From the moment she transformed from independent one-person entrepreneur to CEO and (co)founder of two fast-growing companies - Alyx and Klapstoel Academy - Johanna Spiller (33) discovered that nothing can really prepare you for entrepreneurship. Therefore, in her Business Lunch Talk at the Zernike Campus in Groningen, she encouraged all students with startup ambitions to take action with courage and trust the process: "It's up to you, just make it happen."
The career gap between men and women is particularly evident in the tech industry, and Johanna jumped into the middle of that with her business. "In the market, I saw an almost hysterical need for tech professionals, an industry where few women work," she explains. "Women want to, but a cultural shift is needed in tech, which is mostly one-sidedly male-oriented. With Alyx, we are retraining well-educated women for tech jobs as well as providing a softer landing in the industry. That combination strikes a chord, while with Klapstoel Academy I'm helping the women already working in tech to further transform the sector."
Johanna says success is a result of timing and follow-through. "If you hit the market at the right time with a good idea, things can go very quickly. At Alyx, the sale went like clockwork. The market demand offered so many opportunities, that in customer conversations I sometimes suggested options we didn't even have in house yet," she says with a laugh. "And that's what entrepreneurship is all about for me: seeing opportunities, offering business and then making it happen. Do it, arrange it, just make it happen. Because as soon as you sell an idea, you know there is demand and money flows in to execute it. Whereas the other way around, you have no guarantees: if you put money into development first, you have a problem if no one is waiting for it afterwards."
'Good business partner is worth its weight in gold'
That she founded Alyx together with business partner Diem Do was what she found most exciting. "A good business partner is golden in entrepreneurship," Johanna experiences. "But you have to find the most suitable one. When I was still self-employed, I already tried to enter into collaborations with other entrepreneurs, but often it failed due to differences in approach, pace or vision. In Diem I found the right partner. It fit, it clicked, both professionally and personally. And that's important, because I see her more often than my life partner. Moreover, we are legally bound to each other. You really enter into something together, also financially, so think carefully before you commit yourself in entrepreneurship."
The partnership between Johanna and Diem was immediately put to the test by the explosive growth of Alyx. "Within six months, we already had sixty people on the payroll and were developing content. Growth is great, but every day everyone wants something from you, customers and employees alike. I believe in learning during the process, when issues arise. But this happened so fast, we almost imploded with success. So however unnatural slowing down feels as an entrepreneur, we also had to take a step back during that first year to put the basics in order. We needed that stability to keep developing."
'Trust the process'
"Every stage of entrepreneurship has new challenges," Johanna reminds students. "But above all, don't get ahead of yourself; you'll learn when the time comes. If you want to be an entrepreneur you cannot possibly know everything beforehand. Just start and trust the process. And when it comes to taking risks? Those come with the territory. At every step, ask yourself what the worst-case scenario is and whether you can live with that if it occurs. If so, go for it. You also learn business by falling down and getting up again. Everything gets easier the more experience you have, including assessing risks."
When asked by a student about the importance of research, Johanna says, "I never did much research or wrote a business plan. With me, it worked like this: I had an idea, called companies and pretended in a pitch that it was already business. Then when they said yes, I thought: shit, now I have to do it. And that's how entrepreneurship is born. Don't be afraid to fail; it's about daring and doing. Find advisors or partners and approach potential customers so you discover if there is interest in your business, no matter how fledgling it is. One yes can be enough. And do you have an idea but no revenue model yet? Then delve into how big companies do it and translate that into your own plan. Try it out, have fun and don't put too much of your own money into it. Find a market first and then make it happen. If you can sell it, you can create it."
The Business Lunch Talk is an initiative of NOM and Founded. To inspire students, they invite appealing entrepreneurs to share their experiences and lessons learned during a live interview.