198. Jakob Lilholm, Co-founder & CEO, Formalize - The S-Curve Bet: How to time product #2 before product #1 peaks?
Description
In this episode, we’re joined by Jakob Lilholm, Co-founder & CEO at Formalize, the Danish-based compliance SaaS that went from a single-point whistleblowing tool to a multi-product GRC platform used by 8,000+ customers across ~80 countries. Jakob shares how his team timed EU regulatory tailwinds, built whistleblowing software, and then layered products on top, shifting from high-volume transactional sales to a focused, consultative motion for regulated industries.
Fresh off announcing a €30M Series B, Jakob walks through the internal rewiring it took: carving out an innovation pod with its own OKRs, resisting flattering false positives from the existing base, and proving platform demand with new-logo sales first, going from ~€100k ARR on the platform to >50% of company revenue in a year.
Here are some of the key questions we address:
When do you expand from a point solution to a platform? We discuss the timing model Formalize used (EU roadmap + S-curve “next wave” before the first peaks).
What’s the right ICP for a platform? Why did they end up narrowing their ICP and say “not yet” to others?
How do you avoid false positives when you already have thousands of customers? Jakob explains why he decided to validate platform fit with new logos first.
What org design supports a second act like this?
How do you shift GTM, pricing, and messaging? What is the process moving from low ACV sales to higher-ACV, consultative deals without breaking the engine?
Which metrics matter in the first year of a platform bet? How do you prove value creation, track conversion quality, and know when to re-inject the core team?
🎧 Tune in to hear how Jakob and team rewired a fast-growing SaaS from a single product to a multi-product platform play, aligning product, GTM, and finance while keeping the culture hungry enough to chase unicorn status by 2028.
United States
