When an idea meets the market

“The idea of Crafting Software was born almost by accident,” recalls Călin. “I had dreamed of owning my own tech company since my student days. At an event in 2015 I met Gabi, and we discovered we were both trying to convince friends to start something in tech. That’s how the first team came together.”

The early crew was a mix of complementary strengths: Călin with the business mindset, Gabi on product, and Adrian on tech. A few friends joined shortly after, and soon, the five-person team was working nights and weekends on their first product idea, a marketplace for building materials.

“We quickly realized that a startup can’t be built part-time. We all quit our jobs to follow our dream. It was bold, maybe a little crazy, but it was real,” says Gabi.

Their first external project, a referral from a former colleague who founded a US start-up, gave them the spark they needed to turn ambition into a business.

“That was the moment Crafting became real,” Gabi adds. “You start with a vision of what you want to build, but when your skills meet real client needs, that’s when the idea transforms into a company.”

“That’s entrepreneurship in its purest form,” continues Călin. “Not rigidly holding on to the initial plan, but constantly listening to what the market is telling you. A business lives at the intersection of what you can do and what the world actually needs.”

Entrepreneurship as a marathon

Călin’s entrepreneurial instinct didn’t start with Crafting. It goes back to childhood experiments in business, construction ventures during university, and the belief that “you can learn anything if you trust it will work out.”

“I never set out to be the best coder. What I loved was bringing people together, solving problems, creating something bigger than myself,” Călin shares. “For me, business is a marathon, not a sprint. There are moments you want to quit, but you find the energy to keep going.”

This mindset became crucial during Crafting’s hardest test.

When the floor fell out — and how they rebuilt

The turning point came when their largest client ran out of runway.

“Imagine we had just a fraction of the income, we were in debt, and we carried an immense responsibility, not only toward our colleagues, but also toward our families at home,” Gabi remembers. “That crisis could have broken us. Instead, it redefined us.”

At the time, Crafting had grown fast, with a close-knit team. But when cashflow pressure hit, everything changed. In the same time period, life reserved different paths for the other founders.. What remained was trust between Gabi and Călin and a shared determination to rebuild.

“It was painful. We had to let people go. It forced us to grow up as founders,” says Călin. “That was the moment when Crafting moved from a family business to a mature company.”

Trust, people, and the culture that kept them going

Even in the hardest moments, something held.

“Our philosophy has always been to bring in people who are better than us,” Gabi explains. “Responsibility, listening, and trust that’s what shapes our culture. Challenges come and go, but we stand by our clients, and they stand by us. That’s why we’ve built partnerships that last.”

“And what never changed,” Călin adds with a smile, “is the friendship and trust between the two of us. That’s been Crafting’s backbone.”

Evolving from staff augmentation to strategic outcomes

As the company matured, so did its strategy. What started as a service-based outsourcing model has evolved into an outcome-driven delivery model with a growing specialization in payments infrastructure.

“After 10 years, we know where we can make a real difference,” says Gabi. “We’ve built deep expertise in Erlang and Elixir, technologies that power scalable, secure systems. We can help companies move fast and stay compliant, especially in the payments space. That’s where we’re doubling down.”

For Călin, this evolution is also about sustainability. “Classic service models won’t be sustainable long-term. The companies that will thrive are the ones that can transform and we intend to be one of them.”

Leadership, the quiet kind

Both founders agree: leadership is less about talking and more about listening.

“I used to think leadership meant having the best ideas,” says Călin. “But to scale, you need to listen more than you speak. You need to trust your team.”

“People want to be part of teams that care about how things are built, not just what’s being built ” adds Gabi. “Technology matters, but values are what keep us grounded.”

Looking forward: clarity and ambition

Today, Crafting Software is a strategic engineering partner with a sharp focus: building resilient payments infrastructure and outcome-based technology services. But at its heart, it remains what it was on day one, a company built on trust, friendship, and ambition.

“Fast forward 10 years, and I truly believe we’re in our best shape yet,” says Gabi. “Because today, this business isn’t just about us anymore. It’s about the entire team united by the same values, building something that lasts.”

“And no matter how big Crafting gets,” concludes Călin, “I hope we never lose the trust that started it all.”