We’re looking forward to introducing you to Branko Kral. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Branko, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: When have you felt most loved—and did you believe you deserved it?
When my now fiancée expressed confidence in me without the slightest hint of hesitation.
It was when I was going through a court case where I believed in the outcome, but where a lot was at stake.
One day I shared with her that if we get closer in our budding relationship, I have this baggage with me, a tiring and distracting court case with a former employer to sort out.
She listened, then looked me in the eye, and said: “You’ll do well, what you’re describing is not making me feel worried”.
In that moment of uncertainty, it was the most calming and reassuring thing to hear. She then maintained that level of confidence in me, and after a year of a relationship of mutual support, we got engaged.
I believe I deserved it, yes. I’ve manifested her and worked on the aspects of me that I needed to improve before finding her.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a growth advisor in tech and health, where I help marketing VPs and CMOs with strategy, hiring, budget allocation, and trends such as AI search.
I’m also publishing content about areas where I have deep experience. Primarily educational content for advanced marketers on my LinkedIn and YouTube, and I also recently started with educational content about health, based on my health journey, on Instagram for now.
Previously, I was the head of Backlinko at Semrush, so a big publisher site about growth marketing and SEO that was acquired by a publicly traded software company. I’ve also started and sold my content agency, and I’ve served as the director of analytics.
Outside of money work, I was a co-organizer of a conference about community-driven development of mountain towns, and I’ve helped spin up a coworking space in Mammoth by organizing events there.
Outside of all work, I love the mountains and I love people, I’m a certified wilderness first responder, freeride snowboarder, mountain biker, and linguist. I speak four languages fluently and I’ve lived in seven countries.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
When I was 16, I went for a high school exchange semester in Canada. I grew up in Slovakia (and spend a lot of time here again now), so I was a Slovak kid who thought he could speak English well and was thrown into the educational system of a country across the pond. The semester went great, so great that I got a scholarship, snowboarded pow in Whilstler, won a ping pong tournament, and met my first real girlfriend. I also got to understand language real well, the way they taught us English literature still serves me today as a content marketer. After that semester was when my self-confidence started to build. I ended up staying for one more semester and graduating there.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes, absolutely, many times.
One instance is the legal conflict I mentioned at the beginning.
A former employee broke my contract blatantly and a manager shoved me out despite my numbers being through the roof. Sure thing anyone can fire anyone, but at the same time, everyone has to respect the signed contract even during a termination. That’s what contracts are for, the bad times when things are ending in sour ways, not the good times.
The arrogance level was high, and of course I didn’t have the budget that the corporation did. They kept shutting me down, too, talking to me like I was a brat. It took six months. Then I got a few different legal analyses that confirmed my case was straightforward, found a lawyer with a big name who was happy to work on contingency aka for a success fee, and we started acting with more confidence instead of getting discouraged.
We brought the case to court instead of still trying to find a settlement outside of court, and as soon as we did that, I and the lawyer had cash in hand within two months.
Money can indeed help make you happy when you use it well, but on top of that, I felt accomplished for persevering when I knew I was doing the right thing. My hope is that thanks to my case, the company as well as other companies in general will be less prone to pulling tricks on team members.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
There’s one truth where I think many people don’t agree with it, and many other somewhat agree but don’t apply it.
You’re the boss. Your doctor is not your boss, and your boss is not your boss, either.
Of course we respect doctors, because they’re qualified people who give you expert opinions, recommendations, and can often do things for you that you can’t. But, you feel how you decide, not how they tell you to. You make decisions about treatments, not your doctors, because you live with the results and you don’t. You listen to the doctor, but then you seek out more information as well, even if it means listening to one more doctor. You do not delegate your health.
And of course we respect our managers. They’re in their position because they’re good at something, and when someone is your manager, they carry more responsibility for how things go than you do. But you avoid getting forced to stay, you avoid doing something that’s not by your moral standards, and you avoid limiting yourself to who your manager tells you that you are, even if that means leaving. You live by design. With patience and respect for all, but by your own design instead of accepting norms when there’s no good reason.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
Branko has lived a unique life by his own design, and thus helped us all tailor-make our own ways of living. It was a life of service as well as thrill, of time in nature as well as building things that improve how the society operates. He stood up for people even when it was inconvenient. He inspired men in how to live the life of health, strength in all forms including physical strength and integrity, fulfillment, respect, and legacy. He created his own legacy himself by the knowledge communities he built together with his loved ones and closed ones. He carried on the torch after his skillful parents. Being around him meant that you’d be a happier person sooner or later. He made money, and he showed us that we can all make money in our own ways, and in ways that are great for everyone around us, not just us individually. He helped many of us, including his kids and many people’s kids, spend more time doing athletic activity in nature. Despite his own struggles with injuries and business challenges, he became a pillar for his broader communities when things got hard through the fundamental shifts that the society has gone through in the 21st century. Now that we stand here in the year 21xx, we wish he lived even longer and even more joyfully, so he could spread his outlook on life some more.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brankofosho/
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/brankokral
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/@brankokral
Image Credits
Matej Kobulsky for the shots in the black turtleneck.
Viktor Mydlo for the shots where I’m on stage wearing a T that’s half-black half crazy colors.
