When meeting with our Chief System Architect, Frank, who also happens to be one of our founders, you are always overwhelmed by his humility, wit and technical knowledge. So I was really excited when it was my turn to sit down with a cup of coffee and really get to know one of the founders behind the company I love!

But where do we even start? Frank, who is originally from Germany, has now been living in Sweden for the past 25 years and has built a wonderful family with his wife and 4 children (including one who works for Paligo). He now lives just outside of a smaller town called Örebro, but this is not where his story in Sweden begins!At the beginning of his journey, Frank met a wonderful Swedish girl who he followed to Sweden and ended up in Uppsala, where they both pursued their education. Even though Frank has always been interested in the technical side of things, this was never really a career path he thought of entering. 

His interest in tech started in the 80’s with 8-bit computers, where he got the chance to try some programming himself. He and his BFF (best friend forever) created a racing game when they were only 12 years old. At that time, in Germany, there was a magazine that had a competition where people from all over the country could create an idea for a game and enter their idea. If you were lucky, the magazine would publish the game and make you a floppy disk. (Yes, a floppy disk!).As you probably guessed, the two boys were indeed the lucky ones and funnily enough, this exact game exists today on YouTube!Make sure you check it out here.

I now feel that I’m starting to get to know Frank better, but I can’t keep from wondering how he ended up in the tech industry after all?“It was never a conscious decision by any means, it just happened. The interest in system development & programming has always been there. With my programming skills I’ve always tried to make my life and work easier. When this all started, I was working in the printing industry with information and I saw a need to make my and my colleagues' lives easier, which is where the initial idea that eventually became Paligo first occurred to me.

I have no background in technical documentation, and I believe that is one of the reasons Paligo resonates with the industry. I often see new and unique angles when I meet different challenges.What is also interesting with our product is that you can still recognize our translation view from our first version, which is quite enjoyable. I also think it’s a sign that you can achieve amazing things even though you come from another background.”

Wow, that sounds really interesting! Can you tell me a little bit about Paligo’s soul and philosophy?“The idea when I develop something is that it must be something that I, myself, would like to use. That has always been my driving force and has been in the back of my mind. I think, and I hope, that you can see and feel it in our product. It's not like a regular boring IT- system, but it should be fun!” 

We also talked about how Paligo stays in the forefront of our niche. Frank told me that you need to be aware of your competition and that it’s also important to always be one step ahead. Never sit back and relax.

But I’m curious, what is your role today at Paligo?“In my position, I do a bit of everything possible, but my title is Chief System Architect. When you are a founder, the company goes through quite big changes over the years. Transferring tasks to someone else and letting go is sometimes a difficult challenge. But that’s also what makes my job so interesting and fun! Moving forward, I will be moving into a role where I’ll be working more with Research & Development.”

In your opinion, how does one succeed as an employee at Paligo?"What's great is that we have a very low staff turnover. We are having a amazing experience as we extend our reach throughout the world and across various departments.Those who have succeeded at Paligo have a genuine technological interest. They are curious and eager to learn, and they are humble and kind people! I often hear the phrase "I like it here!”

From your point of view, what are Paligo's most prominent strengths?“First: The product!The demand is still very high in all possible contexts, regardless of the size of the company and industry, which is great! The need to be able to write and produce documentation is global. There are no limits! But what's also so great is that time and again we see customers using our system in ways we could never have imagined. The customers discover more and more ways to use the product and implement it in more than one way internally.

Second: The company!It’s really cool that we’ve been internationally recognized from day one. Both in terms of employees and customers, which is extraordinary as it is not obvious that you succeed just because you have a strong product.”

Wow, I’m really impressed with Frank and now I want to know what he has as a personal goal for Paligo?“I still have a lot of ideas that I have not yet started to work on that I want to implement. I know that some ideas can take years to develop and sometimes it can be challenging to motivate myself, but at the end of the day, all that matters is that you do what you love. That’s what it’s all about and I really love Paligo. It’s my baby!”

Once again, I found myself at the end of a great conversation, but I still had my three most vital questions to ask him.Here they come:

Interested in joining us? Of course you are! Check out our current opportunities here