An advisor on the Polish edition of Dragons’ Den told WhitePress’s founder he’d never make money. He built it anyway, and revenue nearly doubled every year. 🐉
At SEO Vibes Dubai, I sat down with Tomasz Domanski, International CEO of WhitePress, who was picked from 600 candidates to take the platform beyond Poland. 🎙️
We covered how they expanded to 30+ countries, why they “go global but be local,” the SEO Vibes events, and the personal cost of working too much. 🌍
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 💡 How WhitePress started
- 🌍 Expanding beyond Poland
- 🏠 Go global, be local
- 🎉 Why WhitePress runs SEO Vibes
- 🤖 AI still needs a human touch
- ⚖️ His biggest failure
🎥 Watch the full episode:
💡 How WhitePress Started
In 2013, WhitePress CEO Paweł was frustrated publishing 10–20 PR articles in local media for his own business. He had to pitch each publisher, negotiate prices, and monitor everything. 😤
He wondered why there wasn’t one platform showing all publishers, their prices and website parameters, where you could upload or order an article. With a PhD in IT, he built it himself. 💻
On the Polish edition of Dragons’ Den, an advisor told him he’d never make money. Being stubborn, he launched anyway. It took off within three months and has grown since 2014, nearly doubling revenue every year. 📈
🌍 Expanding Beyond Poland
By 2016, WhitePress was so successful in Poland that the team began planning international expansion. It took two years to rebuild the platform for multiple languages and currencies. 🔧
In 2018 they looked for someone to lead it. There were 600 candidates. Tomasz got the job, partly because he and Paweł share a similar age and approach: “we invest in people, we like people.” 🤝
He started in March 2019, and a month later they opened offices in Slovakia and Romania. The US is the biggest market, but they weren’t ready, so they started closer to Poland to learn from mistakes. 🗺️
They tested franchising through local agencies versus hiring their own people, and found doing it themselves was faster because they controlled the process. Partners had other businesses, and WhitePress wasn’t their priority. Today they operate in 30+ countries with 200+ people, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, the UK, the Netherlands, Turkey and Brazil. 🚀
🏠 Go Global, Be Local
How do they stay ahead? “Go global, but be local.” They hire local people who know the language and culture. 🌐
Countries differ more than people assume. In some, people dislike cold calls. In others, bragging about success is positive, while elsewhere it’s frowned upon. 🗣️
They build direct relationships with publishers and clients and skip resellers to shorten communication. The challenge is turning many cultures into one team. That also makes WhitePress useful for e-commerce brands expanding into several countries at once. 🛒
For another WhitePress perspective, read my interview with Steven from WhitePress. 🔗
🎉 Why WhitePress Runs SEO Vibes
Cold outreach was hard: “people don’t know us.” So they started events. SEO Vibes on Tour runs short local-language meetups with two or three speakers. They held about 20 across Europe last year and planned 25 this year. 🎤
Bigger events followed: SEO Vibes Budapest, Poland, and Dubai, which was a boutique event of no more than 100 people where you could get to know everyone. The Dubai idea came from a talk with Charles Floate the previous July, and seven months later it happened. 🏙️
I pitched an SEO Vibes India. I believe India’s underdog SEOs could fill an auditorium with 5,000 people, and I once ran events for SEMrush in India with 2,000–3,000 attendees. Tomasz liked the idea and pictured SEO creators as rock stars on stage there. 🇮🇳
SEO Vibes Poland, planned for May 2024, takes over a huge hotel for three or four days, with talks, workshops, meditation, an aqua park, thermal waters, and networking in the sauna. 🧖
For more on Charles, read my interview with Charles Floate. 🔗
🤖 AI Still Needs a Human Touch
“AI is the future of SEO,” and you can’t avoid learning it. But as a trained psychologist, Tomasz says the person behind the screen is always human, so there will always be a need for a human touch. 🧠
That’s also why they run events: people need people, community, and real connections. 🤝
If he had money to invest, he’d build something that gives back, like a school or a hospital. “If you do good karma, good karma will come back.” 🏫
For another take on AI and people, read Marisha Lakhiani on why AI needs a human touch. 🔗
⚖️ His Biggest Failure
“My first marriage failed because probably I work too much.” ⚖️
At 20, it’s “work, work, work, money, money,” but you need work-life balance or you’ll burn out or hurt your family. By your 40s, it can affect your health too. Take a moment every day to flush out stress. 🧘
His final message: “WhitePress is all about people. Technology is just a platform.” The difference is customer service that thinks about your business, not just selling links or content. 💛
📝 Key Takeaways From the Tomasz Domanski Interview
- 🐉 Don’t let one advisor’s “no” kill a good idea
- 🌍 Expand close to home first and learn from mistakes
- 🏠 Go global but be local: hire people who know the culture
- 🎉 Events build trust when cold outreach fails
- 🤖 AI will shape SEO, but a human is always behind the screen
- ⚖️ Work-life balance protects your family and health
❓ FAQs About Tomasz Domanski
Who is Tomasz Domanski?
Tomasz Domanski is the International CEO of WhitePress. He was hired from 600 candidates in 2019 to lead the platform’s expansion outside Poland.
What is WhitePress?
A content marketing and publisher platform where you can see publishers, prices and site metrics and order or upload articles. It started in Poland in 2013.
How many countries does WhitePress operate in?
More than 30, with over 200 people, according to Tomasz.
What is SEO Vibes?
A series of WhitePress events, from small local meetups (SEO Vibes on Tour) to bigger events in Poland, Budapest and Dubai.
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Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.