Meet Maciej Dziergwa, CEO at Python Development Company: STX Next

STX Next is the largest software house in Europe that specializes in designing and creating digital solutions in the Python programming language. The company has been operating since 2005 and consists of a team of more than 500 people spread across eight offices in Poland and a new delivery center that was launched in June 2022 in Merida, Mexico.

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

I founded the company because I wanted to be a Python developer, but there weren’t many opportunities in Poland at the time, especially in Poznan. In 2004, when I graduated and started my career, Python was not the most popular coding language, in fact C, Java, C++ and PHP were all much more popular. STX Next was born out of my love for Python and a belief in its potential to be what it is today.

Before launching the company, I worked in many different coding languages. On one project, I was tasked with creating discussion boards with Java and found that it took me about a month to introduce the basic features. A friend of mine then introduced me to Python and suggested I try it. When I used it to implement similar functions, it only took me two days from start to finish.

While I was a big believer in Python and its potential, I had no idea it would become as popular as it is today. But choosing to work in Python was key to STX Next’s success: it simplified a lot of things for me and gave me the inspiration to start the business. There would be no STX Next without Python.

How has the company developed in recent years?

We opened our first Polish office in 2005 and we now operate in eight locations in Poland and a ninth in the Netherlands, employing more than 500 people, including UX designers, QA automation specialists and communication experts.

In the beginning, we hired and trained many junior developers in Python. In fact, probably more than half of our initial workforce was made up of junior developers, and for the first five or six years we only worked with Python.

Today we have more than 200 python developers in our team. Our core is Python, but we’ve expanded into other coding languages ​​and services such as JavaScript, React Native, Machine Learning, Data Engineering, DevOps, Product Design, Software Testing, Quality Assurance, Product Strategy, and Discovery Workshops.

As a company, we have paid a lot of attention to growth and expansion over the past twelve months. We recently launched a development center in Mexico and we have just completed an acquisition of an AI and Machine Learning specialist in Poland that will help us expand our offering even further.

What can we hope to see from STX Next in the future?

Opening a center in Mexico will allow us to get our feet on the ground in North America and hopefully expand our presence there even further. We plan to continue to grow as much as possible in other markets, both geographically and in the expert services we provide to our customers.

To achieve this, we have always kept our eyes on opening in new locations, pursuing acquisitions that expand our skillset, and adding talented developers and leaders to our teams when opportunities arise.