Lead With Excellence

Join us in this insightful episode as Tom Lavery, CEO and co-founder of Jiminny, shares his entrepreneurial journey from sales director to scaling his SaaS company. Dive into Tom's experiences with private equity, bootstrapping, and the rapidly evolving role of AI.

Discover the importance of building resilient teams and learn key strategies for leveraging AI innovation while navigating the challenges of growth and strategic decisions. If you're curious about transforming startup dreams into thriving realities, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode, join Thomas Goubau as he sits down with Ingrid De Clercq, Chief People Officer, and Jan Hollez, Co-founder and CTO of Deliveract.

They dive into the critical topic of building and scaling company culture, a cornerstone of Deliveract's rapid growth from a small startup to a global player with nearly 500 employees across 13 countries.

Ingrid and Jan share their unique experiences, from implementing innovative strategies like using Lego for vision building to maintaining a cohesive culture during hypergrowth.

Discover practical advice on how to intentionally shape your company's culture, ensure alignment as you scale, and the importance of having dedicated leadership focused on cultural integrity.

Whether you're a startup founder or a business leader, this episode is packed with valuable insights to help you lead with excellence.

In this transformative episode of the "Lead With Excellence" podcast, we sit down with Aytekin Tank, the visionary CEO behind JotForm's impressive 18-year journey as a bootstrapped sensation in the fiercely competitive SaaS industry.

With a dedicated team of 600, JotForm has become a beacon of steady, self-funded growth and innovation, demonstrating the power of staying true to one's entrepreneurial pace and vision.

Episode Highlights:

- Discover the humble beginnings of JotForm as Aytekin Tank shares his lightbulb moment that led to the creation of a form-building powerhouse. Learn how an intrinsic need while working at a media company sparked a bootstrap success story.

- Dive into the freemium model that catapulted JotForm's user base, as Tank discusses how offering a robust free version served as the cornerstone of their marketing strategy.

- Gain insights into the company's organic growth philosophy, with Tank's candid reflection on eschewing external investments and the common rush for co-founders.

- Explore JotForm's strategic expansion into the enterprise market, where building a dedicated sales team has redefined their customer base, now accounting for a significant 30% of total sales.

- Absorb the wisdom from Aytekin Tank's latest literary contribution, "Automate Your Busy Work," which maps out an automation-first approach, paving the way for start-ups and seasoned teams

In this captivating episode of the Lead with Excellence podcast, we sit down with Michael Kamleitner, a remarkable tech entrepreneur who rose from his roots as a web developer to become the founder of two innovative software companies - Swat.io and Walls.io - specializing in social media management and marketing.

Michael takes us through his unique business philosophy, revealing how he sculpted successful enterprises not from one grand idea, but from attentively listening to customer needs within the bustling realm of social media. Delving into the world of bootstrapping, our guest illuminates the benefits of self-funding, emphasizing the independence it affords and the influence it grants in steering his companies' visions.

With the social media industry's ever-present volatility, Michael shares the highs and lows of depending on the APIs of tech giants like Facebook and Twitter. This episode dives deep into how such dependencies force businesses to stay agile and ready to pivot when unexpected platform changes occur, showcasing the agility required to thrive in this dynamic space.

Join us for an exciting episode of "Lead with Excellence" podcast where we dive into the ups and downs of entrepreneurship with our special guest, Nicolas. With an engineering background from INSA, a prestigious engineering school in France, Nicolas shares his journey from an internship in the US to founding his first company in 2008.

In this episode, learn how Nicolas and his team tackled the challenge of information overload in businesses, and how they pivoted their product to eventually succeed in the Yammer app store after nearly going bankrupt.

Nicolas offers valuable advice for entrepreneurs on staying focused on their target market and actively listening to customer feedback. He emphasizes the importance of understanding customer problems and demonstrating how their product offers real solutions.

In this episode, we explore a crucial role in any growing organisation: the Chief of Staff.

With an in-depth look at the ways in which this role can catalyse sustained and scalable growth, we discuss how a Chief of Staff effectively leverages the CEO's strengths, allowing them to focus on what they do best. We address the Chief of Staff's key responsibilities in problem solving, communication and organisation within the company and how they differ from the tasks of an Executive Assistant.

This episode highlights the role of the Chief of Staff as a sounding board for the CEO, supporting decision-making and communication. We stress the importance of operational cadence, regular meetings and the review of KPIs and targets to drive a business to success. In addition, we try to visualise the evolution path of the role towards responsibility for specific areas of the company, such as marketing or human resources.

In this episode, we are thrilled to have Xavier Pansaer, a tech entrepreneur par excellence with a wealth of experience spanning an impressive 25 years in the industry. Xavier shares the journey and valuable insights from his tenure scaling ventures such as Arcadyn and the renowned integrated business applications suite, Odoo.

Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned business leader, or simply someone with a passion for growth and innovation, this episode is packed with actionable advice and captivating reflections on both personal and professional development.

In this episode, we explore the key to successful sales team structures, especially in fast-paced startups: "The Drumbeat," a series of regular meetings to ensure accountability and strategic alignment. We cover various meeting types, from annual and quarterly planning sessions to weekly forecasts and daily check-ins, each serving a distinct purpose, such as the Quarterly Go-To-Market meeting for reflection and preparation, and the critical Forecast Meeting for accurate sales projections.

The discussion extends to essential sales terms like 'pipeline' and 'forecast,' the value of personal coaching, and the synergy between marketing and sales departments for optimal growth. We highlight the necessity of meticulous deal tracking for improved revenue forecasting. Tune in to learn how to refine your startup's sales approach for maximum efficiency and performance.

Dans cet épisode, nous discutons avec Christophe Charlot, journaliste au Trends Tendance, qui partage avec nous des stratégies pour aider les entrepreneurs à nouer des relations durables avec les journalistes. Apprenez comment balancer entre vos objectifs de promotion et la recherche journalistique d'informations objectives et pertinentes. Un épisode indispensable pour tout entrepreneur cherchant à naviguer efficacement dans le monde des médias.

On this episode of Lead With Excellence, Thomas Goubau interviews messaging strategist Piet Saegeman about the key ingredients to successful branding. Piet shares his career journey from doing color management for Coca-Cola to helping C-suite executives scale their messaging strategy for the long term. He even got certified as a hypnotherapist just to learn about subconscious behaviors! This conversation is packed with insights like the 5 things your audience wants to know. You won’t want to miss it!