Wismatix will help companies become more competitive in the global market by meeting quickly and easily the increased customer and regulatory demands. Today, Wismatix has established itself geographically in three key regulatory areas: Europe, UK, and US. In the future, the group will be headquartered in the UK.
More and more companies are facing increased demands in the form of more standards and legislation. They therefore need certifications that document their compliance with all these requirements. However, many end up either giving up or spending far more resources and time than necessary to obtain the certifications.
This issue has become a business model for Wismatix. CEO and founder Jonatan Matthias Vinterbæk has developed an online quality management system that contains all the modules needed for companies to document their compliance quickly and easily with customer and regulatory requirements.
The Wismatix quality management system is currently a SaaS product sold by subscription, including hosting and online support. The system targets the three main regulatory areas for quality management systems in Europe, UK, and the US (including Canada and Australia).
“Many quality management systems today are built using file structures, word processing systems and spreadsheets. Our vision is to simplify this by delivering a modern online quality management system and thus better equip them to fulfil the task of documenting the increased requirements. Ultimately, this results in us helping to boost our customers’ competitiveness,” says Jonatan Matthias Vinterbæk and continues:
“Today, no one can imagine running their entire accounting system in word processing systems and spreadsheets. At the same time, the requirements for documentation within quality, environment, the working environment and IT security will only tighten in the coming years.”
The right company structure from the start
Wismatix was originally started as a company in Denmark. Today, the head office for Europe is in Bulgaria with branches in European countries where there is sufficient activity to financially support a local branch. In addition, Wismatix has been established with companies in both the UK and the US.
To achieve the optimal foundation for growth in the type of business that Wismatix is, the company structure should ideally be easily manageable across borders and regulatory areas. The finances and strategies should be in place from the start, or at least at a relatively early stage. Therefore, it makes sense to bring the companies in the group together under the UK company, which will then act as the international headquarters based in the UK. The head office for the European market will remain in Bulgaria, with branches in countries where there is sufficient activity. Wismatix Inc. in the US will serve the American, Canadian, and Australian markets.
“When you develop IT solutions, things can suddenly happen very quickly. Here we are at a point where we would like to have 100% control of the company structure. That’s why we’ve turned our attention to England. In my experience, it is easier to run a business in England than in Europe (EU). England has many trade agreements, and it is easy to find accountants and advisors who are used to international company structures with subsidiaries and branches,” says Jonatan Matthias Vinterbæk.
Europa is a complex market
Jonatan Vinterbæk himself lives in Bulgaria, and although it may seem strange to many, to locate the EU headquarters here, it was a conscious choice.
“It’s purely strategic choosing to locate our head office in Bulgaria rather than in Denmark. We have online support for our European customers. They contact us via IP phone, chat, or email, so they don’t notice any difference. However, the choice of Bulgaria is very important for us as an entrepreneurial company. Bulgaria is already home to many IT companies. There is a good IT infrastructure. The average salary is lower, which makes it easier for a company like ours to further develop and service our customers, while at the same time offering competitive pricing,” says Jonatan Matthias Vinterbæk.
In order to build the company, Wismatix needs to be able to hire additional employees – and here it is advantageous to be abroad.
“In Denmark, hiring employees would be a large financial item for an entrepreneurial company. In Bulgaria, the UK, and the US, it’s much easier to make flexible agreements where, for example, I’ve hired an assistant or programmer for 10-20 hours a week. In addition, the administration is typically more manageable. All of this is crucial for how quickly we can develop both our product and our company further,” says Jonatan Matthias Vinterbæk.
England as a hub between EU and the USA
Wismatix currently has most of its customers in Europe. The strategy is to expand the distribution network in Europe, the UK and the US. Wismatix Ltd. in the UK acts as a hub between the markets, with good connections to both the EU and the US.
“We need to find more independent consultants who already help companies implement and maintain quality management systems and enter into collaboration with them so that they act as local resource hubs close to customers. In this respect, our company Wismatix Ltd. in the UK is an important component that links our markets in both the EU and the US.”
3 tips for entrepreneurs
Jonatan Matthias Vinterbæk is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Wismatix. He has founded several companies in both Scandinavia and the EU. Here he gives his 3 best pieces of advice for entrepreneurs.
1. If you are young, find out where you have the best opportunities to build your business.
If you’re young and don’t have obligations in Scandinavia (or in my case Denmark), I would always advise you to pull up stakes and move out into the world, for example to England, the US or somewhere else where it’s easier to start up as an entrepreneur. Especially if you have a product that you eventually want to sell internationally.
The UK has the advantage of being close to Scandinavia/EU and can be a springboard to other English-speaking markets. The English-speaking market is huge. Start-up capital for founding a company is not an issue in most countries. Administration, taxes and duties are often more attractive. There is very often a greater supply of employees, lower labour costs and the net return is ultimately higher.
Some concrete examples:
- In the UK, you only need to register for VAT when your turnover exceeds £85,000 per year.
- In Bulgaria, the corporation tax rate is 10% and the average salary is around EUR 1,250 per month.
- The US is very flexible when it comes to hiring employees. Consultancy is often also cheaper than in Denmark where I come from, and the administrative burden of running a business is lower.
There are many parameters that can determine whether you succeed with your business – or whether you even survive the first 3-5 years. So, if you want to set up your business in a place where you can get far more out of your effort than in e.g. Denmark, England is a great option.
2. Choose a good local advisor
If you want to stay in Scandinavia/EU but strengthen your business abroad, my advice would be to find a good local advisor, where communication is easy. For more than 10 years I have personally benefited from my relationship with CPIE Services.
The most important thing for me as an entrepreneur is to have quick and easy access answers. So being able to call CPIE Services and get professional help with all the administrative, regulatory, and legal requirements is very reassuring. I always receive a quick response and good friendly and accommodating communication. I get good advice almost no matter what I call about, and you don’t feel like you’re ‘just another number in the queue’.
CPIE Services has a broad knowledge of several different markets, setting up businesses in different locations, marketing internationally, and they have a large network in the UK and abroad.
3. Choose the right market from the start
Pay attention to which market makes sense for your business. It’s no secret that Europe can be a complex market. You can’t always expect to communicate in English across the board and reach the entire market. In Germany, German is the preferred mode of communication. The French prefer French, etc. It quickly becomes resource-intensive and costly when you must maintain everything from websites, product documentation, user manuals, etc. in multiple languages.
We have chosen to translate the product itself into several languages, focusing on languages that our customers wanted, so we now have English, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, German, French and Spanish. We keep websites etc. in English, as most of our customers’ decision-makers in the EU are used to accessing written information in English. The rest of our markets are English-speaking.
The English-speaking market is large, with a total population of around 450 million when you add the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and it is easy to enter as a Dane. In this context, the UK can work well as a springboard to, and link between, the other English-speaking markets, and it is close to Scandinavia/EU, so logistically it is easy to manage with travelling etc.
The US is a huge market with over 300 million people who speak the same language, use the same currency, and have the same basic regulations. In addition, the US is relatively business-friendly, making it easy to hire employees on flexible terms. The time difference is the biggest challenge if you’re based in Europe. The advantage is that you can serve the EU and UK during the day and the American continent in the evening. Do your research on the best state to set up your business in, as there can be significant differences in tax and administrative paperwork from state to state.
About Wismatix
Wismatix has developed a complete online quality management system called Wismatix QMS for the tech industry. The company was founded in 2013 in Denmark as a consultancy that advises and assists companies with the development and implementation of quality management systems.
Based on customer needs, Wismatix has now become more and more a software company with the development of Wismatix QMS as a central part of the company’s activities. In addition, Wismatix also provides consultancy services in relation to quality, environmental and IT security management, as well as product approval services.
The vision is clearly to help companies to fulfil and document compliance more easily with the ever-increasing level of customer and regulatory requirements, so that they remain competitive in the global market while being able to maintain a reasonable profit.
CEO and founder Jonatan Matthias Vinterbæk has worked as a quality manager with quality and environmental management in the development and production of technology products for many years. He has also been lead auditor for several certification companies and has advised and helped companies in the tech industry with the implementation and certification of their quality and environmental management system both locally and internationally.
You can read more about Wismatix and Wismatix QMS at https://wismatix.com
