111. Growth

Hi Gerard,

Now that you are more business and growth oriented, what is your strategy for growth and entrepreneurship? Are you going to tap into new customer groups, deepen your contacts with existing customers or are you going to buy smaller companies or merge with a company of a similar size? I ask this because I wonder every day what the best and most secure way to achieve growth is. You must continue to grow, but not too fast so you don’t stumble before the finish line is reached.

We are growing organically and that is fine for us. When the customer base expands, we hire new people and assign a mentor. This ensures everything goes smoothly. When we develop a new service we put ourselves first and if it is a proven concept, we look for people to develop it further.

But you get used to this form of steady growth and since we are all human, we want more and faster. Then you start thinking about acquisitions or mergers. But this brings uncertainty to the table. Uncertainty that may be limited by buying companies that are smaller than you, but if you are looking for real growth, then you need to merge with a company of similar size.

If this integration is successful, you can make bigger steps, but the risks of failure are correspondingly high. I have not made this decision for myself, though I find the more interesting option to be the merging of similar-sized companies to lower costs, improve margins and increase and broaden revenue, so the stability of the firm increases.

Whether the integration is successful will depend on people. People who need to cooperate with each other and not only think about securing their own position. You often read that after a merger a large percentage of the staff and management departs, partly for this reason.

Do you have any experience in this area and what are your plans?

Sincerely,

Erik