In 2010, Hans Nieuwenhuis founded Intigris with a clear ambition: to build a company centred on entrepreneurship, technological curiosity and making companies smarter. Fifteen years later, Intigris is a mature organisation with a solid foundation, a recognisable culture and a clear role within the Salesforce ecosystem. In this anniversary interview, Hans looks back and ahead.1. From idea to realityThe seed for Intigris was planted years before its foundation. During his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and later IBM, Hans' desire to become an independent entrepreneur grew. Not because he was dissatisfied, but because entrepreneurship gave him the freedom to set course and make a difference himself.
‘Entrepreneurship has always appealed to me. The freedom to set my own direction and really make a difference.’
In 2009, he quit his job and became self-employed. Soon Salesforce came his way. The technology and philosophy immediately appealed to him and formed the basis for Intigris' first major project. What started as a CRM selection process grew into a Salesforce implementation and eventually a long-term partnership.
2. Consistent growth
Intigris has experienced healthy, consistent growth over the years. Milestones followed one after another: new employees joined, the opening of the first own office, year-on-year sales growth. Each of those moments marked a new phase in the company.But growth was never an end in itself. What Hans was keen on from the start was that the company's development had to go hand in hand with quality and continuity. New employees were carefully chosen, not only on substantive expertise, but also on character and mindset. It was not about getting bigger fast, but about getting stronger.A special milestone was the development of FieldBuddy: a product that originated within Intigris and grew into an independent software company. FieldBuddy now stands completely on its own feet, with Intigris as the incubator of this innovative success....
3. From all-rounder to brand: the lesson of 15 years in business
In the early years, Intigris was inextricably linked to one face:Hans himself.Clients who entered into a project with Intigris expected him to be at the table - and kept calling him, even when the team was already starting to grow.
‘Companies didn't want to hire Intigris, they wanted Hans.That was hard to break through.’
It took time and trust to make it clear that Intigris was more than just one person.That there was now a professional team in place, with broad expertise and the same commitment.A changeover that required internal and external acclimatisation, but ultimately provided the basis for further growth.At the same time, entrepreneurship also brought personal insights. Hans discovered that his strength as an optimiser can sometimes be a challenge: he always sees opportunities to make things better, and his broad interest ensures that he constantly sees new possibilities. The trick is to make timely decisions and consciously choose where to put your energy....
‘A perfectionist looks for the ultimate end result, while I mainly look for continuous improvement and practical progress. Precisely by saying ‘this is good enough’ in time, you ultimately achieve more.’
That insight led to more peace of mind, more room for efficiency, and ultimately better results.It became an important anchor in the way Intigris works: pragmatic, solution-oriented, but always with an eye for quality.
4. The power of culture
From day one, Hans had a clear vision of the company culture. Intigris had to be a place where professionalism went hand in hand with humour.Not a hierarchical bastion, but an open working environment where people take responsibility and can also laugh.
‘Work is an important part of our lives, but it takes up so much free time, so it better be really fun to do.’
In addition, ‘a deal is a deal’ is also an important foundation, a principle that applies as hard to customer promises as it does to internal cooperation.The culture is now deeply rooted and palpable in the team, which consists of people from different backgrounds, ages and nationalities, but who all share the same core values.
5. Adapting in a changing market
The world of Salesforce has changed dramatically in 15 years. Whereas in 2010 it was still about one CRM platform, today it is an ecosystem of dozens of solutions. Intigris managed to continuously adapt, thanks in part to Hans' technical curiosity.
‘With each new release, I immersed myself in the possibilities.
What does this mean for customers? What can we do with this?’Organisationally, the company also grew along.Where in the beginning it was mainly consultants, later developers, integration specialists and sales and marketing came on board.Yet the core of the work remained the same: making companies smarter with the best-suited technological solution.
6. Focused growth
If it is up to Hans, Intigris' future is not necessarily about growth in size, but about further focus and specialisation. Intigris does not need to become a giant company - the ambition is to continue to excel in the field it is already strong in: field service, within various sectors such as installation, manufacturing and energy. In these industries, the company has now built a leading position. The ambition is to be so recognisable in these areas that people within the Salesforce network automatically think of Intigris.Not because it is the biggest, but because it excels in content, approach and reliability.For Hans personally, the most important thing remains that customers are satisfied and colleagues enjoy going to work. He calls himself ‘more of the game than the marbles’ - to him it's all about the journey, the process, the cooperation.As long as that remains fun and meaningful, Intigris is right on track.