5 minutes DONE. didn’t become what it is today overnight. A few freelancers dreamed of a shared creative space — today, it’s a solid digital studio built on complementary skills and trust. On the occasion of their 10th anniversary, the founding members look back at how it all began, the key milestones, and the mindset that still drives DONE. forward.
How did DONE. get started?
Emil: It all began with a desire to be part of a community where freelance professionals working in graphic design could collaborate. I wanted to create a space that supported the creative process and helped ideas flourish.
Unfortunately, that version didn’t quite materialize, but a new idea struck me: maybe it would be more effective to gather freelancers from different, complementary disciplines and build a creative base that way.
That’s when I met Paróczi Zsombor — we were working together on a web app project called Vinolion. I told him I was stuck because I couldn’t find the right people willing to pitch in a few thousand forints a month to keep a shared space going.
Zsombor: I slept on it, then got back to Emil because the idea kept growing on me. I even managed to convince my then-intern, Keskeny Joci, to join us.
Emil: That’s how we launched our little project workshop, and not long after, Bohati Bence joined too.
The founding team came together fast — by the end of the first month, we were already twelve. Everyone was working on their own projects, but whenever there was a chance, we involved each other or handed off entire jobs — just out of sheer goodwill. The only downside was that we weren’t financially profitable; passion came before profits. That’s why, when Ádám Matus came on board, he helped restore balance to the setup.
Ádám: Back then, Zsombor and I had already been working together for five months at the Springtab startup. He’d been talking about founding a media agency, but I felt what we envisioned was more like a digital studio. I was already forming a mental structure for it, and we shared core values and a similar work ethic. Since we’d met in a startup setting, we both had a strong grasp of the market and adopted a Western-style mindset.
We started looking for an office. The only criteria? It had to be easily accessible for everyone so we could show up regularly. The second place we saw ended up being perfect — we just had to pay six months’ rent upfront.
Emil: And so the founding team took shape, covering DONE.’s core services: UX/UI design, graphics, development, and on the business side, management and strategy.
Zsombor: The first few weeks of working together and the rapid team growth convinced us it was time to take things more seriously and move beyond the club-style setup.
Ádám: One evening at Jelen, a popular ruin bar, we floated the idea of officially starting a company. After a lot of back and forth, Zsombor and I founded DONE Digital Ltd., and the others stayed on in different roles.
What was your business strategy? Who were you targeting?
Ádám: Initially, our strategy was to become a backend partner for agencies. We didn’t want to be just another local agency, and we noticed many agencies couldn’t afford in-house dev teams due to irregular workloads. We went after that market gap. That’s where the name DONE. came from — we “just” get the job done, but we do it exceptionally well.
What changed over the years?
Ádám: Our original concept worked, but word of mouth spread, and soon startups started approaching us directly. Many offered equity, but we preferred working for favorable hourly rates. Over time, we attracted more direct clients, and the balance between subcontracted and direct projects shifted.
Do you remember your first clients?
Ádám: Of course. To make sure we never forget our roots, we started painting a timeline on our office wall, tracking our biggest milestones. Our first clients included Cordia-Futureal and the then-startup FoxPost. Before DONE., Zsombor and I had worked on an app for the Sziget Festival, and by our second year, they had also become a client. Cordia and Sziget remain key partners to this day.
Zsombor: Our first U.S. client was Bit Discovery (now Tenable), which has since gone through a major acquisition and is now one of the biggest cybersecurity firms in the States. And we’re still part of the core product team to this day.
I imagine the team had to grow along with the work?
Endre: Absolutely. A few months after the launch, I joined too. Emil and I go way back — we met in college — and when I told him I was getting bored of print work, he called a few days later: I could start at DONE. that Monday. I’ve been here ever since — ten years now.
Soon after, we were joined by Mira Dani (full-stack developer) and Hajdú Ati (motion designer). The team has been solid ever since — many have been with us for 3–5 years.
Which project left the biggest mark over the past decade?
Zsombor: Probably the Sziget collaboration. It started with a simple artist widget, and then came the websites for Balaton Sound, Gyereksziget, and Gourmet Festival.
Ádám: That partnership opened the doors to Sopron Fest, Balaton Piknik, and Strand Festival too. We truly believe our work speaks for us — that’s DONE.
But it’s the solid foundations, the consciously built and complementary skills, and the full trust we operate on that define not just our past, but our future as well. We’ve always been intentional about growth — slow but steady. We never wanted to blow up a balloon just to watch it burst.
Our next growth stage is driven by AI-powered UX, UI, and dev tools. We’ve integrated systems and workflows that make us not just more efficient, but more professional too.
The future is here—and we’re ready to keep building it.