Michel did everything to nurture his start-up for > 5 years before it could pay him a first salary.
Another 7 years later (+- 3 million ARR, + 175 clients and +-3,8 million end users) he did a massive textbook exit.
- No external startup capital
- No sales & marketing
- Pure focus on building the best product
- And waiting for the momentum…
Listen to my latest podcast with Michel Visser, the co-founder of Eesysoft (now Instructure).
We talked about his career full of commercial roles that led to the foundation of his first compant Eesysoft together with his partner Jan; how they built that and sold it to a strategic buyer (Instructure) in the middle of the Covid crisis when their business skyrocketed.
- His time in Purmerend & Barcelona
- How to use your “golden handshake bonus” from your last job to start a business
- Taking a job next to your startup to give it time to grow
- Waiting for the momentum to scale
- How to build a great company culture
- Being ghosted during an exit process
- How Covid helped Eesysoft to grow and bring exit opportunities
- How life changed after exiting
- His new AI adventures!
- His biggest failure and best advices (hint; don’t invest in boats)
- And much more!
Eesysoft is a wonderful example of a company that has grown quietly, has made a few small pivots by carefully looking at the needs in the market and has managed to take action at the right time.
And all in a very pleasant and controlled way.
For me, Michel has always been the epitome of control itself.
Much respect for these achievements; and I am very curious to see how Michel's comeback in Edtech will turn out during the current AI revolution.
Thanks so much Michel for your time and a highly interesting conversation!
