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camunda.comCamunda is the world leader in process orchestration and automation, with over 700 customers including Atlassian, ING and Vodafone. Described as “the very definition of capital-efficient growth”, Camunda recently hit $100 million ARR; a milestone founder Jakob Freund attributes to staying true to values and vision. Jakob shares Camunda’s growth story here.
How has your perspective as a founder or CEO changed from early stage to growth stage?
In the early days, I was a generalist; I moved fast and rarely delegated. As Camunda grew, I learned scale doesn’t come from personal effort, it comes from enabling others — hiring well, investing in people and making tough calls. I also built “cognitive trust” – the ability to trust someone based on their intent as well as their decision-making ability.
What was the hardest mistake you made during the growth stage – and what did you learn?
I was too focused on consensus. I had a clear vision but hesitated to push people forward, afraid of ruffling feathers. I’ve since learned that driving culture and strategy isn’t a popularity contest. You can’t scale by pleasing everyone, but you can by being clear about where you’re going and letting people choose to join you.
Which early investment paid off most when scaling?
Two early investments paid off – our product and our book, Real-Life BPMN. We shipped the product early, but built it with long-term quality in mind. This slowed us down initially, but paid dividends with fewer bugs and firefights later. That same mindset shaped the book. As consultants, we lacked real-world experience, but we packaged what we had into a practical guide. It was a “fake it till you make it” moment, but it earned us the trust and credibility to build the product and company we dreamed of.
How have you maintained or adapted your company culture during rapid growth?
When we raised our Series A with Highland Europe, we were at $10m ARR and under 100 people. I knew we’d scale quickly, so I wrote down our values that happened to spell FAITH: Focus, Ambition, Integrity, Transparency, Humility. Yet I didn’t want to preserve culture in amber. I wanted it to evolve. Today, we’re over 500 people. We’re more ambitious, more diverse and more aligned. The values still apply, but we’ve grown into them.