SCALE BY INNOVATING - How To Build a Platform That Wins with Jan Arendtsz, Founder of Celigo, Part 2

This episode continues the conversation with Jan Arendtsz, Founder & CEO of Celigo - an iPaaS platform that simplifies the integration of business applications and data sources in the enterprise.

In the previous part we established the story of how Celigo had to make some hard decisions that were ultimately for the best. In more recent history, they had to pivot to a new product even after they found what was supposedly working. Jan’s reason is simple - the Total Addressable Market(TAM) was too small to fulfil his ambitions, so they started working on a model that would work across a variety of verticals. 

Celigo really built their platform by the book. Starting out with years of consulting experience to understand their market, then building a few platform iterations that were both scrapped and kept, finding product-market fit, increasing their TAM, and trying to solve larger problems as they scale. This approach has made them true experts of both their market and their product, and allowed them to scale while maintaining longevity in the market.

Now they’re focused on revamping their go-to-market strategy and making sure they’re disciplined with targeting the right type of client. A very difficult but necessary step when scaling is figuring out which customers you’ve outgrown and letting go, as the drain that a customer who’s no longer a great fit brings onto your team can significantly lower efficiency and morale.

When asked about his leadership principles, Jan focuses on being fair and consistent - towards both his employees and customers. He’s also evolved to be a great listener, which is a very important trait in a leader. 

Tune into the full episode to learn more on how Jan built a platform that scales!

HIGHLIGHTS:

00:00 The Inflection Point

07:01 Why Most Platforms Fail
09:43 New Challenges With Scale
13:07 Achieve True Focus
15:20 Jan’s Leadership Principles
18:22 Learning to Let Go

Connect with Jan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/janarendtsz/

Check out Celigo - https://www.celigo.com/

Don't forget to subscribe to the Chaos to Clarity Podcast for more invaluable episodes to help you grow your business and stay ahead of the curve!To reach out to Eric, visit FullCycleProduct.com

Don't forget to subscribe to the Chaos to Clarity Podcast for more invaluable episodes to help you grow your business and stay ahead of the curve!To reach out to Eric, visit https://chaostoclarity.io/