Collibra CEO on Fundraising, Hiring, and Scaling to $2.3B

From a Tech Idea to a $2.3B Company

Felix Van de Maele started Collibra with three co-founders from a university research lab. They had zero work experience and a piece of technology they loved, but one huge problem: they didn't have a problem to solve.

They were told enterprise software was "dead." Yet they went on to build Collibra into a $2.3 billion data intelligence platform and raise over $300 million from top-tier VCs. Their story is a masterclass in navigating the brutal early stages of a startup, from finding an idea to surviving near-death and scaling globally.

This is the tactical playbook an experienced founder would share on turning a concept into a category-defining company.

First, Find a Problem Worth Solving

The Collibra founders’ initial passion was semantic technology, not data governance. They spent a full year writing and rewriting their business plan—13 versions in total—before they landed on a problem they could sell a solution to. This is the unglamorous, critical work most founders skip.

They were in love with their technology, but technology doesn’t pay the bills. Customer problems do. They were forced to get out of the lab and talk to potential users. They got laughed at, but they also learned.

The Common Mistake: Building a Solution in Search of a Problem

Most first-time founders start with a cool product idea. They waste months or years building it before they confirm anyone actually wants it. Don't be that founder. Your first job is to become an expert on a problem, not your solution.

How to Validate Your Idea (Before You Build)

Interview 50 Potential Customers: Don't pitch them. Ask them about their workflow, their frustrations, and what they hate most about their day. Look for pain so severe they've tried to solve it themselves with spreadsheets or internal tools. · Map the Value Chain: Who feels the pain? Who has the budget to solve it? Are they the same person? If not, you have a complex sale that will kill your startup before it starts. · "Sell" a PowerPoint: Before writing a line of code, create a slide deck that describes the problem, the promised land, and the solution. Try to get potential customers to sign a non-binding letter of intent (LOI). This forces a real conversation about value.

Surviving the Wilderness: How to Win When You're Left for Dead

Collibra raised its seed round in June 2008 and quit their jobs. A few months later, the global financial system imploded. For the next four years, they operated in pure survival mode.

Ironically, the 2008 crisis created their first real opportunity. Banks and financial institutions were drowning in new regulations and needed to get a handle on their data. Collibra, which had been a general-purpose tool, pivoted to serve this acute, well-funded pain.

They scraped by, sharing hotel rooms and squeezing every euro. At one point, with only two months of runway left and founder salaries already cut, they went head-to-head with IBM for a critical contract. They won it by a margin of just €1,000. That deal saved the company.

How to Beat an Incumbent When You're a Tiny Startup

You will never beat a giant like IBM or Microsoft on features, brand, or stability. You have to change the game.

Be a Mosquito, Not a Water Buffalo: Don't attack their core market. Find a niche, painful problem they are too slow or bureaucratic to solve well. For Collibra, this was post-crisis data compliance for banks. · Sell Speed and Agility: While IBM was scheduling committee meetings, Collibra was on-site, tweaking the product in real-time. Your competitive advantage is your OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). You can ship a fix in a day. They take a quarter. · Win on Price, But Anchor on Value: The €1,000 difference wasn't just about being cheaper. It was about being just enough cheaper to make switching feel like a smart, low-risk bet. First, prove you can solve the problem better. Then, make the price an easy "yes." · Build a Champion: In any large enterprise, you need an internal advocate who will fight for you. Find the person whose promotion depends on solving the problem you fix. Make them look like a hero.

The Founder's Fundraising Playbook

Felix’s fundraising advice is simple but crucial: raise money when you don't need it. Desperation is a stench investors can smell from a mile away, and it will kill your valuation and terms.

The 9-Month Fundraising Timeline

"Raising a round" isn't a 4-week sprint; it's a 6-9 month campaign. Work backward from your 'cash-out' date.

T-minus 9 Months: The "Update & Advise" Tour. Identify your top 15-20 target investors. Send them the first of your bi-monthly updates. Ask one or two of them for advice on a specific challenge (e.g., "We're thinking about our go-to-market, and I saw you invested in X. Wondering if you have 15 minutes to share how they thought about it?"). You are building trust and familiarity, not asking for money. · T-minus 6 Months: The "Pre-Diligence" Coffee. You should be in your target investors' inboxes with your second or third update. Your metrics are trending up. Now you ask for a casual coffee or Zoom to formally introduce the company and get on their radar for a future round "later this year." · T-minus 3 Months: The Official Kick-Off. This is when you flip the switch. You send an email saying, "Following up on our conversation, we've decided to formally open our Series A. We're seeing strong inbound interest and plan to move quickly. Are you the right person at your fund to lead this?" · T-minus 0 Months: Term Sheet Signed. This is the goal. But remember, it can take another 4-6 weeks for the cash to actually hit your bank account after the term sheet is signed. Plan accordingly.

Sample Investor Update Email

Hope you're having a great fall. Quick update from our end at Collibra.

ARR hit $1.2M, up 30% from last quarter. · Just closed our biggest deal yet with a F500 bank (confidential for now). · Hired our first Head of Sales, joining from Salesforce.

Sales cycle is still longer than we'd like, averaging 5 months. Working on tightening our qualification process.

One Ask: We're starting to think about our first marketing hire. You've seen this movie before with [Portfolio Company] — any advice on the profile we should look for (demand-gen vs. product marketing)?

The CEO's Scaling Job: Hire Your Execs Early

As Collibra grew 100% year-over-year, Felix realized a critical lesson: the CEO's job must completely change every year. The hands-on-everything founder of a 10-person startup will kill a 100-person company. Your job is no longer to do the work; it's to hire the people who do the work and get out of their way.

When to Hire Your First C-Suite

This isn't an exact science, but here's a battle-tested framework for early-stage B2B SaaS:

Chief Product Officer (CPO): Often a founder holds this role initially. You need a dedicated CPO when you have multiple product teams and need to manage a strategic roadmap beyond the next two quarters. Often post-Series A, around $3M-$5M ARR. · Chief Revenue Officer (CRO): Hire a Head of Sales once you have 2-3 reps hitting quota from a repeatable playbook. You need a true CRO when you're managing multiple revenue streams (e.g., direct sales, channel, self-serve) and need to scale a 20+ person go-to-market organization. Typically $10M+ ARR. · Chief Marketing Officer (CMO): Don't hire a CMO to "figure out marketing." First, find a repeatable channel with a player-coach hire. Hire a CMO when you need to build a brand, own a category, and scale multiple channels at once. Often post-Series B. · Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Your fractional CFO or accounting firm is fine for the seed stage. You need a strategic CFO (not a controller) when you're planning a large Series B or C, contemplating M&A, or have complex international operations and need sophisticated financial modeling. · Chief People Officer (CPO): Don't call them "Head of HR." A true CPO is your partner in organizational design, culture, and leadership development. Hire them post-Series A, around 50 employees. Your first 50 people are your culture. Your CPO is the architect for the next 500.

The EU-to-US Expansion Playbook

The original interview mentions the differences between Europe and the US. For European founders, cracking the US market is often a make-or-break moment. You can't do it from a distance.

You Must Move: One of the founders must physically relocate to the US, typically NYC for enterprise or SF for tech. You cannot run the US market from a European time zone. · Everything is Faster and More Expensive: Sales cycles can be quicker, but salary expectations for top talent are 1.5-2x higher. Fundraising rounds are larger, but so are the expectations for growth. · Specialize Your Pitch: US investors are more specialized. A generalist pitch that works in Europe won't fly. You need to know your sub-sector, your direct competitors, and your metrics inside and out. They will pattern-match you against the best in the world, not the best in your home country.

How to Apply This This Week

Map Your Fundraising Timeline: Calculate your exact zero-cash date. Subtract nine months. That's when your next fundraise process begins. Put it in your calendar. · Write Your First Investor Update: Draft a bi-monthly update using the template above. Send it to 5 friendly advisors or angel investors. Get in the habit now. · Identify One "Incumbent" Competitor: Find one large, slow competitor. Identify one niche, high-pain problem they don't serve well. Brainstorm three ways you could out-maneuver them this quarter. · Block "Thinking Time": Put two 1-hour blocks on your calendar for next week labeled "Strategic Thinking." Use that time to work on the business, not in the business. Your job is to be the CEO, not the head of sales or product. Protect this time ruthlessly.