In the coming theme month, we will discuss the topic of growth within the KR Community, and specifically about growing teams. We are happy to ask Grünten founder Berend Eberson about how he experienced the growth of his team from 1 to 8 people.
For those who do not yet know Grünten; Grünten is one of our office and community members who makes fantastic vegetable breakfasts; it is a ready-to-go oatmeal that already contains 25% of your recommended daily intake of vegetables. In addition, the different products come in recognizable cake flavors such as carrot cake. This is what you want!
Berend sells the vegetable breakfasts through Crisp, Spar, Chef Centraal and directly through Grünten's website. His mission? That we all start eating healthier, with many more vegetable moments in our day.
What do you think is the most important condition for working in a team?
"The contact. We still often meet through Zoom and it's so hard to check in with each other when you're not all in the same room. Staying in touch with each other is so incredibly important! So I try to ask a lot of questions, to make sure all noses are in the same direction. That way I try to avoid unnecessary mistakes for the team members and for the company. A famous quote, but oh so true: "Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups."
How would you describe your communication style?
"I learn a lot from books, for example, "The Power of Vulnerability" by Brené Brown. This gave me an inspiring glimpse into what leadership could mean for me. Her books made me realize that I want to build a company precisely where we are all equal. I think team unity is important. I may be called "the boss," but I want equal relationships. This is an important goal for me to make my company successful.
My business partner likes to use the SEMCO method, which uses the same values but is just different in its operation. For example, working with interns is not quite possible within the SEMCO method. We mix one with the other and make it completely our own style!
How do you expect to grow this year?
We have some very nice developments coming up again in our company. And when everything is finalized, we can start growing harder. Specifically for our retail product, we are focusing on extending the shelf life to 21 days. This will eventually start opening doors at supermarkets like AH and Jumbo, and even allow us to grow in Corona time!"
What do you think is a common misconception about management in a team?
"A misconception is that only I know exactly what needs to be done at each step. As an owner, your team expects you to always know everything and have all the answers. The reality is that I really don't know everything; I'm also just trying my best. This quote from podcast How I Built This shows that well: "No start-up founder has a clue about what they are doing. None!" In the end, I try to gather all the information as best I can, develop quickly, ask for help where needed, and then make the best educated guess possible."
Where do you get your inspiration for your business?
"I learn a lot from other companies, including other companies that are not necessarily in the same product category. Start-ups and growing companies sooner or later all encounter the same kind of challenges. There is a very open start-up culture where everyone wants to help and support each other. This is exactly why I appreciate being a part of the KR Community so much!
It's also about how you look at it. In the beginning I thought I was very behind, that I should always be on top of everything. But later in the process I understood that I can't always know everything. I often help remind myself that it is also important to enjoy the process and have fun. There are always so many opportunities for development and growth. Great right!
A good example is last Friday, where I won the Innofest Fuck Up Award. I was nominated by the director of the company because she knew that I had made a big miscalculation while purchasing the sleeves for our packaging. Financially it was painful BUT the nice thing about this fuck up is that I won a cash prize that roughly matched the loss I had incurred. This shows me, that in the end, things actually always work out.
We want to thank Berend very much for his openness and insights! It is super educational to read stories like this and share them with the rest of the world. Don't forget to follow Grünten on LinkedIn and Instagram to stay up to date on his latest entrepreneurial adventures!!!