When the year 2022 started, we knew it would be special - marking 20 years since Netgen was founded and ten years since our first Web Summer Camp. And while big anniversaries sound great, none of that matters without the team who made them happen.
A year of big anniversaries
We’re still not sure if 20 years is a lot because they have passed by rather quickly, but on the other hand, so much seems to have changed since 2002 and perhaps that illustrates time more accurately. However, it might be simplest to understand the value of 20 years through the number of people we’ve met, worked and collaborated with throughout those two decades. It was such a joy and pride to gather all those familiar and friendly faces at Peti kupe club to celebrate the occasion this October. Thanks to DJ Rea and the live performance of Neno Belan and Fiumens, this will be a night that we will remember for far more than just the next 20 years :)
With the 20th anniversary of Netgen, another important jubilee was marked this year. Our conference Web Summer Camp marked its big 10th edition and gathered a crowd of around 230 participants from 14 countries in Šibenik this summer. While we still remember workshops and talks from our speakers, we were told that the closing party still remains in good memory of our participants, especially those who took the stage at the karaoke party!
Investing in people and education
Considering those two significant occasions, we had a little bit more media exposure than you’d expect from us. Thanks to the articles published in Telegram, Lider and Poslovni.hr we brought you closer to our Netgen story, introduced some of our team members and presented how we work together.
Speaking of the team, it continued to grow, as well. We are ending this year with nine new employees, representing a growth of 24 per cent. We also have three bright students who joined our team and are already showing great potential.
We weren’t busy just working on client projects. We made sure to work on our growth, too. In fact, we always try to encourage our team members to find time and drive for education and professional development. While some team members completed various learning programs and earned specific certifications, we tried to keep the spark for learning alive through our Friday educations. Our team had a chance to participate in 25 internal educations throughout the year, while one especially stood out. It was called “Arguing”. Don’t get us wrong, we are quite a friendly crew, but this one raised some valuable topics about constructive criticism, dialogue and teamwork.
We went to Disneyland, too!
Oh yes, you’ve read that right! This year, our team had a chance to fly to France to participate in this year’s Symfony Con Disneyland Paris, the international Symfony community gathering. They used this opportunity to present new features of our Netgen Layouts and exchange ideas with fellow colleagues. Speaking of Netgen Layouts, make sure you check SymfonyCast tutorial for Layouts in which our friend Ryan Weaver explains its features in the most simple way.
Besides hanging out with Mickey Mouse, we also participated at the Geek Gathering conference in Osijek and hosted ZgPHP meet at our Netgen offices.
Finally, with such an important year, it was only fair to refresh our own website. If you haven’t noticed yet, make sure you take a look but keep in mind that the work is not done yet so expect more changes and upgrades to come.
We received a few awards and recognitions
By the end of the year, we received some recognitions from Clutch and Manifesto. It made us really excited and proud to make this year’s Deloitte Technology CE Fast 50 list as the 28th fastest-growing company in Central Europe.
And if all of that wasn’t enough, December brought us an additional award. We have been recognized with the Best Employer Award, taking 3rd place in the "Small Business" category. This one makes us especially proud because it was based on opinions and scores by our own employees, who are truly our biggest value. This is not just a phrase; it is something we honestly work and live by. There would not have been big celebrations and anniversaries without the team we always put first.
Since Netgen was initially formed by a group of friends, as it continues to grow, we are dedicated to keeping that spirit of camaraderie, mutual respect and cooperation alive.
So, we end this year with a big thank you to our team but also our clients, partners and friends. With so many good things that happened in 2022, we are curious about what the next year will bring. Well, we actually have some ideas, of course, but you will have to wait and see :)
Stay tuned!