What would most 23-year-olds do if they felt disillusioned at work? Change jobs? Speak with their boss? Moan to their friends? Or perhaps they would challenge certain issues within the industry they love by building their own tech platform and launching a company.
Working as a software tester during college, Kristel Kruustük found the work environment wasn’t tester-friendly – as testers, their time wasn’t valued, pay was based on competition between colleagues, and teamwork was not encouraged. Notably, these issues also affected the end user too.
With a team-first mentality and a passion to build a platform that would change the way software quality assurance is done, the idea for Testlio was born. Co-founding the company with her now husband, Marko Kruustük, the pair entered the world’s largest hackathon, ‘AngelHack’, securing first place, a US$25,000 seed investment, and their first paying customer.
The company has been profitable from day one and now works with the likes of Microsoft, Lyft, Salesforce, CBS Interactive and Flipboard. In 2016, it announced its US$6.25-million Series A funding – cementing its place in the US$3.5-trillion global IT services market.
In just 4 short years, under the leadership of the admittedly inexperienced Kristel, Testlio has grown into a thriving business with an office in Estonia and headquarters in the US. Women and minorities make up more than 50% of Testlio’s employees – a fact that stands out all the more in the tech industry.
Here, Kristel reveals what makes Testlio tick.
The CEO Magazine: Do you think your age was an advantage or a disadvantage when founding Testlio?
Kristel: It was both. I was hungry for success, and didn’t know what was waiting up ahead. If I had known how difficult entrepreneurship was, I might not have embarked on this journey.
Now I’m committed and determined to see it through and make Testlio a success. One disadvantage was not having any significant management experience and not defining clear roles and responsibilities for some key positions in the early stages.
If I had known how difficult entrepreneurship was, I might not have embarked on this journey.
I am fully aware of what I know and don’t know, and I continue to hire people where I lack expertise.
You are passionate about testing, to the point where you wanted to change the industry. Where does this passion come from?
After graduating from high school, I studied programming and got a job as a software tester. I immediately fell in love with the mechanics of this profession and wanted to excel at it.
There are 2 key aspects of testing that really drew me in: curiosity and thinking outside the box. Great testers are inherently very curious. They never stop thinking; they always want to take it to the next level. Your job is basically finding ways to break a functioning system. You have to be creative.
You’ve been described as an empowering CEO. What’s your leadership style?
It’s always very difficult to be objective when describing yourself, but I genuinely care about my people, and above all else I want them to be successful and happy. I trust them implicitly and explicitly. As a leader my mantra is to hire the best people and give them the support they need to be best at what they do.
As a leader, my mantra is hire the best people and give them the support to be best at what they do.
What do you believe is the key to success?
Never giving up on your goals, no matter what challenges you face. Testlio has high-profile customers and has been profitable from the get-go.
How did you achieve this?
Growing up in Estonia made me very mindful of how to spend money efficiently. That, combined with our inherent desire to disrupt the way quality assurance is done, has been instrumental in making Testlio profitable from early on.
We are solving a real pain point for our customers, so once we started talking to prospects about what we do and how we do it, there was serious interest. Our platform and services have great traction and our customers love us.
That has helped us retain and upsell our existing customers, which is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
What has been your biggest mistake?
As a new manager, I placed people into roles without clear definitions and accountability. We are a high-growth company and we’ve learned that sometimes roles grow faster than people can really grow into them. Today, we’re in a much better place to clearly set goals for new hires and empower them to be successful.
How important is diversity to you, and what role do you believe businesses should play in this?
Diversity is extremely important. In our case, it came naturally. Over 40% of our employee base is female. I believe diverse backgrounds can only strengthen the company because they bring unique perspectives to the table.
Diverse backgrounds can only strengthen the company. What some might view as a potentially disruptive force is actually a catalyst for innovation.
What some might view as a potentially disruptive force is actually a catalyst for innovation. Companies should know this and support diversity in the workplace as much as possible.
What is your advice for a fast-growing business?
- Put people first
- Keep going
Don’t let setbacks hold you back, keep on pushing.
- Stay curious
Always stay curious about what’s happening around you, but don’t be a control freak.
Businesses are all about people. Your team comes first, then your customers.
What’s your business ethos?
Challenges are inevitable. Nothing worth having is gained easily.
Who or what inspires you and why?
My grandmother taught me the importance of never giving up and always looking on the bright side. The way she carried herself during and after World War II has always inspired me.
