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Jaromír Strejček

“Jaro” is my nickname, short for Jaromír. It also means “spring” in Czech.

I'm a product-minded person. I'm happiest where business, design and technology meet, right where the decisions about what gets built are made.

On projects I'm the business analyst, product owner, product manager, IT analyst, or the one who gets delivery over the line. The title changes, the approach doesn't: understand the business, think about the users, and don't be afraid to get my hands dirty. I often have a clickable prototype ready before the spec is even finished.

I work fully remote, most of the year from somewhere in Southeast Asia. Summers I usually spend back in Europe.

What I do

  • Product. Discovery, talking to the business and to users, priorities and roadmaps. Deciding what to build, and even more importantly, what not to. I make sure the result makes sense to the people who'll use it, not just that it passes acceptance.
  • Analysis. Processes, requirements, integrations and APIs. Specs developers can actually find their way around without constant follow-up questions.
  • Design and UX. Flows, wireframes, clickable prototypes. Before the first line of code, I want to see how it'll be used.
  • Prototypes and AI. I don't wait for someone else to build it. A working prototype, an automation or an AI agent is the fastest way to find out whether an idea works.

Industries: fintech and banking, insurance, automotive, telco, AI products, public sector.

How I work

  • Fully remote.
  • Mostly part-time and long-term. That's where I'm at my best: I know the project inside out and still look at it with fresh eyes.
  • Usually 5–7 hours ahead of Central Europe. The best time for calls is the CET morning.
  • Czech and English. I get by in Spanish, but I'd rather not negotiate a contract in it.

How I think

  • Show first, describe later. A prototype says more than ten pages of documentation.
  • Keep it simple. As few moving parts as possible. A solution that runs by itself beats a clever one someone has to babysit.
  • Verify before I rely on it. I'd rather test it now than find out in production.
  • Think for myself. I decide based on what I understand, not on what's trendy right now.
  • Freedom. That's why I work from anywhere and pick projects I can stand behind.

Now

  • I'm in Indonesia.
  • Juggling several projects at once. On one I'm the business analyst, on another the product owner, elsewhere a product and project manager.
  • In my free time I'm all in on pauza., a collection of short logic games for iPhone. Offline, no ads, no tracking.

Path

I started in IT support, and every role since has brought me closer to product:

  1. IT support
  2. IT analyst
  3. Business analyst
  4. Product owner at an AI startup
  5. Business analyst and product owner in one

The last five years as a freelancer.

Home

I grew up in Central Bohemia in the Czech Republic, then lived in Prague and on the Canary Islands. These days I'm looking for home in different corners of the world. Though honestly, I feel at home anywhere I've got my toothbrush.

Outside work

I'm a big sports guy. The last few years I've been hooked on surfing, scuba diving, freediving and climbing. But I'm up for pretty much anything.

Contact

A project, an idea, or just an invite to go surfing? I'm quickest to reply on Instagram. For anything more formal, email is better.