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
Slide 1
Slide 2
eyeo… Who?
Slide 3
▪ Most popular browser extensions worldwide ▪ Technology available on all major browsers and platforms
Slide 4
Source: GWI, 2019
Slide 5
The biggest boycott in history Source: GWI, 2019
Slide 6
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
Slide 7
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
Slide 8
Our mission Empowering a balanced and sustainable online value exchange Ad filtering technology
Slide 9
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.
Slide 10
Growth 250 200 150 100 50 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Slide 11
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
Slide 12
The startup needs to scale
Slide 13
Scaling Business Product Organization Culture
Slide 14
Focus
Slide 15
Alignment
Slide 16
Fun!
Slide 17
Scaling the business
Slide 18
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
Slide 19
Scaling the product
Slide 20
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
Slide 21
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
Slide 22
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
Slide 23
Identity crisis ▪ Who are we? ▪ Why are we here? ▪ What is our product? ▪ Who are our users?
Slide 24
It is easier to be proud of a product that users love than of an SDK implemented in other peoples’ products.
Slide 25
Scaling the organization
Slide 26
Scaling the organization Structure Process Goal-setting
Slide 27
Scaling the organization Structure
Slide 28
Evolution of organizational design 2017 2018 2020 2022 Project teams Functional: Product teams & departments Divisional: Business units Divisional, platform-based?
Slide 29
Startup
Slide 30
Project teams
Slide 31
(Reality)
Slide 32
Or like that, in our case
Slide 33
Functional / Matrix PO Dev Ops QA UX
Slide 34
More growth
Slide 35
Functional Scaling
Slide 36
Divisional structure Distribution Core Technology Lab Foundation Services Units Monetization Branding & Marketing Data Finance Legal IT Ops Organizational Support People Ops
Slide 37
Scaling Agile @ eyeo
Slide 38
“The first rule of organizational design is that all organizational designs are bad.” - Ben Horowitz Pla n Adapt Do Inspect
Slide 39
Organizational design criteria ▪ Customer focus ▪ Speed / efficiency ▪ Autonomy and ownership
Slide 40
Scaling the organization Process
Slide 41
The role of Process in scaling an organization Professionalization Automation Process over people?
Slide 42
Scaling the organization Goal-Setting
Slide 43
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
Slide 44
Scaling culture
Slide 45
How to scale a culture to 250+ people? Provide clarity Tell stories Embrace diversity Break down silos
Slide 46
Our values - the basis for scaling our business Empathy Experimentatio n Ambition Trust Inclusivit y Balance
Slide 47
“Scaling people”?
Slide 48
Helping people to grow with the company The Old Guard Finding and keeping talent Resilience
Slide 49
Scaling yourself ▪ Let go ▪ Step out ▪ Empower ▪ Relax
Slide 50
Finding balance in an ecosystem of extremes
Slide 51
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
Slide 52
The next 10 years
Slide 53
How to keep disrupting? Beware of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: ▪ Complacency ▪ Bureaucracy ▪ Mistrust ▪ Timidity
Slide 54
Next at eyeo: 1 billion users
Slide 55
Milestone 1 billion users Vision Putting you in control of a fair and prosperous internet. 55
Slide 56
Takeaways
Slide 57
- Growth comes with pain.
Slide 58
- Build for scale, embrace change, and allow people to grow with the company.
Slide 59
- Enjoy the ride.
Slide 60
Thank you. Questions? Jutta Horstmann Managing Director (COO/CTO) j.horstmann@eyeo.com +49 176 61188960 @smphr
