Got Talent required attention, work that doesn’t compromise the trust earned with projects like Twitter and FOX.
KiSS92.5 website
Canada’s Got Talent website
Setting up the office, creating a local company, and hosting a team meetup all underscored the importance of building trust for future company growth. This process happened in several phases, in line with the company’s agile approach to each project.
In the first phase, we equipped the office with furniture, chairs, and basic office equipment. There were three of us to do the work. We had to make several runs to local furniture stores to buy enough equipment for the team of 10 people to start with.
Hard work
There’s always time for X
First chairs assembled, ready to go.
The next stage was a company meetup for all European employees. People from Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland attended the meetup. The mastermind and owner of the company, Dave Rosen, came from Australia to meet his team and help with legal matters during the company incorporation. Part of the meetup was a company talk about the future, needs, policies, and expectations.
Interesting fact: Dave and Stano met for the first time after 6 years of working together.
Company talk in the first xfive’s office
A good time with coworkers in Wesele, Krakow
Dave and Stano in Wesełe, Krakow
In Wesełe, it was wesełe.
That was 15 years ago. Seems like yesterday 🙂
At the crossroads
2012-2014
In 2012, many important things happened that changed the company's direction. As the company grew and different teams worked across various projects, we lost the transparency and level of management that would keep a healthy company growing. We hired a person (COO) who brought structure, processes, and clarity into our company. It was Milosz Bazela, who became a key member of the company from those days on. By the end of the year, three separate companies were introduced: X-Team, XWP, and xfive (then xhtmlized).
What did it mean for company trust? Several key members left the company, but we were able to deliver the projects and results for our clients without interruption. Our teams kept going and opened new horizons within the company.
X-days in Toronto, November 2012
First xfive ski weekend at Oravice 2013
The trust of our clients kept us above the surface from 2012 to 2014. During those years, we amassed approximately 1400 paid projects. After the years, we organized a business trip to Australia to discuss xfive’s (XHTMLized then) future. We returned with a clearer vision and an idea of Codeized (named Goodiewebsite later).
In late October 2014, we opened a new Krakow office on Starowislna. Dave visited the office.
Sailing the waves
2015-2019
We started using Salesforce as our central CRM system to improve transparency and increase the company's manageability. We hired a salesperson in Australia to support our business activities and increase our trust level with Australian clients. We also hired a marketing specialist to support marketing activities.
2016 started with a significant milestone in the company's lifetime - XHTMLized, renamed, and rebranded to xfive. The new era of the company began.
xfive acquired Webvanta, a CMS platform with hosted tenants.
Acquisition opened the doors to interesting collaborations with US-based entities such as:
To build trust with our newly acquired client base, we organized a business trip to San Francisco to meet with our company employees and business partners in the Bay Area: UC Berkeley, Elefint, and Quimbik.
We have developed a Press+ product for higher education to replace Webvanta’s CMS and presented v 1.0 Press+ idea to UC Berkeley clients. We successfully implemented Press+ in several UC Berkeley departments.
We continued the discussions about the Goodiewebsite, which was initiated in Australia two years ago.
We focused on strengthening our partnership with our clients. Eighty percent of our clients returned for more work, which is evidence of their trust in our services.
In mid-2019, we underwent a brand refresh. The main slogan was: Designed and Built for Business.
We wanted to push ourselves further, and the branding should support that initiative.
The new logo looks more confident and stable in a visual plan.
The main brand color is more reddish to reflect the desire for growth and development.
The new branding was applied to the website to support our ambitions.
We succeeded in cooperating with companies such as:
- Coke One Brand (Coca-Cola),
- Wealthfront Corporation – A major U.S.-based robo-advisor in the fintech space.
- SmartRecruiters – A well-known enterprise recruiting software platform.
- YANMAR Marine International – A significant name in marine engines and equipment.
- The Nature Conservancy – One of the largest environmental NGOs in the world.
- ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) – An influential U.S. nonprofit, often known through public advocacy and legal campaigns.
We became a trusted development partner for the Cannabis and E-commerce verticals. As part of our company culture, we organized xfive days, which became our tradition to meet and enjoy our time together.
Overcoming the crises, trust decline, and beyond
2020-2025
The pandemic year crushed the whole world, and suddenly, many companies went remote because of restrictions to minimize pandemic losses. We pioneered remote work since 2005; we started as a remote global company. That year's economic decline resulted in the lowest number of projects in the company’s history.
We cooperated with notable companies such as:
- Ironclad Inc. - A notable legal tech platform, popular for contract lifecycle management and integrations with enterprise systems.
- OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) - An intergovernmental economic organization with global influence on policy and financial research.
- Payette - A renowned architecture firm known for science and healthcare facilities. It is not widely mainstream but prominent in architectural circles.
Despite the economic slowdown in 2021-2022, the trust of our partners became even more significant due to budget cuts and a high level of business risk in general. Against all odds, we were doing well financially, and we recorded growth.
We restarted our winter tradition of ski weekends after pandemic closures and went to Jasna ski resort to test the best ski slopes in Slovakia.
By the end of 2023, we recorded the highest revenue in the company's history - $2.8M.
We became a trusted development partner for companies that are leading their verticals, such as:
- Printify - Print-on-demand leader;
- ThinKom - Satellite antenna innovation;
- Ignite Visibility - Top-ranked digital agency;
- F&P - Major nonprofit media outlet in AU
We redesigned our website and used headless WordPress setup for the top performance.
In 2024, the latest generation of AI was introduced, disrupting the market and clients' trust in agencies, resulting in a decline in orders and lower service requests. We kept supporting our largest clients with our top-quality services. Our client base of well-known clients has grown with
- Kelsey Media - A major UK-based magazine publisher, producing titles like
Amateur Photographer, Psychologies, and Triathlon Plus.
We called the year 2024 the year of resilience. Challenges didn’t stop us from organizing another xfive days in our history. This time, the theme was a product hackathon and an AI workshop.
The next step in our company's journey is to become a successful consultancy within 3-5 years. We started the year 2025 with that strategic decision. One of the action items of that strategy was a rebranding, which will increase trust in our company.
Rebranded logo
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Rebranded website using new logo and brand colors.
Our next xfive days are coming soon. November 13-14, 2025 - Starowisłna 46a, Krakow. You are all warmly welcomed.
It is 20 years now, to the next 20 years and beyond!
* We distance ourselves from the political views and actions of the owners
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