Low-code and no-code platforms promise a revolution: business app creation without coding. In the Benelux region, where companies are rapidly digitizing via the Microsoft Power Platform and Mendix, the "quick win" is more popular than ever. It feels easy until the app needs to touch real business systems.In the Benelux market, organizations operate on dense Microsoft ecosystems, legacy ERPs, and strict compliance frameworks. This is where the "speed promise" often breaks. The real complexity isn't the UI; it’s the integration, data quality, and governance.The Illusion: "From Idea to App in Two Weeks"Most projects for business app creation without coding in Benelux start with a simple prototype:HR onboarding forms or procurement request flows.Operations dashboards with manual input fields.But business apps cannot stay in a vacuum. Soon, stakeholders ask:"Can it sync with our SAP or Dynamics 365 ERP?""Can we restrict access by region (NL vs. BE) or entity?""Does it meet local GDPR audit requirements?"What Actually Slows Down No-Code Apps?1. Integration Reality GapsStandard connectors often get you 80% of the way. The final 20% handling rate limits, inconsistent API behaviors, or unsupported legacy actions is where projects stall.2. The Data Ownership CrisisNo-code tools expose data issues that have been hidden for years. If your master data is full of duplicates or missing identifiers, your "no-code" app becomes a mirror for those failures.3. The Compliance Bar in BeneluxIn the Benelux, "nice-to-haves" like SSO (Entra ID), role-based access, and detailed audit trails are mandatory. Skipping these during the build phase ensures a rejection from IT during the security review.The Playbook: Making "No-Code" Production-GradeTo succeed with business app creation without coding, you need an "integration-first" mindset.Step 1: The Data Reality CheckBefore designing a single screen, map your systems. Who owns the CRM data? Is the API stable? Do you need middleware? Identifying these risks early prevents 70% of common delays.Step 2: Build a Connected "Slice"Instead of 50 screens, build one core workflow that uses real data and real permissions. Validating the integration early proves the concept is actually viable in a production environment.Step 3: Standardize the Integration LayerDon't wire your apps directly to your ERP. Use an API gateway or shared services. This ensures that when your upstream systems change, you fix one layer not 25 different app workflows.Step 4: Lightweight GovernanceImplement "Minimum Viable Governance" from Day 1:Environment Strategy: Separate Dev, Test, and Prod.App Registry: Track who owns the app and what data it touches.Naming Conventions: Prevent "App_Final_v2" chaos.Choosing a Benelux Partner for No-Code DeliveryIf you are hiring a consultant for business app creation without coding in Benelux, look for these signals:Green FlagsRed FlagsThey ask about your ERP/API limits first.They focus only on how "pretty" the UI is.They have a plan for Entra ID/SSO.They suggest "workarounds" for security. They emphasize data ownership and "Source of Truth."They claim everything is "out of the box."They provide a Day 2 support and maintenance model.They vanish as soon as the app is "Live."No-code platforms are powerful tools for speed. However, the real value lies in making those apps secure, governed, and integrated. If you treat your app like a product rather than a prototype, you can achieve the dream of business app creation without coding in the Benelux without the typical enterprise headaches.

People often say luck is the biggest factor in startup success. But is that really the whole story? What are the actual benchmarks of a successful venture? These questions and many more are at the heart of this Innovantage podcast episode, where its host and Sigli’s CBDO, Max Golikov, speaks with Povilas Žinys, Director of Plug and Play Tech Center in the Baltics. Povilas works closely with startups from pre-seed to Series B and helps founders prepare for the demands of venture-scale growth.Povilas’s professional journeyPovilas’s own path into startups was shaped by a gradual shift away from traditional business. He studied accounting during his bachelor’s degree. But he quickly realized it wasn’t the right fit. He pivoted toward innovation and technology management during his master’s studies and deliberately sought out the most cutting-edge industries he could find.That search led him first to the space sector. He worked at a satellite operator, analyzed market trends, and advised leadership on investment directions. The industry itself seemed exciting. Nevertheless, the corporate environment felt limiting. Later, Povilas moved into cybersecurity and joined a company as a product manager. There, he deepened his expertise through a master’s degree in cybersecurity, helped introduce agile practices, and launched new products.After the company entered an acquisition phase, the work became increasingly focused on internal politics, not on execution. At this moment, Povilas and his colleague decided to start their own company. The idea was born from a simple but widespread problem.They wanted to help businesses manage corporate spending across distributed teams. Their startup aimed to streamline purchases, approvals, payments, and documentation for finance teams. Revenue was expected to be generated through card interchange fees.During this period, Povilas relocated from Luxembourg to Lithuania and joined the Wise Guys accelerator. The company went on to complete additional accelerator programs, raise close to €1 million in funding, launch a product, acquire clients, and reach recurring revenue. However, the startup ultimately struggled due to unreliable banking infrastructure providers. Scaling issues and repeated provider changes led to client losses. The product was eventually sold.One of the startup’s investors was Plug and Play. Later, it offered Povilas the opportunity to establish and lead its Baltic operations. This role provided him with a new perspective. This time, he could take a look at the business world from the investor’s side of the table.What is a startup accelerator?A startup accelerator is designed to help founders move faster and avoid costly mistakes on the path to growth. At its core, an accelerator brings a founding team to the next stage by combining structured learning and access to capital.Accelerators vary by focus. But most of them share common elements, like hands-on mentorship, practical workshops, shared knowledge, and a strong community of peers. Many also offer co-working space. However, the two most critical components are access to a powerful network and early-stage investment. Together, these elements help startups raise their next funding round, enter new markets, or prepare for rapid scaling.Plug and Play works with a wide range of companies at very different stages. Some startups are still in deep R&D or clinical trials without a product on the market. Others already serve thousands of customers.In the Baltics, Plug and Play represents a significant milestone. It is the first Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm to establish a permanent presence in the region. The initiative was launched in collaboration with the Lithuanian government. This reflects a broader trend in Central and Eastern Europe. There, public institutions increasingly support innovation. Meanwhile, similar programs in Western Europe are more often driven by corporate partners.Lithuania and the wider Baltic region offer strong foundations for startups and also serve as an effective testbed for validating products at a smaller scale. However, true growth requires thinking beyond local markets. Plug and Play helps founders go international as early as possible. Challenges for startups in 2026Today, at Plug and Play in Lithuania, startups range from first-time founders with no capital raised to companies that have secured several million euros. The ecosystem also attracts international teams. There are startups from the US, UK, and Asia that rely on Lithuania as a base for their European operations.Lithuania has emerged as a practical hub for launching in the EU. It ensures lower operating costs, strong technical talent, an active startup community, and an approachable government. All this makes it easier for companies to get started and test new ideas. For many international startups, it offers speed and flexibility that are harder to find elsewhere in Europe.Despite these advantages, the core challenges remain largely the same. Fundraising is consistently the biggest hurdle. Among others are entering foreign markets, building the right partnerships, developing a strong product, and scaling teams with the right people. Finding talent is not just about skills. It is also about commitment. The process of building a startup requires deep trust and long-term belief from every person involved.What every successful founder should haveFrom an investor’s perspective, resilience is one of the most important founder traits. Startups rarely succeed quickly. And failure is often part of the journey. What matters is how long founders can keep going. Many successful companies struggled for years before finding product-market fit. In reality, fundraising alone can take nine months or more, despite the common myth of overnight success.Startup life has nothing in common with the stability of corporate roles. There are no guaranteed weekends, no clear work-life balance, and no short-term rewards. Founders often sacrifice income and personal time. They do all this to bet on a future that is far from guaranteed.Those who succeed are usually the ones who endure the longest. They stay focused through slow progress and repeated rejection.Povilas believes that the startup experience offers founders the ultimate combination of freedom and responsibility. It demands tough decisions but allows them to pursue something that is truly their own. The experience itself provides invaluable lessons that shape future careers and personal growth. The relationships established along the way are equally important. Connections made in a startup environment are often deeper and more meaningful than in traditional jobs.How VCs make choicesFor venture capitalists, the team is the single most important factor for startup evaluation. Povilas explained that investors look for founders with proven expertise in their industry, a strong work ethic, organizational skills, and the ability to collaborate effectively. Other factors that matter are:Product quality;Technology;Intellectual property;Scalability;Market potential;Competition. Nevertheless, they are secondary. A strong team can navigate challenges and adapt. Without it, even the best product may fail.Being an expert in every domain isn’t necessary for investors, especially in a global VC like Plug and Play. With a network of 200 venture specialists across industries and regions, Povilas can rely on colleagues for insights into specific markets or technologies. Moreover, it’s crucial to bear in mind that startup evaluation is always context-dependent. A company may be an excellent fit regionally but lack global potential.Startup failure: Is it possible to avoid it?Startup failure is common. Roughly 90% of startups fail within their first year. Many more collapse in the following two years. The likelihood of survival often depends on the stage of the company. In Lithuania, most startups are at the pre-seed stage, and access to later-stage funding (Series A and beyond) is limited locally. This encourages founders to expand abroad. The global approach is essential for building companies capable of reaching unicorn status.Despite high failure rates, there are some indicators of above-average startups:Adaptability;Networking;Persistence. Success is not solely measured in revenue. Learning from failure, gaining experience, building networks, or making a broader impact also count as achievements. Many founders who experience multiple startup failures can eventually find significant successes. They demonstrate resilience and knowledge that often outweigh early financial outcomes.The best age for founding a startupMany successful founders are not in their 20s. They tend to be older, often over 40. They bring years of industry experience to their startups. Povilas explained that this unique experience gives them a crucial advantage. After having worked within an industry, they can identify real problems firsthand and envision practical solutions.While there are exceptional younger founders, statistically, there are more experienced professionals who succeed. They recognize meaningful gaps and execute effectively. Their deep understanding of the industry allows them to move faster and make better decisions. Moreover, they can address problems with insight that comes only from real-life experience.Rethinking startup successSuccess in startups is often misunderstood. Raising a large amount of capital (€20 million, for example) is frequently seen as an automatic success. But as Povilas highlighted, it also brings enormous responsibility.Investors expect a return, and the pressure to deliver can be immense, especially for young founders. Smaller funding rounds often carry lower obligations and allow startups to grow more sustainably.The ultimate measure of success is the ability to finance growth organically. Using their own resources, founders take responsibility for their outcomes and build a business that is under their control.From an investor's perspective, startup funding is a numbers game. Predictable returns require a diversified portfolio. When you invest in just a few companies, it may feel just like gambling. Venture capital remains a high-risk, high-reward asset class, which is typically a small portion of wealthy investors’ portfolios.Launching startups todayAccording to Povilas, establishing a startup in Lithuania and the Baltics has never been easier. Abundant EU funding and support programs make it simpler to raise an initial €500K than ever before. Early-stage launch has become more accessible compared with just a few years ago, when founders often had to rely on personal budgets or limited accelerator support.However, building and scaling a successful business remains challenging. While AI and modern tools have lowered development costs and reduced the need for large engineering teams, competition is fierce.Investors now expect startups to have sustainable advantages. It could be unique technology, strategic partnerships, strong networks, or first-mover positioning.Nevertheless, as Povilas explained, competitive advantages are relative. What works in Lithuania may not hold in Europe or globally. Success depends on speed and partnerships. For instance, securing a partnership in a neighboring country and launching quickly can constitute a real advantage.The scale and intensity of competition also vary by region. In Silicon Valley, rounds and valuations are on a different level. Smaller markets, like Lithuania, are ideal for early-stage testing and prototyping. In such regions, failures are less costly. Gap between startups and corporates in LithuaniaLithuania’s startup ecosystem is growing. But there is a critical gap: corporate engagement. Unlike some countries where companies actively pilot and invest in startups, most Lithuanian corporates treat the ecosystem primarily as a marketing tool. They rely on it to showcase innovation or attract talent. However, they don’t leverage startups to drive real business impact.This limits startups’ ability to scale solutions internationally and deprives corporations of potential revenue growth or cost savings. Povilas mentioned the example of Mercedes. The company runs numerous pilots annually and integrates new technologies into its products. Such collaborations are still rare in Lithuania.How Plug and Play helps startups expand internationallyPlug and Play supports Baltic startups in expanding internationally through two main approaches. First, it sends startups from Lithuania and the Baltics to programs in other global hubs, like Munich, Silicon Valley, New Jersey, or Texas. This allows them to benchmark against founders in other markets and build more diverse networks. Mixed teams with members from different countries (for instance, Canada and Lithuania) create stronger connections that accelerate growth.Second, Plug and Play attracts international co-founders and startups to Lithuania. Companies like Red Arrow Technologies from Germany or renewable startups from the broader portfolio can establish operational hubs or secure fintech licenses in Lithuania.Even if part of a startup’s operation leaves Lithuania, the long-term impact and potential returns benefit the country. Emerging opportunities in Lithuania’s startup landscapeBoth Max and Povilas agreed that, though the role of AI was largely set aside in their discussion, it is expected to impact nearly every sector globally. Beyond AI, Lithuania presents significant opportunities in defense, life sciences, fintech, and cybersecurity.In defense, proximity to Ukraine and ongoing investments in infrastructure position the country as an attractive hub for innovation (particularly in drones and anti-drone technologies). Lithuania is perceived as close enough to conflict zones to provide relevant market insights. But it is still safe enough to serve as a testing and innovation ground.Life sciences is another key growth area. The country has strong research capabilities and ambitious government targets, such as generating 5% of GDP from life sciences by 2030. Today, this sector offers potential to transform Lithuania’s economy toward high-value industries. Early successes, such as Vugene and Biomatter, highlight the momentum and investment interest in this field.Fintech remains a stable sector with continued input and portfolio growth, while cybersecurity represents an untapped opportunity. Today, Lithuania has become an excellent launchpad not just for local and international startups. If you want to dive deeper into the nuances of building a startup and doing business in the age of AI and rapid technological progress, stay tuned for more episodes. In the coming weeks, we will bring you fresh insights from leading experts across various industries.

Most operations don’t break because people aren’t working hard. They break because work is scattered across too many tools, too many handovers, and too many “small decisions” that can’t be captured in if-then rules.You can automate the straightforward steps. But the moment a workflow becomes multi-stage, exception-heavy, or dependent on context, automation quietly hands it back to humans:Someone checks the data “just in case”Someone follows up because the system can’tSomeone reconciles two sources that don’t matchSomeone escalates, routes, rewrites, re-explainsSomeone keeps the process moving manuallyThat’s not a tooling problem. It’s a workflow problem. And it’s exactly where AI agents are starting to make a real difference.Why assistants help… but don’t reduce operational loadAI assistants (copilots, chatbots) are great at self-contained tasks: summarising, drafting, answering questions, generating content. Useful but they still require someone to run the workflow end to end. AI agents go further. They’re designed to operate inside a digital environment, reason across inputs, use tools (APIs, databases, ticketing systems), and execute multi-step work until an outcome is reached within clear boundaries.In plain terms: assistants support work, agents move work forward.The problem this guide helps solveThis guide is for the messy middle of operations, the part most automation can’t reach:Processes with lots of edge casesWorkflows that span multiple departments and systemsTasks that require context, judgement, or prioritisationSituations where speed matters, but mistakes are costlyWhen these workflows stay manual, the symptoms are familiar: long cycle times, recurring backlogs, inconsistent execution, and a growing reliance on “the one person who knows how it works.”What’s inside Sigli’s free AI agent guideFrom Assistants to Agents: Smarter AI for Real-World Ops is built to help teams move from vague interest to concrete action.Inside, you’ll find:A clear explanation of what an AI agent is (and what it isn’t)A practical breakdown of assistants vs agents where each fits6 real-world applications with case studies across healthcare, manufacturing & logistics, finance, retail, sales, and educationA step-by-step roadmap to implement agentic workflows, from ideation to testing and scalingA checklist of common challenges (security, compliance, data integration, adoption, reliability) so you can plan around them upfrontGet a practical view of what’s possible now, what tends to fail, and how to build toward outcomes safely.Download the free guideIf you’re exploring how to reduce operational effort without creating new risk, this guide will give you a strong starting point.👉 Download Sigli’s free AI agent guide here: From Assistants to Agents: Smarter AI for Real-World Ops

AI is often the fastest way to find the real constraint. Not the final answer.Here’s a pattern Sigli notices again and again. A team starts with a clear request: “We need AI.” They want new predictive features , automated insights, smarter workflows and a step-change in competitiveness.Then discovery begins, and the “AI project” quietly turns into something else: data pipelines and data requirements, workflow and model delivery improvements, infrastructure constraints (often security / residency), documentation and operational reliability.At first, this can feel like scope drift. But in fact, It isn’t. It’s the project doing what it’s supposed to do: finding the bottleneck early, before anyone wastes months building a model that can’t reliably run, can’t integrate, or can’t be trusted.A simple truth: if your “AI project” becomes a data/process/integration project, it often means you found the real constraint early.AI isn’t always the end solution. Often, it’s the diagnostic.AI forces uncomfortable specificity.The moment you try to ship something real, you have to answer questions like:What exactly goes in, and what must come out?Where does the data come from, and can we rely on it?How often does this need to run?What happens when it’s wrong?Where in the workflow will people actually use it?And that’s when you discover the reality: the model isn’t the hard part. The system around it is.A real example from Sigli's clientIn one of Sigli’s case studies, a UK property data platform wanted to “implement advanced, up-to-date” machine learning to enrich their data and power new customer features. A typical “AI project,” on paper.But the work that mattered most, what made the AI shippable, looked like this:partnering with the client’s in-house data science team to build new data pipelines and enhance development workflows, alongside ML implementation developing dozens of pipelines to streamline data processing and enable expansion of the feature set auditing and improving existing ML models that were slow and inefficient, because performance issues were blocking day-to-day workflows working under a real constraint: some datasets were confidential, so implementation happened on the client’s on-site servers rather than in the cloud In other words: the “AI project” immediately surfaced that the real work was data readiness + delivery mechanics + infrastructure reality.The most common “something else”: AI-ready dataWhen people say “data quality,” they often mean something broader and more practical:data exists, but it’s not usabledefinitions vary (“what counts as on-market?” “what is a prospect?”)input/output requirements aren’t explicitpipelines aren’t repeatable or fast enoughkey datasets can’t move freely because of confidentialityThat’s why the case study’s three-step approach begins with a review of infrastructure and an audit of existing models plus input/output data requirements and pipelines, before building anything new. And it’s why the delivery centers on pipelines as “engines behind new product features,” not just models. If you want a blunt version: if you can’t move and trust data end-to-end, the smartest model in the world won’t help.What “AI as a diagnostic” looks like in practiceIn the property platform project, the diagnostic showed up as four clear “pivot causes”:1) Data readinessThe project needed multiple / dozens of data pipelines to make the platform’s insights and features possible at scale. That’s a classic signal that value depends on reliable data movement, not on “more AI.”2) Workflow reality (performance and iteration)Existing ML models were slow, and that slowness was interfering with workflows. So the project became: audit, improve, and establish workflows that allow faster feature rollout.3) Infrastructure constraintsConfidential datasets forced an on-prem approach rather than a cloud-first architecture. That single constraint changes everything: tooling, deployment, monitoring, and iteration speed.4) Operational debt (often hidden until AI work begins)The team had to work through a lack of documentation, large/complex datasets, and the usual pain of a tech stack transition. That’s another “AI diagnostic” pattern: AI work exposes the systems you can’t safely evolve yet.So… what shipped?What shipped wasn’t “just AI.” Sigli and the client’s internal team delivered infrastructure upgrades including new pipelines, advanced ML functionality, and improved workflows to release new features faster. And those foundations unlocked concrete product outcomes, like expanded feature capabilities including property tracking and market trend analysis for end users. This is exactly why “turning into something else” is a good sign:you don’t get trapped in prototype landyou build the machinery that makes insights repeatableyou leave the client stronger, not dependent on a one-off modelA quick checklist: are you building AI, or are you diagnosing a constraint?If you want to tell early whether an AI project will “turn into something else,” ask:Do we have clear input/output data requirements? Can we run the data flow end-to-end reliably (even once)?Are we constrained by confidentiality / residency (on-prem vs cloud)? Are existing models/pipelines blocking workflows because they’re slow or brittle? Do we have the documentation and ownership needed to maintain this? “AI projects turning into something else” is often the moment a team stops chasing the buzzword and starts shipping.The bad outcome isn’t a pivot. The bad outcome is an AI demo that can’t survive contact with real systems, real constraints, and real users.The good outcome is what this case study shows: AI work that acts like a diagnostic, and creates durable foundations (data pipelines, delivery workflows, infrastructure choices) that make future AI faster, safer, and actually valuable.

The Innovantage podcast, hosted by Sigli’s CBDO Max Golikov, covers a wide range of topics that explain how emerging technologies empower people to change the world around them. While the podcast often focuses on innovation and tech-driven impact, the latest episode takes a deeper turn and shifts the spotlight to the human force behind it all.For this episode, Max invited Fredrik Härén, a Creativity Explorer who has spent decades traveling the world to understand how humans create. It’s interesting that a lot of things that he has discovered seriously challenge many of our mainstream assumptions about creativity.Speaking about his career, Fredrik mentioned his university thesis on the internet and marketing that he wrote in 1994. At that time, his professor said that these two notions had nothing in common. But later, he asked for permission to use parts of the thesis for a book on the same subject. That’s when Fredrik learned a defining lesson: expertise is often simply knowing more than the audience.In his late twenties, Fredrik became an early internet speaker, founded an internet company, and sold it in 1999. When the company exited, he asked himself what to explore next and decided to choose creativity.For the past 25 years, Fredrik has studied creativity by interviewing people across 75 countries. These thousands of conversations help him to understand how different humans use their power to create new things and how we can all become better at doing it.Why creativity?Explaining the reasons behind his decision to study creativity, Fredrik mentioned several factors. When he started researching the internet, it was not the technology itself that attracted his attention. He was captured by its newness.When the World Wide Web emerged, no one came from the internet industry. People arrived from consulting, software, advertising, and other spheres. And they were trying to build something from scratch. There were no rules, no experts, and no established paths. That uncertainty provided all the necessary conditions for an unusually creative moment in business. Fredrik worked on early online campaigns (such as advertising games for Adidas). There were no best practices to follow. Everything had to be invented. Those first years were defined by freedom and experimentation. Around 2000, Fredrik realized something important for himself. He had never liked the internet itself. But he liked the human ability to see and create the new. From that point on, he stopped focusing on the internet and devoted his life to studying creativity.That desire became a deliberate decision around 2005. Fredrik left Sweden and moved to China to study creativity in a completely different cultural context. After relocating to Singapore in 2008, he understood that focusing on one country, especially a small one, wasn’t enough.Here’s when he decided to study creativity wherever it existed. The goal is to conduct the research in 100 countries. With 25 still to go, Fredrik believes that exploring creativity in more than half of the world’s countries will ensure a unique understanding of human creativity.In recent years, his focus expanded even further. Alongside entrepreneurs, CEOs, and well-known creative professionals, he began interviewing people rarely included in these conversations, from the slums of Mumbai to nomadic communities in Mongolia, and even North Korea. The input and output of creativityDuring a recent trip to Bhutan, Fredrik interviewed the country’s former Minister of Tourism to explore how creativity is understood there. The minister challenged the Western view of creativity as self-expression and output. We often perceive creativity as the act of producing and improving the world through what we make. Instead, he described creativity as an inward journey. At its core, creativity is about understanding yourself better.That idea reshaped how Fredrik sees his own work. The creations that truly mattered to him were those that led to personal growth. However, even failure holds value because learning about yourself becomes the real outcome. At the same time, the final product is simply a bonus.This inward approach also raises a serious question to think about: if you create something but learn nothing about yourself, was it a meaningful creation or just work?Is creativity universal or cultural?Fredrik compared creativity to food. Just as Filipino, Indian, and Italian cuisines are vastly different, creativity takes distinct cultural forms. However, beneath those differences lies something universal. In the case of creativity, it is he human desire to connect and express meaning.This pattern holds true across disciplines, from food and music to art, business, and entrepreneurship. While the surface varies, the underlying creative impulse is shared.In Bhutan, after interviewing Buddhist monks, Fredrik visited a web design agency in the capital. Inside, it looked exactly like a creative studio anywhere in the world: familiar branding, pop culture references, and a global work culture. He had seen the same thing before in Mongolia. Outside, you can see a very traditional environment, but when you walk into an office, you will see just the same as what you can find in offices of web design agencies in Berlin or Stockholm.To Fredrik, this is very remarkable. Technology has made a truly global mindset possible. For the first time in human history, creativity powered by technology is shaping global tribes that transcend borders and culture. Speakers connect with speakers, designers with designers, creators with creators.Fredrik’s books on creativityFredrik has written twelve books on creativity, but his latest work, called “The World of Creativity,” brings his global perspective together in a new way. As he has found out in his research, creativity should be studied at a human level. Different cultures approach creativity differently, and each approach offers a unique tool.By learning how people innovate around the world, readers expand their creative toolbox. The more perspectives you understand, the more ways you gain access to your own creativity.At its core, his work is about exploration. Fredrik travels the world interviewing people, but believes exploration only matters if the insights are shared. One of the chapters of his latest book is dedicated to Japan.In Japanese, there is a word that can be translated as “someone who cultivates the future.” This is a person who sees what’s coming and brings that knowledge back to others. For Fredrik, that mindset defines creativity itself. It covers venturing into the unknown, learning from it, and returning to enrich your own community. When we share what we have learned, everyone becomes richer.What does “hiemskur” mean in Icelandic?During his trips, Fredrik learned an old Icelandic word from the Viking age, “hiemskur.” Now, this word has become one of his favorites, and it sits at the heart of his philosophy on creativity.In Viking times, Icelanders were expected to travel. They needed to sail south, gather resources, and bring back ideas. How were ships built elsewhere? How were weapons made? These insights were meant to be applied back home. Anyone who stayed on their farm and never ventured out was called hiemskur.The word itself reveals its meaning. Heim means “home.” To always stay home, in this sense, was to become ignorant of the world.For Fredrik, this idea feels surprisingly relevant today. Innovation is happening right now in many places, like Nigeria and Indonesia. But they often stay unnoticed by the West. The real danger, according to Fredrik, is believing you understand the world when you don’t.You don’t need to travel constantly to avoid becoming hiemskur. Small changes help as well. Even steps like diversifying who you follow online matter. Seeing the world through the perspectives of people in other countries can radically expand your understanding of creativity and humanity.Think human, act humaneAs Fredrik highlighted, companies often limit themselves by thinking in terms of nationality or demographics. Instead of designing for Swedes, Koreans, or any specific group, companies should focus on universal human needs, like humor, love, and curiosity. These values connect people across cultures. Products designed this way naturally reach global markets.There are a lot of products that feel truly universal, as companies behind them didn’t tie them to their countries of origin. The same can be said about many global businesses. For instance, KPMG operates across multiple countries with no single “home.” It defines itself by corporate values rather than nationality.Unfortunately, some companies still let national identity dictate talent decisions. In one shipping company, Danish captains were paid more than equally qualified Filipino captains simply because of their nationality. According to Fredrik, such things shouldn’t happen.How can anyone become more creative?Creativity is deeply individual. Introverts often generate their best ideas in solitude, while extroverts are more active in collaboration. The key is understanding your own creative process. To create something new, you need to know when your ideas flow, when they stall, and what helps or hinders your creativity. Fredrik even recommends using tools like ChatGPT to brain dump your habits and patterns, then ask it to summarize your process as if it were a creativity consultant.When he interviewed a Thai origami artist, he asked her about the methods that help her overcome creative blocks. Her was simple: she takes an “idea nap.” She steps away, drinks coffee, and returns when the block naturally dissolves. Fredrik realized that the stress often associated with creativity is largely a Western construct.Of course, some people work best under pressure. Their ideas thrive on deadlines and the tension of urgency. That’s why, first of all, you need to find what works for you. Ideation empathy: Improving the creative processFredrik highlights a concept known as ideation empathy. Ideation is the art of generating ideas. Meanwhile, ideation empathy is understanding how others generate theirs.In teams, people often misinterpret each other’s behavior. Introverts might appear disengaged in meetings. At the same time, while some may feel involved only when challenged, others freeze under provocation. By sharing how each person works best, teams can adapt and collaborate more effectively. Fredrik notes that most groups never do this. As a result, they waste creative potential.But while empathy is important, curiosity is even more powerful. Empathy lets you understand someone. Curiosity makes you care enough to want to learn more about them.East vs. West: Two paths to creativityFredrik compared Western and Eastern approaches to creativity. In the West, innovation often emphasizes speed and disruption. A Silicon Valley motto sounds: “Move fast and break things.” It reflects a mindset of tearing down old structures and building new ones. This method works, particularly in fast-moving industries. But it is just one of all possible options.Fredrik also shared the example of an Afghan artist who follows a centuries-old tradition. Before she can paint, she must make her own paper, grind her own pigments from stones and emeralds, and even craft brushes from cat hair. The process takes weeks. And only then can she begin painting. She calls this profound patience. The careful preparation allows the final work to evolve beyond her initial idea. It has depth and quality that speed alone cannot achieve.Though these two methods are completely different, they are both valid. When we learn different cultural approaches, we expand our creative toolbox. Some projects benefit from speed and disruption. Others thrive on reflection and patience.The real meaning of inspirationThe word “inspiration” comes from the idea of “breathing in,” while creation is like “breathing out.” Inspiration fuels creativity, but it must be balanced with the act of producing. Otherwise, ideas remain trapped inside.To create, Fredrik sets aside dedicated time to turn off the input and focus on output. Every year, he isolates himself with his family on an island for over two months. This period is devoted to thinking, writing, and reflection. He compares this practice to Bill Gates’ “Think weeks.” These are retreat periods, when he has enough time for reading, personal reflection, and setting goals.AI and the future of creativityFredrik is highly optimistic about AI. He believes that it is the greatest creativity tool humanity has ever invented. AI can seem threatening at first. But when it is used properly, it expands human potential. There are concerns that artificial intelligence can replace creative thinking. But in reality, AI can even enhance it, just as calculators enabled more advanced math.Artificial intelligence can act as a brainstorming partner. It can challenge ideas from multiple perspectives and generate thousands of problem definitions or concepts. Let’s be honest, all this is impossible for the human mind alone. Fredrik shared an excellent example from a Stockholm kindergarten. Children were provided the possibility to ask ChatGPT endless questions via a microphone. Unlike adults, AI never tires. Such an initiative encourages curiosity and teaches kids that asking questions is central to creativity.AI is good at combining ideas and generating novel concepts. As a result, it can create millions of new ideas that humans can build on. However, misuse can limit creative growth, just like drinking too much water can be harmful.Fredrik also mentioned early studies that showed reduced creativity in AI users. These comparisons are premature. People just didn’t know how to use AI effectively.Will creativity still matter in the future?Creativity helps people solve problems. Without it, humans would still be cold, hungry, and living in caves. But that’s not the only reason for its importance in the upcoming years.Fredrik quoted his friend, Swedish entrepreneur Johan Staël von Holstein, who argues that while love may be the most powerful human emotion, the second most profound is the moment when you have a truly great idea or when you see one of your ideas come to life. According to Fredrik, that feeling is central to what it means to be human. Creativity makes us happier and more alive.Creativity isn’t limited to the arts. It is also essential in government, technology, and everyday systems. Poorly designed services (like endless visa applications or broken digital platforms) are often not a lack of resources, but a lack of creative thinking. The expert explained that creativity won't become obsolete or replaced by technology. The world is far from running out of problems to solve, from inequality and mental health to inefficient institutions. Until those challenges disappear, creativity will remain one of humanity’s most vital tools.In fact, new technologies don’t eliminate creative work. They expand it. Programmers, designers, and builders can now create more than ever before. A message for tech leadersDon’t focus first on making your people more creative. Focus on developing your own creativity. That’s what Fredrik recommends to tech leaders.Creativity is not something that can be mandated. It spreads through example. Children learn more from what parents do than what they say. And employees are inspired by leaders who think creatively and are not afraid of taking risks.At the end of their conversation, Max voiced an important idea. Business is defined less by success than by failure. Progress comes from overcoming setbacks along the way. Failure is essential for learning. Without it, success simply isn’t possible. The real skill is understanding how to live with failure and continue moving forward until something works.Want to explore more insights from business and tech experts? That’s exactly what you’ll find on the Innovantage podcast. Don’t miss upcoming episodes!

Back-office automation tools are everywhere in Belgium. Most SMEs have a stack that includes accounting software, a social secretariat portal, payroll tooling, time tracking, expense management, invoicing, and a growing list of “one more app” solutions that promise to save time. And yet, the back office still feels manual. Data still gets copy-pasted between systems. Finance still reconciles mismatched numbers. Payroll still depends on emails, exports, and last-minute fixes. Management still struggles to get a simple, trustworthy view of cash, margins, and payroll.That’s the paradox of Back-office Automation Tools Belgium: automation exists, but the back office isn’t truly automated, because the tools are not connected. When software is implemented one piece at a time, it creates local improvements but breaks the end-to-end flow. A new invoicing tool speeds up sending invoices, but creates a new reconciliation task for accounting. A time tracking tool helps operations, but produces exports that payroll can’t use without manual work. A portal makes compliance easier, but becomes yet another place where the same data is entered again.In Belgium, this pattern is especially common because back-office ecosystems are shaped by external partners and obligations. SMEs work closely with accountants, and payroll often runs through a social secretariat. Compliance requirements push companies to adopt specific flows, such as e-invoicing, but these are often added as separate tools rather than integrated processes. The result is what many teams experience as islands of automation: each tool works fine on its own, but moving information between tools becomes the real job.From Spreadsheets to Islands of Automation: The Reality of Back-office Automation Tools Belgium SMEs FaceSpreadsheets don’t disappear when new tools are introduced. They just change roles. Instead of being the main system, spreadsheets become the glue that holds the process together. They turn into trackers for invoices that don’t match the books yet, mapping tables between payroll and accounting, cost allocation sheets used for management reporting, or workarounds when two tools export differently.This happens because tools were bought for their individual value, not for how they fit into one connected operating model. Over time, the company ends up with multiple “mini automations” that don’t connect. Each tool saves time somewhere, but the time reappears somewhere else as reconciliation, checking, exporting, fixing, and chasing missing information.Accounting, Payroll, Time Tracking and E-invoicing: Where the Fragmentation StartsFragmentation usually starts in predictable places. Invoicing and accounting drift apart, and suddenly VAT codes, payment terms, and customer references become inconsistent across systems. Payroll and time tracking fail to align, because the logic needed for payroll—absences, contract types, overtime rules—rarely matches what the time tracking tool outputs by default. Social secretariat portals are essential in Belgium, but they weren’t designed to integrate neatly with modern cloud stacks, so companies fall back to manual uploads and emails. E-invoicing adds pressure to standardise, but if it’s implemented as “one more portal,” it increases operational complexity rather than reducing it.Over time, the typical Back-office Automation Tools Belgium setup becomes a landscape of portals, exports, and reconciliation steps that no one planned, but everyone now depends on.The Risks of Unconnected Back-office Automation Tools in Belgium: Double Entry, Errors and Blind SpotsThe cost of unconnected tools is not just inconvenience. It creates structural risk. Double entry becomes normal: employee data, supplier data, cost centers, invoice references, and payment statuses are entered in multiple places and maintained inconsistently. Errors become harder to detect because each system looks “correct” in isolation while the overall picture is wrong. A small mismatch can lead to incorrect VAT coding, payroll mistakes due to outdated employee information, or misallocated costs that distort profitability.The biggest damage is the blind spot it creates for leadership. When numbers differ across dashboards, people stop trusting reports. Decisions slow down. Month-end becomes a firefight. Instead of gaining control through automation, the organisation loses confidence in its own data.Step 1: Back-office Mapping – Make Your Tool Landscape Visible Before Adding Anything NewThe way out is not buying yet another tool. The way out is visibility and connection. The first step is back-office mapping, because you cannot fix what you cannot see. A mapping exercise makes the current tool landscape visible: which tools are in use, who owns them, what data each tool creates or needs, where manual transfers happen, and where errors or delays repeat.Most SMEs discover that what they thought was an “automation problem” is actually a set of integration gaps. And once those gaps are visible, it becomes obvious where the real effort is being wasted.Step 2: Designing a Simple Integration Blueprint for Back-office Automation Tools BelgiumOnce the landscape is visible, the next step is to design a simple integration blueprint. “Simple” matters, because the goal isn’t architectural perfection. It’s operational relief. A blueprint clarifies what becomes the source of truth for customers, suppliers, employees, and invoices. It defines which data must flow between accounting, payroll, and operations, and how frequently.For many Back-office Automation Tools Belgium stacks, the most valuable early flows are invoices into accounting, time and absences into payroll and then into accounting, and payment and bank sync into cash reporting. These are the flows that create the most manual work and the most risk when they are fragmented, so they typically deliver the fastest return when connected.Step 3: Building a Lightweight Integration Layer Between Accountant, Social Secretariat and Cloud AppsBelgian SMEs often get stuck here because they assume integration requires replacing systems. In practice, you can connect what exists by building a lightweight integration layer. This layer can use standard connectors when available, scheduled sync when real-time isn’t necessary, API-based integrations when tools support them, and controlled file-based integration when portals are simply the reality.The point is not to be “pure.” The point is to reduce manual transfers, make responsibilities clear, and create repeatable flows that don’t depend on one person’s memory. When accountants and social secretariats are part of the ecosystem, this clarity is crucial, because integrations need to work across organisational boundaries as well as technical ones.Step 4: Data Mapping and Quality Checks – Creating One Source of Truth for Your Back OfficeIntegration only becomes valuable when data is defined and enforced. Data mapping is where you decide how identifiers match across systems, how cost centers and projects are structured, how payroll categories map to accounting accounts, and where VAT codes are maintained.Then quality checks make those decisions real. Duplicates detection, validation of mandatory fields and formats, and exception reporting ensure that when something breaks, you see it immediately, understand why, and know who fixes it. This is how you create one source of truth in the back office. You don’t declare it; you enforce it.Step 5: Adding Workflow and AI Automation on Top of Connected Back-office ToolsOnce tools are connected and data is reliable, workflow automation becomes genuinely powerful. Invoice approvals can be routed automatically based on supplier, cost center, or amount. Reminders can trigger when timesheets are missing or expenses are overdue. Exceptions can be handled systematically when payroll inputs don’t match contract rules. Accounting entries can be generated from operational events instead of created manually.This is also the stage where AI becomes practical. AI can categorise invoices consistently, extract fields from documents when needed, summarise anomalies, and answer internal questions using validated back-office data. Without integration and data quality, AI tends to accelerate chaos. With a connected foundation, AI becomes leverage.Step 6: One Management Cockpit Instead of Five Portals – Reporting on Cash, Margins and PayrollMost leaders don’t want more tools. They want answers they can trust. They want to understand cash and cash risk, profitability by customer or project, and payroll cost trends without waiting for manual reconciliations.When your Back-office Automation Tools Belgium stack is connected, you can move toward one management cockpit. That doesn’t mean one monolithic system. It means one consolidated view with consistent definitions, faster month-end close, fewer reconciliations, and confidence in the numbers. Instead of five portals and five versions of reality, you get one view of cash, margins, and payroll that supports decisions.Why a Managed Integration Service Beats DIY Back-office Automation Tools in BelgiumMany SMEs try DIY integration and some succeed, but the same breakdowns appear again and again. Ownership is unclear, fragile automations fail after software updates, and there is no monitoring so issues are discovered too late. Logic lives in undocumented scripts or one person’s head. Security and access become messy as quick fixes accumulate.A managed integration approach is often more effective because it treats integration as an operational capability, not a one-time project. It includes design that fits business processes, secure implementation, monitoring and alerting, maintenance when tools change, and continuous improvement as the business evolves. For Belgian SMEs operating with accountants, social secretariats, and multiple cloud tools, that reliability usually beats heroic DIY.How Sigli Helps Belgian SMEs Move from Tool Chaos to a Connected, Automated Back OfficeSigli helps Belgian SMEs turn Back-office Automation Tools Belgium from a fragmented stack into a connected operating system. We start by mapping the current landscape and the manual bottlenecks that drain time and create errors. We design a simple integration blueprint focused on the flows that matter most, then connect accounting, payroll ecosystems and cloud tools through a lightweight integration layer. We standardise data mapping and add quality rules so the business has one source of truth, not five competing versions. Then we automate workflows and add AI where it actually reduces work, not where it adds complexity. Finally, we consolidate reporting into one cockpit that leadership can trust.The result isn’t a bigger toolset. It’s a back office that runs with fewer manual steps, fewer errors, and better visibility, so your team can focus on running the business rather than reconciling systems.Book a call with Sigli to discuss your current setup and see what a connected back office could look like for your business. In one conversation, we can map the key friction points, confirm where integration will have the biggest impact, and outline a realistic path to consolidate your back-office operations without replacing everything.

If you run an SME in the Benelux, you probably recognize the pattern: reporting lives in Excel, critical numbers are spread across tabs and versions, and “the truth” depends on who refreshed the file last. It works—until it doesn’t. The moment your team grows, your tools diversify, or your customers expect faster answers, Excel-based reporting starts to slow decisions down instead of enabling them.That’s where operational reporting dashboards Benelux SMEs can rely on become a turning point. Not as a big, expensive “data transformation program,” but as a focused starter pack: a clear KPI model, a minimal modern data stack, and a first set of live dashboards that replace fragile manual reporting with trusted, shared insight.Why Operational Reporting Dashboards Matter for Benelux SMEs Right NowBenelux SMEs are operating in a market where speed and transparency are no longer “nice to have.” Customers expect quick turnaround times, teams work hybrid, and margins are watched closely. At the same time, many businesses are running a growing mix of systems—an ERP, a CRM, a ticketing tool, e-commerce, marketing platforms, finance tools—each with its own definitions and reporting logic.Operational reporting dashboards help you run the business daily and weekly, not just review it monthly. Instead of waiting for an end-of-month PDF, you can see what’s happening in operations, sales, and service as it unfolds. That changes the quality of decisions: fewer gut-feel debates, fewer “I think” conversations, more alignment on what to fix and where to invest time.Most importantly, operational dashboards create consistency. When leadership, operations, and sales all use the same definitions and the same numbers, you stop wasting hours reconciling reports and start using reporting as an engine for action.From Excel to Operational Reporting Dashboards Benelux: The Gap Small SMEs FaceThe jump from Excel to real dashboards is not just a tooling upgrade. It’s a shift in how reporting is defined, produced, and trusted.In Excel, reporting often depends on individuals. Someone exports data, cleans it, merges it, updates formulas, and sends it around. Even when done carefully, it’s hard to avoid broken links, manual mistakes, and version chaos. When questions appear—“Why is this number different?”—the team ends up auditing spreadsheets instead of solving business problems.With operational reporting dashboards Benelux SMEs aim for something else: a shared reporting layer built on stable sources, consistent KPIs, and automatic refresh. But many smaller organizations feel stuck because “real BI” sounds like enterprise work: long timelines, high costs, heavy data engineering.The gap is real, but it’s not inevitable. You don’t need a perfect data platform to start. You need a sensible scope, the right KPI decisions, and a minimal stack that fits your systems and your reality.Introducing Sigli’s BI Starter Pack for Operational Reporting Dashboards in the BeneluxSigli’s BI Starter Pack is designed specifically for smaller Benelux SMEs who want clarity fast without overbuilding. The idea is simple: deliver operational reporting dashboards that replace the most painful Excel processes, establish trusted KPIs, and set up a modern but minimal data stack that can grow later.We focus on what makes dashboards useful: what questions the business needs answered, what decisions those answers should improve, and how to make the data reliable enough that teams actually use it.The starter pack typically results in 3–5 live dashboards for management, operations, and sales, delivered in a practical timeframe often 4 to 8 weeks depending on complexity and data readiness.Step 1: Landscape & KPI Workshop, Choosing the Right Systems and MetricsOperational dashboards fail when KPIs are unclear or politically negotiated after the build. So we start where clarity starts: a workshop that maps your reporting landscape and your decision-making needs.We look at which systems actually contain the data that matters, where the current reports come from, and which numbers are causing friction today. Then we define a KPI model that is both meaningful and feasible: metrics that reflect how your business operates, that can be refreshed reliably, and that can be owned by the teams who use them.This step is not just “requirements gathering.” It’s how you avoid building dashboards that look good but don’t get adopted. When teams agree on definitions early, dashboards become a shared language instead of another reporting artifact.Step 2: A Minimal but Modern Data Stack for Operational Reporting Dashboards BeneluxA common misconception is that you need a large data warehouse project to get started. In reality, operational reporting dashboards Benelux SMEs need most often can be delivered with a minimal modern stack: just enough structure to ensure reliability and refresh, without unnecessary complexity.The exact stack depends on your systems, volumes, and constraints, but the principle stays the same. We set up a clean path from source systems to a trusted reporting layer, with clear ownership and refresh logic. We prioritize a setup that can expand later, but doesn’t force you into a six-month infrastructure roadmap before you see value.This step is about stability. It makes sure dashboards don’t depend on manual exports and that the numbers can be reproduced and explained when someone asks, “Where does this come from?”Step 3: Delivering 3-5 Live Dashboards for Management, Operations and SalesOnce the KPI model and data path are in place, we build dashboards that match how teams actually work.Management dashboards typically focus on performance overview, trends, and key drivers enough to spot risks early and steer priorities. Operations dashboards focus on throughput, bottlenecks, workload, quality, and delivery performance. Sales dashboards focus on pipeline health, conversion, cycle time, and forecast hygiene.We don’t aim for “everything in one place.” We aim for a small set of dashboards that are used weekly and become part of routines. Adoption matters more than quantity. A few dashboards that teams trust will beat a BI library that nobody opens.Step 4: The De-Excel Step, Rebuilding Trusted Reports in Power BI, Looker or TableauIn many Benelux SMEs, Excel isn’t just a tool,it’s a habit. People trust their spreadsheets because they’ve used them for years, even if the process is fragile.The de-Excel step respects that reality. Instead of forcing teams to abandon familiar reporting overnight, we take the reports they rely on most and rebuild them in a modern BI tool (Power BI, Looker, or Tableau) so the output remains familiar, but the production becomes reliable.This is also where trust is earned. When teams see that the dashboard matches the report they already believe in, without the manual work, they start switching naturally. The goal is not to demonize Excel. The goal is to remove Excel as the reporting engine while keeping it available as an analysis tool when needed.What Benelux SMEs Gain in 4–8 Weeks: From Monthly PDFs to Near Real-Time InsightThe shift isn’t just speed. It’s a different operating rhythm.Instead of waiting for monthly reporting cycles, teams get visibility throughout the month. Instead of arguing about which spreadsheet is correct, they work from shared dashboards. Instead of discovering issues after the fact, they notice patterns early enough to act.In practical terms, SMEs often see faster reporting cycles, fewer manual hours spent on preparation, improved KPI consistency across teams, and clearer accountability. Even more valuable is the decision quality: when data is accessible and trusted, leaders spend less time chasing numbers and more time solving the right problems.How Sigli Makes Big-Company BI Accessible to Small Benelux SMEsLarge companies invest heavily in BI because the cost of poor decisions is massive at scale. But SMEs feel the same pain just with fewer resources to fix it.Our approach is built around practicality: small scope, fast value, and a stack that fits your organization. We combine KPI clarity with modern delivery, but we keep the build grounded in what your team can maintain. We don’t sell complexity for its own sake. We focus on making operational reporting dashboards Benelux SMEs can actually use and keep using without needing an internal data department.That’s what makes the starter pack work: it’s not a “BI project.” It’s a business enablement package that turns reporting from a monthly headache into an operational advantage.Next Steps: Getting Started with Operational Reporting Dashboards Benelux at Your SMEIf your reporting still depends on Excel exports, manual consolidation, and last-minute checks, it’s a good moment to consider a starter pack approach. The fastest path forward is not building everything it’s choosing the few reports that matter most, defining KPIs properly, and delivering a first set of dashboards that teams trust.Operational reporting dashboards Benelux SMEs rely on don’t have to be complicated. They have to be consistent, accessible, and tied to real decisions. If you want to move beyond Excel without turning it into an enterprise-scale program, Sigli’s BI Starter Pack is designed to get you there quickly, clearly, and with a foundation you can build on.If you’d like to see what this could look like for your SME, book a call with Sigli. We’ll walk through your current reporting setup, identify the fastest wins, and outline a realistic 4–8 week path to your first operational dashboards.

Business process automation is rising on the priority list for UK SMEs for a simple reason: teams are busy, but too much of that busyness is manual work that shouldn’t require people at all. Costs are up, hiring is harder, customers expect faster responses, and compliance overhead keeps growing. Many organisations aren’t looking for a big “digital transformation” programme. They’re looking for relief. They want fewer repetitive tasks, fewer errors, and a smoother way for work to move through the business without being trapped in inboxes, spreadsheets, and handoffs between systems.Why UK SMEs Are Searching for Business Process Automation Services UKWhen UK SMEs search for business process automation services, they’re usually reacting to specific pain. Work takes longer than it should because steps are repeated or unclear. Information gets retyped from one tool into another. Approvals are slow and scattered across email threads. Reporting takes days because data is inconsistent. Support queues grow because requests aren’t routed properly. People do heroic work to keep things running, but the system itself creates friction. Automation becomes interesting when leaders realise that the problem isn’t effort or motivation; it’s the way the process is designed and executed.What Business Process Automation Services UK Actually Mean for Your OrganisationIn practice, business process automation services are not a single product or platform. They’re a combination of process understanding, workflow design, and implementation that makes routine work more reliable. For an organisation, this usually means taking a process that currently lives across emails, chat messages, documents, and scattered tools, and turning it into something clear, repeatable, and measurable. It also often means connecting systems so that information doesn’t have to be copied manually between your CRM, finance tools, service desk, data sources, and internal documentation. When done well, automation doesn’t just make tasks faster; it reduces variability. The same request is handled the same way, the required fields are captured, the right people are notified, and the status is visible without chasing.Where Business Process Automation Services UK Deliver Quick WinsThe quickest wins typically come from processes that happen often, follow consistent rules, and create frustration when they go wrong. Admin-heavy workflows are a classic example. Approval chains, data entry routines, invoice and purchase flows, and internal requests tend to generate a lot of wasted time because they include multiple handoffs and repeated checks. Sales operations is another area where small automations can have a big effect. When lead routing, follow-up tasks, and customer handover rely on memory and manual logging, pipeline quality suffers and teams lose momentum. Customer support and service delivery processes also benefit quickly, especially when requests can be categorised and routed automatically, internal escalations can be triggered when needed, and response times become more predictable. HR and onboarding can see similarly fast improvement, because onboarding often involves the same set of actions spread across several departments and tools. The common thread in all of these areas is that you’re removing daily friction, not building an abstract “future-state” vision.How Our Business Process Automation Services UK Work – From Discovery to Live AutomationA practical way to approach automation for UK SMEs is to start with discovery rather than jumping into build. Many automation initiatives fail not because the technology can’t do the job, but because the organisation starts developing before it agrees on what the process should be, what exceptions exist, what data is required, and what success looks like. A discovery-led approach brings structure to that. It begins with a focused exploration of where work is slowing down, where errors occur, and which systems are involved. It also clarifies constraints such as security, compliance, and ownership, because automation without ownership quickly turns into confusion. Discovery should end with a clear view of the best quick wins, what they will change, and how results will be measured.Once discovery has clarified the priorities, the next step is turning the selected processes into a blueprint that people can validate before anything is implemented. This is where the workflow is defined in plain language and translated into the steps, rules, data fields, and integrations needed. It is also where edge cases are captured, because most processes don’t behave perfectly every time, and automation must handle the reality, not the ideal. With a blueprint in place, implementation becomes less risky. You’re not “building to find out.” You’re building what the business has already agreed is needed.From there, automation work moves into development, integration, and testing. The goal is to implement workflows in a way that is stable and maintainable, and then roll them out with real users and real scenarios. Testing isn’t just technical; it’s about whether the automation matches how the team actually works. A good roll-out avoids disruption and aims for adoption. Post-go-live support matters because processes evolve, tools change, and new requests appear. Automation should be treated as an operational capability you refine over time, not a one-off project that is “completed” and forgotten.Augment In-House Development Team UK With BPA SpecialistsFor many UK SMEs, another strong use case for business process automation services is augmenting an in-house development or IT team. Even when organisations have capable developers, automation work often sits behind core product priorities and urgent maintenance. BPA specialists can help bridge that gap by leading discovery, translating operational pain into clear requirements, implementing workflows and integrations efficiently, and providing documentation and handover so the solution doesn’t become dependent on one person. This kind of augmentation works well when internal teams want results but don’t have the capacity to do the operational engineering work that creates those results.Business Process Automation Services UK – Case Studies & Real OutcomesA good example of the kind of operational impact you can expect from structured process and system modernisation is Sigli’s legacy system upgrade for a telecoms SaaS provider. The client needed to modernise an outdated platform so it could support new customer and admin features, improve performance, and stay competitive, while also ensuring existing users could be migrated safely to the new application. The work focused on bringing core infrastructure up to modern software standards, introducing new functionality, and providing ongoing testing and support. On completion, the upgraded solution included a multi-tenant platform for mobile service and device management, a customer-facing portal for managing services and tracking activity and expenditure (including support tickets), and a dedicated admin portal for managing customer services.Crucially, the project also covered the managed transition of users to the new platform, which is where many upgrades fail in real life. The result was a future-proofed system with improved scalability and access controls, better user and admin experiences, and stronger operational efficiency—without losing existing functionality during the modernisation. What You Get From Our Business Process Automation Services UKA well-run business process automation engagement should leave you with tangible deliverables, not just a promise. You should walk away with clarity on which processes to automate first, why they matter, and what impact they will have. You should have documented process understanding, an agreed blueprint, implemented automations and integrations, and a plan for adoption and ongoing improvement. You should also have a way to measure whether the work actually achieved what it was supposed to achieve, because automation is only valuable if it changes outcomes, not just tooling.Is Business Process Automation Services UK the Right Move for Your Organisation?Business process automation services are typically the right move when a significant share of time is spent on repetitive work, when handovers depend on inboxes and spreadsheets, when rework is increasing, and when systems don’t connect cleanly. It may not be the right first step if the process is still undefined or changes weekly, because automating instability creates more confusion, not less. In those cases, discovery and stabilisation come first. Likewise, if there is no process owner, automation is hard to sustain. The best results happen when there is a clear owner and a measurable goal, such as reducing cycle time, reducing error rates, improving response times, or freeing up a defined number of hours per week.If you’re dealing with manual processes, slow handovers, or legacy systems that make every change feel risky, a short discovery call can clarify what to automate first and what outcomes you can realistically expect. Sigli will help you identify quick wins, map the right workflow and integration approach, and turn it into a practical delivery plan your team can execute. Book a call with Sigli to discuss your processes and get a clear next step toward measurable operational efficiency.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to building a startup amid rapid advances in AI and increasing competition in the business environment. Every project has its own approach and unique story of success. However, it is always crucial to draw on the experience of other businesses when shaping your own unique strategy.In the latest episode of the Innovantage podcast, its host and Sigli’s CBDO, Max Golikov, speaks with Jerome Cloetens, co-founder and CEO of Palau, about what it takes to survive and grow today.Palau operates in the area of ESG and sustainability reporting, where regulation and enterprise expectations evolve faster than most early-stage companies can adapt. Jerome also shared his vision of the trade-offs between bootstrapping and fundraising, the discipline required to sell to enterprises, and why enterprise sales can become a strong competitive edge for a startup.How AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for Startups Can Address Climate and Compliance Challenges: The Story Behind PalauThe Palau project was built to solve a problem that closely mirrors financial reporting, but in the domain of climate and sustainability. Large corporations today face growing pressure from banks, investors, and regulators to be fully transparent about their environmental impact. Palau addresses this challenge with an AI-driven reporting platform. The system helps companies collect sustainability data, standardize it, and transform it into the specific formats required by regulators and investors. As a result, it helps reduce manual work and turn complex ESG data into structured reports.Climate and sustainability have lost political momentum in the US following recent regulatory shifts. However, global demand continues to rise. Europe, Asia, Brazil, and parts of the US, such as California, are introducing stricter reporting requirements. As many San Francisco-based startups pivot away from climate-focused solutions, Palau has the possibility to benefit from a temporary competitive window.Palau was founded by a four-person team. One co-founder was Jerome’s cousin. Another founder, who is now the CTO, brought deep technical expertise and built the core platform. The fourth person has experience in working directly with complex sustainability compliance requirements at a large European firm. Thanks to this, she can contribute regulatory and domain expertise. The initial version of the product was built to solve real problems that she faced in her role.As for the right timing for the project, Jerome believes that it is more about execution, not about perfect conditions only.The team adopted a fast-moving approach. They launched small experiments, tested ideas quickly, and relied heavily on market feedback. Bootstrapping vs. Raising Capital: Funding Strategies for AI-driven Sustainability Reporting StartupsJerome initially chose to bootstrap Palau. This allowed the team to experiment efficiently during the first year and, at the same time, maintain tight focus and cost discipline.The strategy shifted once Palau reached 15 to 20 enterprise clients, including companies generating more than $300 million in annual revenue. At that point, speed became a constraint. Hiring engineers purely from operating cash flow was possible but slow. This increased the risk of losing momentum in a fast-moving AI market.External capital provided a financial buffer and enabled faster execution without abandoning a lean operating mindset.Today, engineering remains the company’s core investment. There is no dedicated marketing or sales team yet. Jerome personally handled the first 20 customers and plans to onboard up to 100 before scaling sales. According to him, maintaining direct relationships with customers at early stages is crucial as it helps understand their needs and shape the product.Building Efficient Teams for AI-driven Sustainability Reporting Startups: The Role of AI and Human ExpertiseJerome views AI as a powerful accelerator for engineering. But it is still not a replacement for human expertise (at least at the current moment). Lower-level tasks are increasingly supported by AI tools. However, core engineering work requires experienced developers.At the same time, in his conversation with Max, he highlighted the advantage of small, focused teams. Even without AI, lean teams can outperform larger organizations as they move faster and make clearer decisions. AI strengthens this dynamic by allowing teams to stay small while increasing output.Lessons from Early Startup Decisions: How AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for Startups Drives Focused GrowthLooking back, Jerome would largely follow the same path. As he was a first-time founder, mistakes were inevitable. But starting with a single, real customer proved to be the right approach. The team built a focused solution for one enterprise where a co-founder worked. It means that the product already solved a real-life problem before attempting to scale. That initial success created a repeatable foundation for acquiring additional customers. And it’s much more efficient than raising capital around an untested idea.The early strategy was simple: talk to customers and build a product. There was no emphasis on pitch decks or long-term forecasts. Daily work revolved around customer calls and shipping code. This approach accelerated learning and product-market fit.Financial control was another lasting lesson. Bootstrapping forced strict visibility into the runway and recurring revenue. Even now, after raising external capital, that mindset remains at Palau. Winning Enterprise Clients Through Community: Leveraging AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for StartupsEnterprise sales are typically slow and complex, as such businesses are often resistant to change. Decision cycles are long, while stakeholders are fragmented. Moreover, new vendors often face high credibility barriers. Despite this, Palau set an ambitious target of serving 300 enterprise clients by the end of 2026.The core insight was a widespread knowledge gap. Most large companies were facing climate and sustainability reporting requirements for the first time. They had limited internal expertise around risk assessments, transition planning, and regulatory disclosure. Instead of leading with a product pitch, the Palau team first built a practitioner community where in-house sustainability leaders and consultants could exchange knowledge and learn from one another.That community became a trust engine and a distribution channel. The role of partner and community reputation in accelerating enterprise sales can’t be underestimated. Without established reputations, closing a single client can take six months of meetings, pilots, and internal approvals. With community partners who have worked with these companies for years, Palau can reduce that timeline to just a week.Community-led Growth as a Go-to-Market Strategy for AI-driven Sustainability Reporting StartupsThe community exists first as a learning environment, not a sales funnel. One of the key goals of its creation was to show sustainability teams that with automation, they can work faster and take on more ambitious initiatives. This bottom-up approach contrasts with the dominant top-down enterprise sales model. But it has proven more effective in building trust within complex organizations.Enterprise adoption is typically preceded by a 30-day pilot. During this period, the team gathers rapid feedback, iterates quickly, and adjusts direction where needed. Community members are not always direct buyers. But their sustained participation builds familiarity and credibility, and, as a result, makes future enterprise conversations significantly easier to initiate.Leveraging Enterprise Feedback for Product Evolution in AI-driven Sustainability Reporting StartupsDirect feedback from early users led to meaningful changes in product scope and positioning. The team initially targeted smaller companies but quickly identified a larger need among enterprises that generate $200 million to $300 million in annual revenue. These organizations faced the highest regulatory and investor pressure. That’s why they require more robust reporting capabilities and governance controls.Initially, the Palau company lacked the full enterprise-grade IT security and compliance frameworks expected by large corporations. Early sales cycles were slow due to security reviews and risk assessments. Nevertheless, this situation demonstrated the necessity of investment in cybersecurity and access controls to meet standard enterprise requirements.Meanwhile, sustainability reporting remains highly customized, as each enterprise interprets regulatory and stakeholder demands differently. That’s why flexibility is a must.Adapting Strategy for Global Enterprise Markets with AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for StartupsAs Jerome explained, early attempts to scale across industries highlighted a structural challenge. A single team couldn’t hold deep domain expertise for every regional and sector-specific regulatory regime. Instead of building all AI workflows internally, Jerome’s team introduced a protocol that allows external experts to design their own AI-driven workflows with a set of provided tools and frameworks.This approach enabled rapid expansion into different markets, where local consulting partners with established credibility could tailor solutions for various industries, such as the pharmaceuticals. The same model now supports clients across semiconductors, manufacturing, construction, and other sectors, and reduces dependence on a single vertical.How products can change communities and transform enterprise workflowsThe platform has reshaped how consulting partners and enterprises handle sustainability reporting. Manual, low-level tasks (document review, gap assessments, data validation, etc.) are now largely automated. As a result, human experts can focus on higher-value, strategic work. This shift greatly supports highly ambitious project scopes.AI plays a central role as it can process vast amounts of regulatory and corporate documents, identify compliance gaps, and flag issues for expert review. Consultants then need to verify the AI’s output, while subject-matter experts provide final recommendations. Non-financial Data as a Strategic Asset in AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for StartupsNon-financial data (climate, water usage, social metrics, etc.) is becoming increasingly critical for enterprise decision-making. Financial reports guide planning and forecasting. Meanwhile, structured environmental and social data allows companies, insurers, and investors to assess risks and make informed strategic choices.For instance, large corporations like Nike already provide transparent reporting on carbon footprints and resource consumption. This information enables stakeholders to evaluate impact and identify gaps. Governments and pension funds can use these datasets to screen partners and make policy decisions more quickly.Right now, this standardized non-financial data may seem to be a niche sustainability concern. But in the future, it will transform into a core tool for financial and operational decision-making.The Myth of Sustainable Businesses: Integrating AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for Startups into Profitable GrowthJerome noted that sustainability is not about certificates, activism, or greenwashing. It is backed by the idea of making data-driven decisions that respect planetary boundaries and, at the same time, allow running a profitable business. The real goal is to integrate non-financial data into everyday enterprise decision-making and ensure compliance, risk management, and operational efficiency.Here, the balance is important. Sustainability should not compromise business growth. Measuring Real Impact: How AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for Startups Drives Meaningful ChangeFor Jerome, success isn’t measured by the number of clients onboarded superficially. As he explained, it’s much more important to have companies that actively use the platform to advance their sustainability transition. Many organizations start with compliance just to check boxes to satisfy stakeholders. But the real value emerges when enterprises leverage the data to drive meaningful change and uncover business opportunities.The platform focuses on supporting companies willing to take action. It helps them track progress toward long-term targets such as Europe’s 90% emissions reduction goal over the next two decades. Navigating Regulation in Sustainability with AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for StartupsEuropean climate regulations are evolving, but clarity remains a key challenge. Companies often want to comply voluntarily. But they need to keep processes lean and transparent and avoid bureaucratic hurdles. California’s climate laws are a good example of how localized enforcement can outpace federal action.Many guidelines in Europe are unclear and written in legalistic formats. As a result, companies need to invest significant effort just to understand compliance requirements. Palau addresses this issue by using AI to rephrase regulatory text into readable, actionable guidance.The Palau team also encourages regulators to join its community, learn from its members, share feedback, and iterate on guidelines. The Toughest Challenge for a Founder: Overcoming Market Shifts with AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for StartupsThough Palau is growing quickly today, its journey was not without pitfalls. January of 2025 was the most difficult period for the team. A sudden regulatory change disrupted their prior business model, and a loan repayment left the startup deeply in the red.The team faced low morale. The market shift compounded the pressure. To survive, they quickly pivoted to a protocol-driven approach that empowered experts to manage AI workflows. Intensive work over six weeks helped secure new clients and stabilize cash flow, which brought the company to a positive financial position.Motivation from Client Impact: How AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for Startups Fuels Business GrowthDaily engagement with prospects and clients provides ongoing encouragement. AI tools capture key insights from client interactions. This information allows the founders to see the product’s real-world impact. Securing deals with large, bureaucratic enterprises is challenging. However, it offers a unique sense of accomplishment that fuels continued momentum.Palau’s largest client generates around $10 billion annually and proposed a five-year contract. Jerome resisted signing long-term deals in the first year, as the product is expected to improve significantly over the next few years. At the moment, he views such contracts as premature. The solution should evolve before committing to extended agreements.Agentic Browsers and the Next Wave of Disruption: Impact on AI-driven Sustainability Reporting for StartupsAccording to Jerome, AI will reshape how startups are built and how software is used. While we still can observe the hype cycles and risky bets in the space, the overall trajectory is unstoppable. Ignoring the speed and momentum of AI progress, especially agent-based systems, is a strategic mistake.For startups that rely on third-party AI models instead of owning them, the risk of being replaced is real. Palau’s response is to stay model-agnostic and focus on what others can’t easily replicate. In its case, it is a strong community, proprietary workflows, prompts, and domain-specific data. Today, agentic browsers are among the major breakthroughs. These AI agents can autonomously move across platforms, log into systems, and complete complex tasks end to end. The use cases of such agents can go far beyond standard business applications. For instance, Jerome shared his personal example where an AI agent completed an entire online scuba diving certification exam on his behalf.With such solutions that can act across tools and websites, the way users interact with software is fundamentally changing. Products are not isolated anymore. They are becoming part of a broader workflow across the internet.AI Disruption and Market Hype: Navigating the Risks and Opportunities for AI-driven Sustainability Reporting StartupsAt the end of their conversation, Max and Jerome talked about the transformative potential of AI. The technology has clear societal benefits and a range of important real-world applications. For example, AI-driven tools for education and dyslexia can make a tangible difference.At the same time, the overvaluation and hype surrounding AI companies look worrying. The recent $5 trillion valuation of Nvidia is a good illustration of how market logic can diverge from reality. Financial and strategic decisions around AI are often driven by cycles of irrational enthusiasm, instead of coherent analysis. This brings new risks to the market.Critical thinking and rational evaluations are a must to leverage the technology responsibly.Want to learn more about emerging technologies and the changes they lead to? Here’s what Max Golikov will discuss with his new guests in the next episodes of the Innovantage podcast. Don’t miss them!