Ludvigs Podcast Fra 4 til 400 ansatte: Hemmeligheden bag skalering (uden at knække nakken!) | 1 af 100 med Obsidian
Feb 26, 2026
Halfdan Timm, co-founder of Obsidian Digital who scaled a startup into a 400-person international group, shares the playbook for rapid growth. He talks buy-and-build strategies, integrating acquisitions, evolving product and pricing approaches, the cost of hustle culture, handling high-performing toxic people, and how leadership must shift to avoid becoming the bottleneck.
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Startups Can Scale Faster With Bold Early Vision
- Obsidian started with a high-ambition “McKinsey of digital” vision despite founders being in their mid-20s.
- That early audacity shaped hiring and product focus, letting them punch above their age and experience level.
Investor Pressure Accelerates Professionalisation
- Taking investment from a private equity fund forced Obsidian to professionalise systems and mindset quickly.
- The fund created time-bound growth plans and expectations that elevated operational discipline across finance, capacity and strategy.
Use Acquisitions To Fill Capability Gaps Not Cannibalise Markets
- Build a buy-and-build playbook: buy complementary capabilities in new markets and buy different products only where you can integrate value.
- Avoid buying direct competitors in the same market to prevent cannibalisation and vacuums taken by rivals.