Beyond the Commit, Episode 5, Part 1: Jan Macháček

In this episode, we dive into the real story behind scaling a tech company from modest beginnings to global impact and what it takes to get there.Paweł Dolega talks with Jan Macháček, CTO at Cake Solutions - a company that grew from a 3-person consultancy in a windowless Manchester office to a 120-engineer powerhouse, ultimately acquired by Disney. Along the way, Jan and his team played a key role in delivering Disney+.In this first part, we explore how that journey actually unfolded: the technical and organizational challenges of building at scale, what it means to support a product launch during a global pandemic, and how culture evolves as a company grows.Jan also shares the surprisingly simple (and very human) story behind the acquisition decision - one that took roughly an hour and happened in a pub.A candid conversation about growth, timing, and the decisions that shape a company’s trajectory.