It might be a bit of an exaggeration to say that Vaclav Muchna was destined to become the CEO of a successful technology-based startup company. But considering the pitfall-laden path that eventually led him to bring Y Soft to market, it is a testament to Muchna that he didn’t throw his hands up in disgust. Perhaps it was less destiny and more intestinal fortitude.
CEO, Y Soft
Early in his professional career, Muchna was offered a piece of advice that would serve him well in his future endeavors: Give, but never give up. He has earned a spot as a 2019 ENX Magazine Difference Maker for overcoming obstacles, some of which were his own doing, and by giving of himself to help other innovators find a voice in the business community.
Growing up in the Czech Republic, Muchna was trying to find himself. A disillusioned lad who had an aversion to following authority, Muchna didn’t picture himself going to college and finding a job. He wasn’t getting much help from authority to begin with; when he told a guidance counselor that software development and coding appealed to him, the advisor scoffed at the idea. Going into computers, he told Muchna, was like being a secretary. The counselor would’ve probably warned him that dealing with firewalls was hazardous to his health, as well.
Undaunted, Muchna became an entrepreneur and partnered with Martin de Martini to launch Y Soft. Its SafeQ platform offers print management, scan workflows and 3D printers with print management. He has grown Y Soft to a $45 million enterprise with subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, Singapore, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
“We see ourselves as being a technology provider to our partner sales channel,” said Muchna, who embraces a traditional capitalism approach to business. “As the print and digital markets evolve, we have to provide them solutions that help add value to customers. We are doing that today with 3D printers and 3D print management.
“Through YSoft Labs, our internal innovation center, we are already working on other workflow solutions including pre- and onboarding in the HR area and cloud first solutions in the print management area. All of these things are designed to make businesses run smarter and also to provide a
Lessons Learned
Muchna has taken his share of lumps along the way. In his early years, he made the mistake of going to a customer meeting unprepared. It caused the CEO of an MFP vendor’s operating company to shout at him for being unprofessional. “I admitted the wrongdoing, learned the lesson and it has never happened again,” he observed. “The lesson was always be prepared for meetings.”
But de Martini, his co-founder and Y Soft’s CIO, has been an unwavering supporter and a key factor in the company’s growth. Particularly in the early days before the company enjoyed success with SafeQ, de Martini helped Muchna stay the course throughout several setbacks.
Indeed, Muchna is keenly aware of the trials he endured during his startups, and his empathy for fellow entrepreneurs prompted him to create an investment arm, Y Soft Ventures, to support other European startups. “I know what’s it like and it’s not easy,” he said. “When you combine software and hardware, as a founder, you need to focus also on logistics and procurement. You should be focused on sales. That’s why our VC arm can help invested startups with prototyping and production.”
The last year has been eventful for Muchna and Y Soft. The company enjoyed 45% revenue growth and expanded into China, creating a more local presence—both tall tasks. Y Soft also established itself as a leader in mobile printing, certified as the first enterprise server for Mopria, the printing standard for android devices.
Moving forward, Muchna seeks to continue solving customer challenges and drastically improve business processes, particularly in cloud and edge computing. He notes the depth and breadth of Y Soft’s cloud support will expand dramatically. In addition to HR workflow tools, the company plans on unveiling new education-based solutions with 3D printing.
“Personally, I am looking forward to the CSR initiatives we announced recently where we will support social programs and, within the Czech Republic, work on three areas that will help improve healthy and transparent business conditions,” he said.
Customer Care
Muchna’s path to improvement is the ongoing quest to provide innovation and superior customer care. “We really love our customers, and I want to keep this passion within the company culture,” he noted. “The growth allows us to scale our research and we want to bring innovations to the market faster. We also need to better communicate the value of our innovations.”
Muchna also considers himself an innovator on the grill, where he enjoys cooking at parties. An avid snow skier and diver, he loves traveling and the opportunity to learn interesting aspects of other cultures. But it is his one-year-old daughter who has truly provided insight into a new world.
“You’d think that it’s mostly parents teaching their children, showing them the ways of the world,” Muchna said. “But because they are just like a mirror for us, we really can learn a whole lot back.”
