From Engineering Roots to Global Exit

The Founder's Journey: From engineer to entrepreneur. Built a digital services agency in Kosovo, navigated strategic partnerships, and led to successful acquisition by Kin + Carta.

The Challenge

The Southeast European market for digital services is fierce. We faced significant headwinds:

The "Commodity Trap": Avoiding the race to the bottom on price, which is common in nearshore markets.

Talent Wars: Competing for top-tier engineering talent against global giants recruiting remotely.

Market Perception: Proving to EU and US enterprise clients that a Kosovo-based team could drive complex, high-regulation FinTech and Healthcare projects.

The Approach

My path was not linear; it was a deliberate evolution from technical execution to executive leadership. As an engineer turned entrepreneur with 18+ years of experience, I understood the code, but I needed to build the engine.

In 2016, I took over as co-founder and CEO of Frakton in Pristina, Kosovo, with a singular vision: to build a digital services agency that didn't just "outsource" bodies, but delivered product leadership and engineering excellence on par with Western Europe and the US.

The Strategic Pivot: Partnership with Melon

To break through the growth ceiling, we realized that organic growth alone would be too slow to capture the market opportunity. We needed a strategic lever. We orchestrated a partnership with Melon, a prominent EU-based software engineering company. This was not just a business development deal; it was a strategic alignment of culture and capability.

Impact: This partnership validated our delivery quality and instantly expanded our footprint, allowing us to punch above our weight class and access larger enterprise accounts that required broader EU governance.

The Acquisition: Kin + Carta

The operational rigor and growth trajectory we established, tripling revenue and scaling the team to 70+ engineers—attracted the attention of Kin + Carta, a global digital transformation consultancy and B Corp.

The acquisition was the culmination of a multi-year strategy to build a high-value asset.

The Transition: Post-acquisition, I transitioned from CEO of Frakton to Managing Director & Director of Sales for North Europe at Kin + Carta.

The Integration: I led the integration of our nearshore operations into the global entity, ensuring business continuity and retaining the key talent that made the acquisition valuable in the first place.

Key Outcomes & Legacy

Growth: Scaled from a startup to a 70+ person engineering hub with a 95% retention rate in a highly volatile talent market
Financials: Tripled revenue in the three years leading up to the exit
Recognition: Secured Frakton's position as a Deloitte Fast 50 Top 20 company in Europe (2021)
Exit: Successfully navigated the M&A lifecycle from partnership (Melon) to full acquisition (Kin + Carta), marking a major regional exit and validating the quality of Southeast European engineering