%%2023 in Review & Future Outlooks:%% Labyrinth Labs' Year of Growth

Growing

Fun part of being a young company is watching us grow. It is very similar to my kids whom I see grow every day. Usually, that change is subtle, almost barely visible, but it’s constant. Same goes for Labyrinth Labs. In the past year, we grew from a company of 16 to 20. Once again I want to welcome Linky, Rafik, Patrik and Feri on board. We are very happy to have you here with us!

As the company grows, so does our cloud-native platform LARA. We probably don’t talk about it enough [We plan to do it more, I promise]. LARA grew from a well engineered set of modules into a full featured product, helping our customers deploy & manage hundreds of servers and Kubernetes clusters with ease. We have added support for different data lake and data analytics applications, improved our observability support and really improved LARA from a cost optimization point of view. Significantly lowering monthly cloud costs for our clients.

To me it’s interesting to see different growing challenges from communication, decision making and business growth. We have been dealing with them last year, tackled them successfully and now I believe we have a solid foundation for 2024.

Business

Dealing with Adversity

2023 was a complicated year for everyone with war going on in Ukraine and costs rising. Coming from 2022 we had an ambitious expectation. We perceived startups and scaleups as our ideal customers and wanted to grow substantially. To our surprise, 2023 came with some challenges and very quickly we found out we need to adjust our plans.

Every trouble is also an opportunity and we have been determined to change our handicap into our advantage. In 2023 we witnessed a 38% drop in coming investment into VC backed startups and scaleups measured year over year. This obviously had an effect on potential customers.

Enterprise

Coming into 2023 we didn’t have any expectations about growing our business with enterprise customers. While startups and scaleup companies were struggling with slowly diminishing investments and growing burn rates. Enterprise customers were happy to talk to us and willing to invest.

Very quickly we found that they really enjoy our direct #nobullshit communication and technical excellence, that we clearly demonstrating the business benefit for them. We have been able to work with 365.bank, Raiffeisen Bank CZ and others. If you are tired of slow projects and non performing partners let us know and we can make a difference for you, too.

Working with AWS

We started our AWS journey 3 years ago as a registered partner. In 2022 we applied for the Migration Acceleration Program and became an Advanced Partner. This effort was just the beginning as we had to prepare for the upcoming AWS MAP program audit in 2023. It took a better part of H1 to prepare and finish everything to make sure we will be ready. I can proudly say, that we became the first Migration Acceleration approved partner in Slovakia with only a handful in the Czechia.

2024

Throughout 2023, I dedicated considerable effort to enhancing and stabilizing our sales and growth generation team. I’m very happy to announce that Fero Volár agreed to join us and took the position of Chief Growth Officer.  Alongside Fero, we’ve been fortunate to have the insights of Hiren Parekh, whose expertise has been invaluable in shaping our strategies. We put together a great plan for this year and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it will work.

AI/ML

One of our priorities in 2024 is to look into AI/ML workloads and see how we can be a difference maker to our customers there.  We are looking beyond using GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT. Understanding how Generative AI and ML models can help customers automate their work and generate more with less resources is an important question which needs to be answered in upcoming years.

LARA

With our managed cloud-native platform LARA we plan to continue working on improving our support for different data analytics tools. Same as last year, costs are going to be a very important topic this year. That’s why we plan to add open telemetry support to our observability stack. If you would like to hear more about LARA cloud-native platform let us know :).

Business

In the face of a challenging global landscape, Labyrinth Labs has not only persevered but thrived. Our adaptability and commitment to innovation have been key in navigating these turbulent times. As we continue to expand our expertise in cloud-native solutions and delve deeper into AI/ML technologies, our focus remains steadfast on delivering exceptional value to our clients.

Our journey with AWS, culminating in becoming the first Migration Acceleration approved partner in Slovakia, exemplifies our dedication to excellence and strategic growth. Our engagement with enterprise clients like 365.bank and Raiffeisen Bank CZ underscores our ability to meet complex needs with straightforward, effective solutions. At Labyrinth Labs, we are more than just a technology provider; we are a partner in our clients’ success, committed to helping them navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape.

The Next Chapter

As we stand at the threshold of 2024, we are not just looking at a new year but at a new era of possibilities. The journey of Labyrinth Labs, much like the labyrinth itself, is filled with twists and turns, each leading to new discoveries and opportunities. Our growth, resilience, and achievements are not just a testament to our hard work but also to the unwavering spirit of innovation that drives us. We move forward with the confidence that no matter what challenges lie ahead, our team’s unity, creativity, and relentless pursuit of excellence will guide us through.

To our clients, partners, and team members, let’s embrace the future with optimism and the assurance that together, we will continue to turn challenges into triumphs, and aspirations into realities. Here’s to a groundbreaking 2024, filled with achievements, learning, and growth at every turn

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