Award-winning Danish SME Napp is a rapidly growing software company established by young entrepreneur Niklas Laugesen. Napp’s software has been taken up by a wide range of companies across 37 markets and attracted multi-million euro investment. We talked to Niklas about Napp’s rapid growth, its success at the Mobile World Congress and how to reach major international clients.
1. Fresh back from the Mobile World Congress, what are your top tips to get the most out of a brokerage event?
Preparation. I would recommend anybody who is attending to do a thorough preparation. My team and I personally looked through all 478 participants before the event. Looked at all their profiles and screened their companies. We even checked them out on LinkedIn. It requires a massive amount of time and effort, but it is certainly worth it. The result is a laser-sharp focus on the people you are meeting.
This year I had 17 meetings in 3 days. I prepared for all the meetings on an individual basis, so I didn’t end up giving the same pitch. I adapt my pitch specifically to suit what I think the person wants to know.
A well-planned schedule is key to a good brokerage event. Even though my schedule is tightly packed, I learned over the years to free up some time in between meetings. It gives you a bit of time to update your notes or CRM system about the meetings, not to mention gives you time to eat lunch or take a bathroom break. In addition, you need time for the on-the-spot meetings with interesting people you meet. These meetings often turn out to be some of the most valuable ones.
2. What do you put your phenomenal growth rate down to?
A lot of work. Eric Ries, the author of “Lean Startup” taught me to persevere. Most importantly though, is the value behind agile Business Development. At Napp, we base our product on market input and not just our own ideas. This allows us to make sure our product has the right market fit.
Our team is also very essential to our growth. It is incredibly hard to recruit the right personnel, so all our staff members are thoroughly interviewed and tested. We use the DISC and GIA tests, which I would recommend to any employer out there. Yet you still need to be willing and able to do necessary team adjustments when needed. Reposition people and even let the ones go, who don’t fit in the team.
Our clients are also a key ingredient. We truly believe that listening to our clients' needs, as well as bringing them into the further development of our software, has really made a difference and gives us a much closer relationship. Our clients become the best ambassadors we can get in attracting new clients.
3. You provide services to major multinationals. What are your tips for getting your foot in the door?
Follow the Born Global model. In the space of software, your only real success is if you can scale it – especially internationally. We have never seen country borders as a hindrance. Merely a possibility of collaboration and scalability. Our ideal clients are all multinationals and our Siesta software is designed around the needs of production companies operating on several markets. Our mission is to enable brands to sell more efficiently to and through their resellers. We deliver the right content, to the right user and at the right time. In a busy world with information overload this is crucial to many.
Our way in is often proving how smart software can strengthen sales. If we demonstrate this to one regional department of a multinational, their other offices soon notice the difference and we usually end up showing it at their headquarters. A great example of this is our client Grohe. We started in Denmark and are now operating the Siesta platform for them in nearly 37 different markets. Currently we are doing the same with major office supplier Lyreco, where we started in Denmark, then scaled the solution to Norway and Sweden. Today I received the confirmation that we’re going in with them in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Napp has worked with the Enterprise Europe Network partner Fonden Vaeksthus Hovedstadsregionen in Copenhagen, Denmark.