From 0 to 1,000 Employees: The Ever-Changing Role of a First-Time Founder

In this post: Martin Mignot, Personio

Creating Personio was Hanno Renner’s first real job. Just six years later, he now stands at the helm of a $6.3 billion company and one of Europe’s most valuable start-ups. On the day Personio announces $270 million in funding, Renner talks to Index's Martin Mignot about his personal evolution as a leader and CEO, and how he’s navigated such explosive growth.

Mignot opens up the conversation about Personio’s mission to become the leading HR platform for small and medium businesses. They cover the future of ‘people workflow automation’ before turning to Renner’s superpower: being able to evolve his mindset faster than the company he’s steering. Renner talks about how founders can harness the value of naivety; why to take advice with a grain of salt; and the way building a robust culture means founders should be able to get some healthy distance from their company, even while it’s growing. Renner closes with some lessons from listening to customers, and cautionary words about the right – and wrong – times to raise money.

Hear more from Renner and Mignot about Personio’s five-step hiring method, tips on how to get the right people (and avoid the wrong ones), and why gratitude and recognition matter.