Interview with a CEO
L1NDA CEO
Wim Jansen
1. In one sentence, what does L1NDA offer and who do you target? L1NDA provides a workforce management platform to businesses that have a shift-based work schedule with varying demands for people.
2. How did you make your way into the world of SaaS and since when have you been involved with L1NDA? In school I was fascinated by the way technology can support decision -making. At that time the systems were not nearly as advanced as they are today. Seeing the world becoming increasingly more interconnected, I wanted to be part of that trend and entered the telecom sector. I was part of the team that managed to set up a state-of-the-art network using satellites. This was a very exciting time. We were the first in the world to do this. That laid the foundation for what I do today: connecting the dots in ways that have not been done before. I got involved with L1NDA in August 2019, an exciting moment in L1NDA’s history, as changing labour legislation was impacting the company.
3. What makes L1NDA unique? L1NDA has a unique approach to work. It operates in a very dynamic segment of the market. Circumstances change very quickly for the customers using the platform. L1NDA is able to support those customers across a wide range of sectors. From hospitality to healthcare and from call centers to agricultural businesses, L1NDA’s platform is capable of supporting all of them. It does so with a focus on the people that staff our customers’ rosters. Planning is the basis from which L1NDA started. Today we have evolved into a workforce management platform. We integrate with over 50 other applications allowing customers to understand how changing staffing needs impact their business and bottom line. We give a planner the ability to extend their reach beyond the bounds of their current employee staff roster by including links to a pool of over 200.000 qualified flexible workers.
4. You have had multiple leadership roles in a few software companies. What is your advice on setting up a go-to-market strategy? In your go-to-market strategy, it is important to understand what your platform actually means to, and does for a user and their stakeholders. If you have a truly unique platform it can serve as the instrumentality of what you provide. However, my experience is that in most cases it is the added value that you bring. Finding that value for the right audience can be difficult. Therefore, my advice is to keep spending a great deal of time researching and understanding your audience (users and stakeholders) and constantly fine-tune your message.
5. Hiring talent is an important part of a CEO's job. What lessons have you learned in this respect? Spotting and attracting the right talent is difficult. Having a well-established network can help you tremendously. However, when it comes down to it, it is about people and their fit within the team. This is something that needs constant attention and work. A team must share a joint vision and purpose, they should respect each other, and despite any differences, they should have each other’s backs. When hiring talent, I look for their ability to create (or buy into) a shared vision even when they have different approaches
6. There is no easy path to success. What was the greatest challenge you have experienced and what was your biggest achievement? My greatest challenge has been working and living in South America. Having to adapt to the cultural differences and building a life in different countries was difficult. The exposure to a variety of people, cultures and ways of doing business, has taught me perseverance and flexibility in thinking. It is this perseverance and flexibility of thinking that helps me to guide companies through difficult times. Serving the hospitality market, L1NDA has been hit very hard. The shift in the organization has also demanded creative thinking. To date, I think L1NDA has the potential to become my greatest achievement, putting the company on a path towards significant growth potential with little means.
7. The Covid-19 pandemic is causing a great deal of uncertainty, especially in your industry, but perhaps also opportunities. How is L1NDA doing during this particular period? How do you mitigate risks and seize opportunities? In my view the pandemic and its fallout are creating opportunities if you are able to invest and prepare your business for what comes after the pandemic. L1NDA has a strong base in the hospitality industry with a pay-as-you-go business model. This is clearly double trouble. However, we feel that this also provides us with a strong position in relation to our customers. We have a long-standing strong and loyal base that has remained with us throughout this ordeal. Staying in contact has meant much to many of our customers. We have also used this period to invest in strong partnerships and we will be launching new services in the market very soon. These new services will help our clients jump-start their business once we emerge from the current lockdown.
8. In the light of COVID-19, to what extent have you changed your way of working within the organization (e.g. new processes, new tools)? Once it became clear that COVID would last much longer than initially expected, we took the decision to become as flexible as possible. In previous assignments I had been very successful in setting up remote teams. L1NDA operates a platform but the company was based in Amsterdam. What we changed was the set-up of the engineering department, turning it into a hybrid remote-local team. This change has given us the ability to continue investing in people and the platform.
9. As a CEO of a software company, what do you know now that you wish you had known at the beginning of your career? The behaviour of your platform is predictable. However, the behaviour of its users is not. Understanding this has helped me to maintain a strong focus on customers and their behaviour. Having the ability to research user behaviour is key in being able to sustainably grow your business.
10. What advice would you give other CEOs in the B2B SaaS industry? Understand your strengths and even out your weaker points by building a world-class team.