Podcast
Personio is one of those German success stories: Founded in 2015, the startup now has 1,000 employees in five cities and is one “Einhorn”. Co-founder Hanno Renner says: “We want to set up the next SAP here”. And has a clear message to the parties before the election.
Hanno Renner and his co-founders have created a new hidden champion since 2015: Personio offers software for small and medium-sized companies so that they can manage their employees digitally – from recruiting to payroll. In January, the Munich startup was valued at $ 1.7 billion in a financing round – making it one of the most valuable German companies “unicorns”, in a league with N26 and Flixbus.
Before the election, Renner still has a clear message to the parties: “What I miss most is that startups in Germany are not perceived as the real economic engine of the future”, he said . “We are being patted on the shoulder that we have now grown to 1,000 employees, that we are a unicorn. That’s wonderful.” But you have to think bigger: How do all these startups become valuable companies with many thousands of employees? “who create a large number of jobs in the long term, who then also pay taxes in the long term and drive economic growth?”
“Just as we support the automotive industry because it is an important economic engine, the start-up and technology sector must be supported and be in focus”, said Renner, who, with three friends, recognized HR software as a niche in the market. It is clear that the expectations are then different: Not to sell Personio to the USA, but to say: “We want to help build the next SAP here.” The mindset is missing in Germany.
Upgrade for the Excel list
According to Renner, Personio wants to grow and penetrate the market above all in Europe. The enterprise “stands at the beginning of the potential that the market offers.” Personio targets companies with 10 to 2000 employees, from small businesses to medium-sized businesses to public authorities, political parties and non-profit organizations, i.e. one “very colorful mix”, so Renner.
He explains the success of Personio, among other things, with the fact that human resources is an area where digitization “still lagging behind”: “Most companies, especially in the small and medium-sized sector, still work with Excel lists or on paper.” There was a surge here due to Corona. “At the same time, the HR department has taken on a completely different role in the pandemic”, thinks the Personio boss. Personio’s turnover in 2019 was a good 9 million euros, twice as much as in the previous year. The figures for 2020 are not yet available.
Listen in
- Which new products Personio recently launched on the market
- Whether the company dares to make the leap to the USA
- What kind of sports Renner likes to do in his spare time
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Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
