Rapid Growth with Your Start-Up: This Is How PATS Does It!
Imagine this: a small drone that swats that annoying mosquito, so you can sleep undisturbed. In 2017, Bram, Kevin, and Sjoerd also found this a pretty bizarre idea, but they decided to explore what might be possible. This was the beginning of PATS Indoor Drone Solutions. After extensive research, it turned out that the real match for their technology wasn’t in the bedroom, but in horticulture. In early 2018, the idea was further developed, and in 2020, PATS welcomed their first customer.
The Start of the Start-Up
From a start-up with three founders, PATS has grown to over 14 employees in six years. How do you achieve such rapid growth? Bram Tijmons, CEO and co-founder, gives us a behind-the-scenes look.
“Developing technology takes time and money,” Bram explains. “Especially when you don’t have paying customers yet. That’s why we made use of programs like the NWO Take-off program and the UNIIQ investment fund.” In PATS’ early years, they carried out several (paid) pilots, allowing them to demonstrate interest in their technology and that there was a market for their solution. These pilots not only provided PATS with the necessary funding but also the confidence that they were on the right path. “We saw an opportunity to make a sustainable impact with our technology in the transition from chemical to biological pest control.”
The Challenge of Financial Administration
PATS started using Exact for their financial administration. “At first, I thought, ‘I can easily keep track of this myself. It’s straightforward, and I have everything under control.’ But as we grew, it quickly became more complex and took up more and more time,” says Bram.
A valuable tip led Bram to Enbition, and he quickly decided to outsource the financial administration. “Enbition not only took work off our hands but also brought structure and insights. Thanks to them, we were able to get a detailed view of our cost flows and justify our business operations.”
Continuous Innovation and Scaling
As a tech company, innovation is at the core of PATS. While scaling up, they continue to work intensively on developing their technology. “For example, we received the EIC Accelerator, a European subsidy that helps us continue our innovation,” says Bram. “To qualify for such subsidies and properly account for them, transparency and well-organized financial administration are absolutely essential.”
Bram Tijmons, CEO van PATS
The Role of Enbition
“Enbition plays a crucial role in accounting for subsidies and maintaining an organized administration,” Bram continues. “Thanks to Bart from Enbition, we can view our finances in detail with just the push of a button. He has streamlined everything. I don’t know if he ever takes a vacation because he seems to always be available. I can call or text him anytime for advice. His hands-on approach and extensive knowledge are incredibly valuable. It’s fantastic to have such a personal collaboration!
Tip
Bram is now focused on attracting new financing and closely monitors PATS’ recurring revenue. “Looking back, there is one thing I would definitely have done differently,” Bram reflects. “I would have started working with Enbition much earlier. It has given us so much insight and peace of mind. My advice to other start-ups? As soon as you notice you’re spending more than a few hours a week on invoicing and other administrative tasks, seriously consider outsourcing them. This allows you to focus on the growth and core activities of your business, and gives you a clear view of your financial position.”
Dashboarding: How do I present my company to interested parties?
If you run a startup and have ambitions to grow, it is instrumental to be able to convince investors of your potential. An important part of this is having a well-organized dashboard. And no, it doesn’t have to be an expensive system! In this blog, Tjitze explains why dashboarding is so important and how you can use it to effectively present yourself to financial parties.
What is Dashboarding?
Dashboarding is the process of collecting, visualizing, and interpreting key data in a clear overview – a dashboard. This allows you to quickly gain insights into your company’s performance and support strategic decisions.
Tjitze explains: “When presenting to an investor, you need to not only pitch your idea and solution but also make it clear how you’re going to make money with it. Investors want to know that you have a firm grip on your finances and that you understand precisely what’s important for your success.”
The first question when setting up a dashboard is: what exactly do I want to know?
Tjitze emphasizes the importance of setting specific goals from the start. If my company is successful: what does that look like? A good dashboard provides insights into both financial and non-financial goals. Tjitze explains: “Often people remain vague in their approach: ’Just measure as many things as possible,’ or they think ‘we’ll report on costs and profits.’ But if you don’t focus on specific goals, you won’t achieve your success. That profit should be the result of achieving your objectives.”
Choose a fancy system
Set up a dashboard with your specific goals and make sure to regularly review it. ‘How are we performing compared to our objectives?’. A dashboard doesn’t have to be a fancy tool – an Excel spreadsheet can work perfectly, as long as it helps you monitor and evaluate your goals clearly.
Stay Focused!
“It’s about having clear goals,” says Tjitze. “Whether you pull that data from Excel or a nice PDF, investors can see through the fancy presentation. The most important thing is that you can demonstrate that you know where you’re heading and can objectively determine if you’re achieving your goals.”
Tjitze encourages using the OKR method (Objectives and Key Results). This method helps in setting the most important goals for your company and linking measurable short-term goals to them that will help you achieve success.
Measure, Evaluate, and Plan
Once your goals are set and measurable, it’s important to evaluate regularly. “Schedule a review, whether it’s weekly, monthly, or biannually – find what fits your business. Then ask yourself: do you think you’ll achieve your goals? If the answer is yes, great, keep going. If the answer is no, it becomes a discussion point: what will we do to still reach the goal? This ensures you constantly confirm you’re on the path to success.”
A Helping Hand
If you’re struggling to get concrete goals on paper or if your team can’t agree internally, Tjitze assists companies – whether starting or already established – with setting up dashboards through business consultancy that goes beyond financial figures. In one or more sessions, he asks critical questions and helps clarify objectives. “It’s best if an internal employee takes over the process and handles the monitoring,” says Tjitze. “Sometimes I stay involved to keep asking the critical questions and ensure the company stays on track.”
Want to know more about how Enbition can help your company with dashboarding and project management? Get in touch with Tjitze!
Populytics: from rapid growth to calm and clarity through project control
Achieving the company’s five-year goals in just eight months is an impressive feat. This is exactly what Populytics has accomplished. However, this also raises the question: how do you maintain control over your projects during such rapid growth? This blog delves deeper into Populytics’ successful approach and offers insights for other service-oriented companies.
Populytics: innovation and participation
Populytics emerged from academic research and has not slowed down since. The company applies an innovative methodology to better involve citizens in government decision-making. Through the use of Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE), citizens can digitally take the place of ministers, politicians, and other decision-makers. They engage with an issue and advise decision-makers, ensuring citizens are effectively involved in government decisions. Shira Hollanders, director of Populytics, explains: “Our goal is to truly make the voice of the citizen count. With our methodology, we can present complex decisions in an understandable way and make meaningful participation possible.”
Calmer waters
Since its founding at the end of 2020, Populytics has grown rapidly. “After five months, I fully committed and became a co-owner of the company, and we now have 14 employees, 12 of whom are in the research team,” Shira says. “Our clients are mainly ministries, provinces, and municipalities. We are now in calmer waters, which is what we wanted. We no longer need to move at the same frantic pace as the past years.”
In addition to government agencies, Populytics is now also targeting the business sector as a new market to involve employees in decisions that affect them. “We remain ambitious,” Shira adds.
From little insight to calm and clarity
At the start of their journey, Shira and her team had little insight into their finances and were dealing with a labor-intensive bookkeeping process. This changed quickly when they were introduced to Enbition in the spring of 2021. “Tjitze from Enbition helped us largely automate our bookkeeping and brought structure to our financial planning and project management. That brought us a lot of peace,” Shira says. Tjitze from Enbition adds: “Starting a business out of passion is fantastic, but in the long term, it’s necessary to have good control over your projects. This helps you manage costs, monitor results, maintain satisfied customers and employees, and, above all, ensure profitability!”
Project Control
How do you, as a consultancy company, maintain control over your projects? Tjitze offers three tips:
- Monitor projects from the lead phase. Your first conversation with a lead is the start of the project. How big is the deal? How much time can you spend on it? Does the client have a budget? Also, include the financial goals of a project from the start so you’re not surprised later.
- Make one person responsible for the project. This person should report on everything, including finances. This is what we call project control. Even if this person doesn’t execute all tasks, they maintain an overall view.
- Set clear goals for margins and results. How much margin do you want on a project? Do you always aim for 10% or 30%? Clear goals are essential for effective project management—make them measurable.
Sharing goals
A crucial element in aligning your entire organization is making your goals clear within the company. Tjitze explains: “Populytics has done this well by applying the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) methodology, setting goals, measuring and tracking them regularly. They also share their goals with the entire organization, so everyone is aware and involved in working toward the common goal.”
Enbition tailors its approach to you
“Enbition is an accessible and pragmatic organization,” Shira says. “They consider the stage your company is in and adjust their approach accordingly. They are flexible in their thinking, which is great.”
Want to experience what Enbition can do for you in terms of project control? Contact Tjitze!