The Leap of Tech #3: From Hungry Wolves to Lazy Cats and Back

Why the Product Mindset Needs a Wake-Up Call

Leap of Tech is a private meetup series where IT professionals come together to explore the shift from outsourcing to product building. Each session is anchored by a founder’s real-world experience, sparking honest, practical conversations that drive collective learning.

Held at FlowX.AI’s headquarters, the third Leap of Tech meetup tackled a pressing question: how do you actually build global products in and from Romania? The meet-up featured Lucian Popovici (Founder of Bridging Gaps & Engineering Director at Cegeka), Edward Crețescu (CEO of Regista & President of ANIS Romania), and Alexandru Agatinei (CEO of How to Web) as hosts. They were joined by special guest Ioan Iacob, Founder and CEO of FlowX.AI, whose story anchored the discussion. 

Founders, product thinkers, and technical leaders came together to hear this story, and also share ideas, practical frameworks, and unfiltered stories about what it takes to shift from execution to ownership—and from outsourcing to real product innovation..

Romania still struggles with product clarity

The first takeaway of the evening reflected on an issue that cuts deeper than branding: “There are so many startups, but most can’t clearly explain what they do. That tells us something—we’re still at the beginning of the product journey.” This wasn’t a debate over buzzwords. It was about the ability to communicate real value.

As the conversation shifted toward technology trends shaping today’s product roadmaps, one topic dominated: artificial intelligence. Is it hype or is it foundational? The consensus: AI is here to stay, but its implementation must be tied to real problems. “We need to stop pretending AI is a value in itself. It’s a tool. A powerful one, but only if integrated with purpose,” someone remarked. And that purpose must be rooted in user needs, not technical fascination.

Outsourcing isn’t Romania’s edge anymore

Lucian Popovici brought a wider lens to the discussion. Through his initiative Bridging Gaps, he’s been mentoring CIOs and CTOs who want to lead through product, not just tech ops. “Outsourcing used to be Romania’s growth engine. It isn’t anymore,” Lucian said. “Our costs have gone up. We’re no longer the most competitive. And now, with AI reshaping how we write code, the question becomes: what are clients really paying for?”

His answer: consultancy, speed, and valuable outcomes. Not lines of code. That’s why his work focuses on helping senior leaders move from managing execution to driving strategy. “You can’t scale by selling hours anymore. You scale by building value.”

FlowX.AI started by solving the same problems over and over

When Ioan Iacob started sharing the story of FlowX.AI, the energy shifted. It wasn’t a pitch. It was a retrospective—raw, detailed, and grounded in experience. “We were building custom solutions for mission-critical services. But every time we started from scratch, it was painful,” he said. “Eventually we got tired of reinventing the wheel.”

That’s when his team started identifying reusable components—small building blocks that could be adapted across clients. Those fragments grew into something larger. “Each client conversation became a spark,” he added. “And over time, the sparks became the platform.”

That platform, now FlowX.AI, began as a spin-off from the services company. It’s now growing into a product company focused on BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance). Looking back, Ioan admits: “It might have been faster to have a suite of smaller more focused products earlier for both consumer and commercial banking – onboarding, lending, wealth management – which is what we’re doing now  The end-to-end approach is great, but it does slow you down in the beginning.”

Talent is the make-or-break factor in product success 

Perhaps the most quoted insight of the night came from FlowX.AI CTO Șerban Chiricescu: “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” That is their approach to developing product – and also to hiring. FlowX.AI only hires one out of every 50–60 candidates interviewed.

“We’re obsessed with A-players,” Ioan said. “They don’t just do their job. They push the company forward.”

The team avoids B-players at all costs. “They introduce bugs, slow the team down, and drain energy,” Ioan added. “You’re 10x better off with a smaller, sharper team of A=players.”

This matters even more as AI and low-code tools reduce the barriers to building. “Tools aren’t the differentiator anymore,” Ioan said. “Give mediocre people great tools, and the outcome is still mediocre.  But give extraordinary people those same tools, and the results are next-level.”

BUILD vs BUY is still a dilemma for clients—but there’s a third option

One recurring tension in the conversation was this decision that clients have to make when choosing a SaaS product – BUILD in house or BUY. Building is expensive and very heavy to work with, and BUY is highly inflexible and makes you captive. FlowX.AI positions itself as an answer to both. “We give back control to the teams,” Ioan explained. “Enterprises don’t want black boxes. They want flexibility, but without the overhead of full-code development.”

The turning point for FlowX.AI came when they narrowed focus to BFSI. “Before that, we were too broad. When we specialized, we started getting traction,” Ioan said.

Speed to decision and speed to revenue matter most

In enterprise environments, speed isn’t just about delivery. It’s about closing. “We talk a lot about speed to market,” a participant added, “but we should also measure ‘time to yes’ and ‘time to cash.’ That’s what makes a product-led business sustainable.”

Those metrics are especially relevant in complex sectors like banking, where product-market fit must be coupled with sales precision. FlowX.AI’s model is designed to accelerate both—by showing value early and making integration painless.

What’s next for FlowX.AI and the Romanian product scene 

FlowX.AI will continue scaling within BFSI, but the bigger story is what it represents: a successful transition from custom software to product platform thinking. “We didn’t start with a product mindset,” Ioan said. “We got there through necessity, iteration, and many changes.”

That path may sound familiar to many founders in Romania who are trying to navigate the same leap. If Leap of Tech #3 showed anything, it’s this: the appetite to build real products is growing. The tools are here. The talent exists. What remains is a mindset shift—from execution to ownership.

And if you’re still asking whether Romania can build world-class products, maybe it’s time to stop asking and start building.

See you at the next Leap of Tech event 

We’re not done. The next Leap of Tech is coming on the 17th of June—and it’s going deeper. From go-to-market challenges to platform positioning and vertical product strategies, we’ll unpack the critical shifts every Romanian product builder needs to make.

The Leap of TECH isn’t a trend. 

It’s a movement. A manifesto. IT starts with you.

✊ Stay tuned.