From $900 Websites to Winning Westpac as a Client - Ken Kencevski

Ken Kencevski helped take his family’s car-parts business online and into international markets. Then he left to start again. His family thought he was crazy. For six months, they barely told anyone he’d gone, just in case he changed his mind. Ken was out knocking on doors in Wollongong, selling $900 websites and building momentum wherever he could. But one of the biggest rewards had nothing to do with his new business. Once work stopped dominating every conversation, he felt like he got his parents back. In this episode of Founders Fire, Dan sits down with the founder of Devika to explore the decisions behind a decade of building digital products. From taking over a stalled software implementation at the family business, to landing Westpac as a client after abandoning his presentation and handing someone a VR headset. Ken shares why he told every existing client the business was changing direction, how he held onto his team while competitors tried to poach them, and why he cares more about his business doing well than looking successful. They also get into AI and vibe coding: where Ken sees real value in testing an idea quickly, and where founders can mistake a promising prototype for a product that’s ready for paying customers. Along the way, there are $900 websites, kids’ coding classes, a Coachella project, a UFC Christmas party and an ambitious vision for Devika Ventures. Through it all, Ken keeps coming back to the same question: how hard can it be? 0:00 Backing yourself and making the big calls 0:42 Meet Ken Kencevski, founder of Devika 1:09 Building and launching digital products 3:10 Ten years of Devika and the COVID pivot 5:20 Keeping the team together as competition for talent exploded 7:26 Choosing retention and profitability over rapid growth 9:56 The server outage that sparked his interest in tech 12:04 Taking the family business online 14:31 The software project that was always “one month away” 17:10 Taking ownership when the tech partner couldn’t deliver 20:17 AI, vibe coding and the gap between prototype and product 23:18 Creating one consistent way to build software 25:50 Why saying yes to everything became unsustainable 27:59 The “Jerry Maguire moment”: calling every client 29:44 Growing the family business through e-commerce 32:51 The San Francisco trip that changed his direction 34:42 Why his family didn’t want to take another big bet 36:24 Leaving the family business 37:03 “I got my parents back” 38:20 Starting again without an established reputation 39:22 Knocking on doors and selling $900 websites 40:27 Kids’ coding classes and unexpected connections 43:06 How small projects became much bigger relationships 45:00 VR experiments, education and Coachella 48:59 The Westpac presentation that changed everything 52:35 Choosing clients and building Devika Ventures 53:52 Moving from gut-feel investments to a structured process 58:19 His six-year vision for $100 million exits 59:02 Building Baseline and working with Amazon 1:00:49 Doing well versus looking successful 1:01:04 Balancing revenue, reputation and strategic opportunities 1:03:22 What gets done when nobody needs the credit Connect with Ken at ken.au. Explore Devika and listen to Build & Scale with Devika. See behind the scenes over on Instagram. Or connect with Dan on LinkedIn. And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business, reach out at Thirdway Advisory. Hit follow wherever you’re listening so you don’t miss a single episode.