Testimonials Teamleader's growing pains and growth tips

Teamleader was founded in 2012. The company develops software that enables SMEs to manage quotes, projects, invoicing and client relationships in a single tool. What started as a tool to help entrepreneurs in the founders’ own circle quickly grew into a platform with thousands of customers across Europe. Today, Teamleader employs hundreds of people and operates in multiple countries. This was something founder and CEO Jeroen De Wit had never envisioned in the early days.

The turning point

“We simply started as students who wanted to help a few entrepreneurs with a decent tool,” De Wit recalls with a smile. “We had absolutely no idea what potential we had in our hands.”

According to De Wit, the realisation that Teamleader could truly become something big only sank in during the first investment round, two years after launch. “Honestly, I only started believing in it myself when an external investor told us he was convinced this could become something great, because he believed in our team and our product,” he says.

“In hindsight, it was a good thing that our focus for those first two years was really on the product and not on growth. There’s nothing wrong with staying a little modest in your ambitions at that stage, so that you can truly focus on your product.”

We had absolutely no idea what potential we had in our hands.

What nobody tells you about

After that, things moved fast. The headcount quadrupled in 2015 and Teamleader passed the 1,000-customer milestone. At the start of that year, the company had just 14 employees; by the end, it had 54. But growing quickly also creates friction.

For De Wit, that friction was mainly felt in people and structures. “When you’re just three people, coordination is easy. When you’re 50, it’s a lot harder,” he says. “You suddenly have to hire management, become more formal in your structures and document more as a company. As a young founder, that’s not what gives you energy. You want to build your product, talk about it, convince customers.”

Would he, in hindsight, have preferred to introduce structure a little earlier? Not at all, is the surprising answer. “In fact, the opposite is true. When we eventually started formalising our processes, we sometimes went too far. We implemented tips and best practices from larger organisations that were actually too big a fit for the company we were at the time.”

Entrepreneurs today have far more automation possibilities than before. 

3 tips for growing businesses

De Wit shares three tips for entrepreneurs looking to grow, starting with digitalisation. 
 

Automate to remain agile

“Thanks to AI and high-performing digital tools, entrepreneurs today have far more automation possibilities than when we started,” he says. “I would therefore go all-in on thorough digitalisation and automation. That way you can keep your organisation and headcount as lean as possible. It delivers enormous agility, which is crucial during growth phases.”
 

Think internationally from day one

His second tip is to look beyond your own borders: “The best skills are usually not found in your own backyard. So think internationally from day one, including in your choice of employees. That’s much easier today, and will become even more so with EU Inc.” 
EU Inc. is a new proposal by the European Commission for a single harmonised company form valid in all EU member states, with the same pan-European rules and benefits. De Wit is enthusiastic: “It’s a huge opportunity for all new start-ups. They will be able to make much better use of single markets than we could during our start-up phase.”
 

Build a strong company culture

As a third tip, De Wit highlights company culture. “I find culture within an organisation extremely important. The way you treat each other, but also your clients and your partners. That culture is often intangible. You first need to discover your own culture and figure out what it means to you. Once you have a reasonable grasp of it, it’s a matter of translating it into clear dos and don’ts. Then you need to communicate that very transparently, first internally and later externally as well.”

Protecting company culture makes collaborations run more smoothly. But according to De Wit, it delivers yet another benefit: “You simply have to keep enjoying what you do. I’ve been at this since 2012. And I’m still having a great time.”