From growing a company from 2 to 220 employees to a founder's motivation and a CEO's evolving role, Cris Grossmann shares valuable lessons learned during his time at beekeeper. He emphasizes the importance of staying true to company values, even in challenging times, and discusses the mission of solving tech issues for frontline workers. The podcast also explores the evolution of business strategy and the CEO's strengths and challenges in leadership roles.
Staying true to company values when hiring and taking on investors is crucial for long-term success.
Building a support network and prioritizing personal values over financial gains are key for navigating entrepreneurial challenges.
Deep dives
Evolution of Beekeeper and Role Transition
Beekeeper, founded as a dating app, evolved into a frontline communication and productivity app under Chris, the CEO's, leadership over 12 years. Initially involved in varied tasks from sales to marketing, Chris later focused on business model refinement, market penetration, and team building. Milestones included moving from zero to revenue achievements in different phases, with each presenting unique challenges of growth and sustainability.
Motivation in Frontline Impact and Company Mission
Chris finds motivation in solving customer problems and building a business around it. Beekeeper's focus on frontline workers' technology impact drives their team, recognizing their work's positive influence on both employees and businesses. The mission of bridging technology gaps for 2 billion worldwide frontline workers fuels the team's dedication and motivation.
Values and Investor Alignment Lesson
A key lesson for Chris as a leader was the importance of aligning with values, evidenced by a critical investor decision that threatened the company's integrity. Despite nearly compromising due to financial pressures, choosing values over short-term gains was pivotal. The episode highlighted how challenges like this necessitate trusted support networks and self-investment practices, such as sports and continuous learning, to navigate tough entrepreneurial journeys and shifting industry landscapes.
Cristian Grossmann is the co-founder and Head Bee at beekeeper, the well-known Swiss frontline operating system. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from ETH and worked for companies like ChromaCon and Accenture before starting beekeeper in 2011.
During his 12 years at beekeeper, Cris has learned many valuable lessons, the most important of which being to stay true to your company values not only when hiring people but also when taking on investors. In his chat with Ansuya he mentions one instance when beekeeper had only 3 weeks worth of runway left and was presented with a very big term sheet from an investor whose values were clearly not aligned with theirs. They almost gave in, which Cris thinks might have destroyed the company, but thankfully persistence and loyalty to the beekeeper values won out and the founders decided to pitch in some personal funds to keep things afloat.
Cris’ motivation to remain at beekeeper after so many years continues to be his engineer’s affinity for solving complex problems and the mission of solving the tech issues of frontline workers, a demographic which has long been neglected despite making up 2B people worldwide. In the next stage of their company, the team plans to focus on achieving a steady, reliable profitability and attaining maximum efficiency.