# S12 Bonus: Martina Zrnec, Stacklist

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/code-story/s12-bonus-martina-zrnec-stacklist
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/code-story/s12-bonus-martina-zrnec-stacklist.md
Podcast: [Code Story: Insights from Startup Tech Leaders](https://stenobird.com/podcast/code-story)
Published: 2026-03-12T10:00:51+00:00
Episode link: https://codestory.co/podcast/bonus-martina-zrnec-stacklist/
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/audio4.redcircle.com/episodes/e7f4e2dc-e375-4acf-a14f-bec5800d8ddb/stream.mp3
Processing state: processed
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/code-story/episodes/s12-bonus-martina-zrnec-stacklist
Duration seconds: 1116

## Resource

Martina Zrnec, CTO of Stacklist, discusses the necessity of rapid iteration and decisive action in early-stage startups. She shares lessons on managing technical debt, scaling teams through project-based hiring, and transitioning from B2C to B2B roadmaps.

## Highlights
- Main idea: High-velocity decision making requires owning mistakes and moving forward immediately rather than dwelling on bad choices
- Practical takeaway: Use project-based hiring to evaluate talent in high-pressure environments before committing to long-term roles
- Failure mode: Pushing mobile applications before the core platform is ready can lead to wasted resources and technical friction
- Strategic shift: Transitioning from B2C to B2B requires pivoting the product roadmap from user-driven features to client-mandated requirements
- Core philosophy: Success in a startup depends on an 'executable mode'—the ability to relentlessly pursue a task until completion

## Topics

Startup Leadership, Product Roadmap, Technical Debt, B2B Transition, Hiring Strategy, Software Engineering, Scalability, Entrepreneurship

## Chapters
- 1:00 — The Startup Mindset: Martina discusses the importance of making decisions quickly and moving past errors to maintain momentum.
- 4:50 — The Origin of Stacklist: How a freelance connection between founders led to the creation of a platform for organizing digital experiences.
- 8:30 — Navigating Technical Trade-offs: A look at the difficult decisions regarding feature implementation and managing technical debt during early growth.
- 12:20 — Evolving the Product Roadmap: How Stacklist shifted its development focus from social features to meeting the needs of B2B paying agencies.
- 14:10 — Building High-Performance Teams: Using project-based work to identify 'winning horses' and the importance of hiring for an executable mindset.
- 16:00 — Approaching Scalability: Reflections on the challenges of scaling infrastructure and the mistakes made during early expansion.
- 18:00 — Lessons from Failure: Analyzing specific instances where premature feature pushes, like mobile apps, impacted the product trajectory.

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## Transcript

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