From Startup to Grown-Up - The pleasures and pitfalls of scaling an industry disruptor
A presentation at Digitale Leute Summit in in Cologne, Germany by Jutta Horstmann
From Startup to Grown-Up The pleasures and pitfalls of scaling an industry disruptor Jutta Horstmann | Managing Director (COO/CTO) | eyeo GmbH Digitale Leute Summit 2021
eyeo… Who?
▪ Most popular browser extensions worldwide ▪ Technology available on all major browsers and platforms
Source: GWI, 2019
The biggest boycott in history Source: GWI, 2019
The problem User has no control Result Users see more ads Publishers earn less & have to allow more aggressive ads Advertisers don’t stand out & budgets move to more aggressive ads Content becomes less conveniently and openly accessible. 6
The solution User has control Result Users see fewer ads Diverse and valuable content remains accessible as a public resource Cap on ads makes them more valuable for publishers Incentive for advertisers to run user-friendly ads 7
Our mission Empowering a balanced and sustainable online value exchange Ad filtering technology
Our vision Any value exchange that is balanced between all sides; everyone benefits. Putting you in control of a fair and prosperous internet We aim to create solutions that give all stakeholders choice in how the internet works best for them. The healthier and stronger the ecosystem, the more enduring it will be.
Growth 250 200 150 100 50 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
FROM: 2 to 14 products 16M to 220M users 6 to 250 people 3 to 35 nationalities 1 to 700 partners 0 to 8 lawsuits
The startup needs to scale
Scaling Business Product Organization Culture
Focus
Alignment
Fun!
Scaling the business
Business growth strategy: Expansion and focus 1 2 3 4 5 Own products Our technology in others’ products All-in on B2B Beyond the browser Beyond ad filtering
Scaling the product
Mobile ad blocking ▪ 586M use ad blocking on mobile devices → driven by mobile browsers adopting ad blocking ▪ 257M use ad blocking on desktop devices. → decline reflects the shift from desktop to mobile © BLOCKTHROUGH | 2021 PageFair Adblock Report
Distributing ad filtering technology WebExtension SDK Android Chromium Desktop WebView SDK Mobile ▪ 42% of our users on Distribution Partners’ products (95M) ▪ 40% of our users on mobile devices (90M) iOS SDK AA-only integration in partners’ ad blocker
Diversifying our offerings - value for all stakeholders in the ecosystem ● ● ● ● Users Firefox Chrome IE/Edge Opera ● ● ● Android SDK iOS SDK Web Extensions SDK Publishers Advertisers 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Identity crisis ▪ Who are we? ▪ Why are we here? ▪ What is our product? ▪ Who are our users?
It is easier to be proud of a product that users love than of an SDK implemented in other peoples’ products.
Scaling the organization
Scaling the organization Structure Process Goal-setting
Scaling the organization Structure
Evolution of organizational design 2017 2018 2020 2022 Project teams Functional: Product teams & departments Divisional: Business units Divisional, platform-based?
Startup
Project teams
(Reality)
Or like that, in our case
Functional / Matrix PO Dev Ops QA UX
More growth
Functional Scaling
Divisional structure Distribution Core Technology Lab Foundation Services Units Monetization Branding & Marketing Data Finance Legal IT Ops Organizational Support People Ops
Scaling Agile @ eyeo
“The first rule of organizational design is that all organizational designs are bad.” - Ben Horowitz Pla n Adapt Do Inspect
Organizational design criteria ▪ Customer focus ▪ Speed / efficiency ▪ Autonomy and ownership
Scaling the organization Process
The role of Process in scaling an organization Professionalization Automation Process over people?
Scaling the organization Goal-Setting
Goal-setting properties ▪ Top-down and bottom up ▪ Iterative and incremental ▪ Strategy co-creation ▪ Data-driven ▪ Focus & Alignment Cycle #1 Company strategy co-creation Cycle #2 Cycle #3 Derive 2nd level OKRs for cycle #1 1 week: Cycle switch 1 week: Cycle switch 2 weeks: Cycle switch Companylevel OKRs 10 11 12 01 2021 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 01 2022 02
Scaling culture
How to scale a culture to 250+ people? Provide clarity Tell stories Embrace diversity Break down silos
Our values - the basis for scaling our business Empathy Experimentatio n Ambition Trust Inclusivit y Balance
“Scaling people”?
Helping people to grow with the company The Old Guard Finding and keeping talent Resilience
Scaling yourself ▪ Let go ▪ Step out ▪ Empower ▪ Relax
Finding balance in an ecosystem of extremes
Balance Optimizing for publisher revenue Short-term success Remote Professionalization & standardization High Performance Control Rapid change Optimizing for user experience Long-term sustainability Co-located Creativity & innovation Sustainable pace Empowerment Iterative and participatory approach
The next 10 years
How to keep disrupting? Beware of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: ▪ Complacency ▪ Bureaucracy ▪ Mistrust ▪ Timidity
Next at eyeo: 1 billion users
Milestone 1 billion users Vision Putting you in control of a fair and prosperous internet. 55
Takeaways
- Growth comes with pain.
- Build for scale, embrace change, and allow people to grow with the company.
- Enjoy the ride.
Thank you. Questions? Jutta Horstmann Managing Director (COO/CTO) j.horstmann@eyeo.com +49 176 61188960 @smphr
Startups start small and lean, in most cases simply with a great idea and a small group of founders and investors.
If all goes according to plan, they become successful, especially when managing to disrupt a market or an industry. But what happens then?
Ambition leads to success leads to more ambition leads to growth. The startup needs to scale.
My talk will outline the pleasures and pitfalls of scaling, and what we learned from growing the reach of our technology to more than 200 million monthly active devices and the company from a staff of 2 to nearly 250.
Extending your operations requires hiring new staff, developing existing staff, and investing in the efficiency and effectiveness of your structures and processes. All of these affect your company’s culture, how you communicate and collaborate, and thus need considerate planning and execution.
I will share our learnings about iterative and participatory change management, and how to find a good balance between taking the necessary steps in organizational development while still keeping focus on the company’s business goals.
Last, I will highlight the need for keeping a good balance between professionalization and nurturing the creative startup spirit, to be able to keep disrupting, even after 10 years in business.
