VaultSpeed's unprecedented journey in hypergrowth

VaultSpeed is set to triple its growth over the next two years, a challenging endeavor for Piet De Windt, co-founder, and CEO, along with his organization. However, they are not navigating this hypergrowth alone. The crucial support from Fortino, both in investment and expertise, is instrumental for VaultSpeed's expansion, alongside the new A-Series financing.

After securing 15.9 million euros in Series A financing, VaultSpeed is accelerating even further. Despite the cautious investment climate, particularly challenging for the startup founded in 2019, they are leaving behind a stressful period. Piet De Windt explains, "Potential investors demanded growth, but to grow, we needed fresh capital."

During this period, De Windt took on double shifts, balancing operational tasks with fundraising. The team had to double its efforts with minimal resources, adopting lean practices to identify and address business challenges. Fortino's robust support, including a loan and assistance in bringing PMV on board, was pivotal in sustaining growth.

Simultaneously, Fortino played a crucial role in building a sales machine and fostering a stronger product focus around VaultSpeed's unique platform. As the only provider of a B2B SaaS-automated data transformation platform, VaultSpeed aids financial institutions, healthcare companies, energy producers, and health insurance companies in organizing, unifying, grouping, and making data quickly, easily, and qualitatively available for AI-driven analysis.

De Windt emphasizes the importance: "Efficiently organized data fuels AI engines, making them function better. Having such an efficient AI engine is crucial for remaining relevant in the market." The innovative VaultSpeed platform, for example, was used in Silicon Valley for the database of the COVID-19 pandemic, drastically reducing the time spent on processes.

Investment Team as a Sounding Board

Fortino Capital and VaultSpeed's case illustrates how investors and scale-ups can achieve hypergrowth with innovative technology in challenging conditions. The unique approach of the investment partner for European start-ups and scale-ups proves essential. De Windt highlights, "The investment team serves as our sounding board, guiding us through difficult times. They challenge us in a non-directive manner, providing information, asking the right questions, and continuously encouraging us to think about taking our business to the next level. With them, we generate better ideas and results."

Fortino was an obvious partner from the beginning, understanding the complexity of VaultSpeed's technology and the value it brings to the market. Their experience and expertise in growing technological companies proved invaluable. De Windt adds, "They had people with experience in our industry, as if they come from the same playing field."

Hyperscaler's Need for Top Talent

Just as VaultSpeed ensures the flow of data, Fortino supports the company and its CEO in growing. As a hyperscaler, VaultSpeed is a different company today than it was last year, and it will transform even further next year. VaultSpeed achieved annual revenue doubling to tripling in recent years. Over the next two years, the goal is to triple and become a market leader in data warehouse automation.

Managing this rapid growth is critical, and De Windt and his team ask questions such as, "What do you expect from your people? What kind of people do you need? What culture do you establish for this?" External experts and individuals with industry experience are essential. De Windt underscores the need for employees who can function outside fixed structures, work hard, deliver results, and be actionable.

Finding top talent can be expensive and challenging. De Windt acknowledges Fortino's understanding of their needs and their recruitment capability to find profiles, including key positions, from the 25 new hires.

“They challenge us, asking the right questions, and continuously encouraging us to think about taking our business to the next level.”

Piet De Windt, CEO VaultSpeed

Expertise and Support in New Financing Round

In recent years, balancing operational business with fundraising was a constant challenge. Fortino provided support in transitioning to the next financing round, maintaining a delicate balance between their roles as investors and experts in the team. They facilitated Octopus Ventures leading the round and expressed their confidence by participating in the new investment.

With this latest round, VaultSpeed can focus on business growth for the next 24 months. The company is projected to grow from 4 million euros to 60 million euros in revenue by 2028. The current 53-person team will expand to approximately 200. De Windt concludes, "We use AI to minimize human intervention and automate processes as much as possible. We will continue implementing this with an increasing number of clients. The sky is the limit!"