Simon De Baene

Co-founder · CEO of @workleapHQ / Enable people to work at their best

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@nectarios I'll be there.

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@evansammccann The biggest and coolest for a remote company 😅

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@evansammccann Agreed.

[Evan McCann @evansammccann]

Amazing chat with Simon De Baene (@debaenes)⁠ the Co-Founder and CEO of ⁠Workleap⁠!

Workleap (@WorkleapHQ) is for HR teams that need to solve HR challenges. They help you make your people happier and more productive with the easiest employee experience technology to launch, manage and love.

Workleap is doing ~$150M in annual revenue! They achieved this with no outside funding until Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) invested $125M in 2023

We discussed...

- Why the original name Gsoft was inspired by G-Unit.
- Starting Gsoft (now Workleap) at 20 years old right out of school
- Transitioning from a service company to a product company.
- Building products allows for more control over destiny.
- The decision to shut down the service side to focus on products.
- Raising the first external capital from CDPQ after 19+ years.
- Maintaining passion for close to 20 years.
- Working half his life on Workleap.
- Achieving $150M in revenue.
- Major rebrand to WorkLeap and how to do that well.
- The impacts of AI in the HR space.
- Building company culture.
- Why you can't be everything to everyone.
- The importance of embracing change and letting go of nostalgia.
- Building and staying in Montreal.
- His one regret in building Workleap, not surrounding himself with advisors and mentors earlier.
- What he has learned from board member JD Saint-Martin (President of Lightspeed).

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@nectarios Tell me more!

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@nectarios @frankhellend @WorkleapHQ It was fun !

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@nectarios Don’t be that kind of guy !

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@jasonfried We’re using it to build our house. It’s a game changer. Pure simplicity at work.

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@jasonfried It’s very trendy to hate JIRA.

There are incredible things being built using JIRA and I’m sure their ticketing system is the least of their worries.

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@jschouinard @nectarios Agree to disagree

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@jasonfried I would add “Mon Lapin” to the list of restaurants. Google it, it’s worth it.

[Workleap @WorkleapHQ]

We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of @pingboard , an employee experience SaaS company recognized for its industry-leading Org Chart and Employee Directory capabilities. 🚀

For more details: https://t.co/dXz7ZwsbiU

[Workleap @WorkleapHQ]

Being a part of the 2022 Top 25 Work #Tech Vendors in the world is the kind of high-five that adds fuel to our fire. Thank you @inspireworknow and @StarrConspiracy, you can count on us to keep developing our family of #software products for a better #EmployeeExperience.

[Collision Conf @CollisionHQ]

You never know who you're going to meet at #CollisionConf... 👀

[Inspired by Iceland @iceland]

Some said an open-world experience this immersive wasn’t possible. But it’s already here. And you don’t even need silly VR headsets.

Introducing, ✨Icelandverse✨
#icelandverse

[jack @jack]

I’m moving $1B of my Square equity (~28% of my wealth) to #startsmall LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. After we disarm this pandemic, the focus will shift to girl’s health and education, and UBI. It will operate transparently, all flows tracked here: https://t.co/hVkUczDQmz

[5FtOh @nahlaw]

@hypervocal But of course. The guy who buys his post, has zero experience...Republicans want this guy. Same guy who said, "Yes, there was quid pro quo."

[Simon De Baene @debaenes]

@jasoosterveld @sharegatetools Not sure 😂😂

[Jason Fried @jasonfried]

Say it long enough and eventually you’ll be right. People are finally beginning to care about profits in tech businesses! https://t.co/06VZ1TiCXY (we’ve been banging this drum for 20 years - glad others with bigger drums are banging it now!)