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There has been a lot of news from Spendesk recently, and we’re pleased to be able to keep it coming.
We recently announced our €35M Series B, led by Index Ventures. It was one of the most exciting moments in our young company’s life.
And the good news doesn’t stop there. As we wrote in our announcement, these new funds serve three main purposes:
Expand our spend management platform
Grow our team globally
Invest in new partnerships and integrations
So today we are going to focus on the second point above. We’re incredibly proud to introduce our new Berlin HQ, right in the heart of Mitte.
Here’s why we’re building a new home and a team in the German capital.
Why open an office in Germany?
Spendesk launched on the French market in 2016 with one simple idea: to let companies track and manage spending from a single spend management system.
Most businesses spend via a range of different tools - shared credit cards, Paypal accounts, expense claims, and invoicing software. And then they rely on Excel spreadsheets and reporting tools to keep everything in check.
But Spendesk is different. If your team spends through a central system, tracking and reporting are simple.
So that was the idea. And we’ve grown a lot since then. Spendesk entered the German market in 2018, and quickly built a passionate customer base. We went from 0 to 100 German clients in less than 12 months, and seeing such an affinity for our product in a new market was an incredible experience for the team.
Today, we have 300+ happy German customers, with companies like Personio, Wefox Group or Flixbus managing their spend with our platform on a daily basis. Spendesk is a great fit for Germany. Revenue has grown 500% since last year, and there’s no reason why countless other businesses can’t be a part of this journey.
So it’s time to move faster. And our German HQ puts us closer to our customers and lets us offer a better service.
There are over 1.7 million SMBs in Europe representing more than €100+ billion B2B payments. Germany itself represents roughly 23% of this huge market.
This is an opportunity to help companies in the largest European market to spend smarter.
Why Berlin?
To serve customers from the DACH region well, you obviously need a strong team of German speakers with experience in the market.
To any other French startups trying to sell their B2B product from Paris, I say good luck.
Recruiting German-speaking talent in the French capital is complicated, and Spendesk was lucky to find a strong base of incredibly talented people in its existing German team.
But the only way to accelerate is to go local. And for German tech companies, that means Berlin.
Every year, more than 500 tech startups launch in Berlin. With Brexit, Berlin’s Silicon Allee is poised to become the EU’s new Silicon Valley. (30% of EU entrepreneurs believe Berlin will emerge as the EU’s new business center).
Several big companies like Airbnb and Facebook already have offices there, and Spendesk is happy to join them.
With 40% of our German clients based in Berlin, our German sales, customer success, marketing and product teams are already flying to the city on a weekly basis. And we need to get even closer.
The team is also building a strong community of finance leaders through high quality meet-ups. CFO Connect Berlin launched in November 2018, and we’ve already hosted a handful of events gathering more than 60 Finance leaders at each one.
So for Spendesk, our customers, and the wider finance community, it makes sense to be in Berlin.
What’s the game plan?
Berlin HQ is already open! Spendesk GmbH was launched in July 2019, and since we needed a home base, we moved in with one of our wonderful clients: Rent24.
You can find us among the fast-growing tech businesses in the Mitte district.
We’re also hard at work recruiting more German spend experts. That means 30 to 50 new sales, marketing and customer support team members within the next year.
Who are we looking for?
Our German crew needs more hands for a range of different challenges:
Sales
We’re looking for Business Development Representatives with the skills to consult with prospective clients and assess their needs. These people are great at diagnosing problems.
The sales team is also looking for Account Executives to guide clients in finding the right solution to fit their pains. They’re the ones who find the perfect cure for the problem.
Customer Success
We need bright and caring personalities who can bring more value and expertise to our customers, and help them get the most from Spendesk. They ensure that problems are fixed, and that clients reach their goals.
Marketing
Our marketing team is searching for experts in content marketing, inbound methodology and SEO strategy. Help us spread the word to make more German companies spend smarter.
If you're intrigued and want to know more about the profiles we are looking for, check out all open positions for our Berlin HQ here.
A big thank you to our German customers, current and future
Germany is the fastest growing market at Spendesk. And while we’ve worked hard to make that true, this wouldn’t have been possible without our customers.
From the very first beta testers, to those who have just joined us in the last week or so, we sincerely appreciate your trust. Every day, your comments and questions help us to build a solution that suits you and adapts to your needs.
Your satisfaction is our top priority, and every member of our team believes this.
Even as Spendesk grows and we encounter more new markets, this will never change. So stay tuned!
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