Thirty years of Harmony. It's quite a milestone for our company, which first saw the light of day in the mid-90s and hit its stride in the early 2000s. These three decades are brimming with stories. And who better to share them than founders and CEOs Koen Mercken and Henri van Hoek?
What follows is a candid conversation about successes and setbacks, about growth and growing pains, and about the art of entrepreneurship in a rapidly changing world. A conversation with two business partners who, as quickly becomes clear, are also good friends who have been through thick and thin together.
Let's go back to the very beginning. What did the early days of Harmony look like?
KOEN MERCKEN: "I'd actually been working on a business idea with another partner for a while. We wanted to tackle some typical IT development problems, like version control and multilingual support. But if I'm honest, it was rather neither here nor there. We grew to three or four people, but real success never came."
HENRI VAN HOEK: "I only came into the picture later. I was working for AIA Software at the time, where we'd developed a data-text integration product. Originally it was for law firms and notaries, but we were expanding into other sectors. That's how I met Koen, who was then a project manager at Nationale Nederlanden and a client for our product."
KOEN: "That's right. I was responsible for a document creation project at Nationale Nederlanden. Henri was the supplier's representative. We got talking and discovered we lived quite close to each other: me in Hasselt and Henri in Valkenswaard."
Was there an immediate click between you?
HENRI: "Absolutely. We quickly realised we were on the same wavelength, both professionally and personally."
KOEN: "I still clearly remember an incident that, for me, was typical of Henri's professionalism. We had a problem with the software, and Henri said he'd look for a solution and call back. He did call back, as agreed, but unfortunately to say he hadn't been able to find anyone to fix it. Many people would have avoided that call, but I thought it was really admirable that he took the trouble to call anyway. It said a lot about his integrity."
HENRI: (laughs) "Yes, I remember that too. I just thought it was the decent thing to do."
Then suddenly you're working together. Was it easy to get from that first contact to working together at Harmony?
KOEN: "Actually, yes. We quickly noticed that we both had the ambition to build a bigger company. And Harmony only really took off once Henri came on board. We were quickly on the same page about our vision and ambitions."
HENRI: "In terms of culture and style too, by the way. That's crucial when you want to build a company together."
Did you have a clear vision for Harmony straight away in those early days?
KOEN: "We've actually always had two pillars. On one side, there was Henri's background in document solutions. My background was more in project management. We've kept investing on both of those fronts."
HENRI: "Exactly. We became a reseller of that data-text solution from AIA Software, where I came from. On top of that, we supplied project managers and consultants to various companies. You can still see that split in our company today."
You grew fast in those early years. How did that go?
KOEN: "It did move fast. In a single year we grew from 4 employees to about 14. That was mainly thanks to Henri's efforts."
HENRI: (modestly) "We had the wind in our sails back then. There was a lot of demand for our services and we could attract good people quickly. But then suddenly there were those two planes in America..."
You mean 11 September 2001. Was that a turning point?
HENRI: (nods gravely) "At the time we were working with a lot of companies that were hit hard by the attacks, such as airlines. We also had people seconded to Schiphol. We were 15 people at that point, and in no time we were back down to 5."
KOEN: "It was an enormous blow. We'd just gone through that lovely growth and suddenly we had to cut back drastically. Those are the moments when you really feel tested as an entrepreneur."
How do you get through that?
HENRI: "We made a crucial decision then: we had to diversify. We realised we were too dependent on one sector. So we started focusing on banks and insurers. That worked out well, and we grew nicely again. Until 2008..."
KOEN: (sighs) "Yes, then the banking crisis broke out. Another one of those moments when we were tested. But it did teach us a great deal."
So these thirty years clearly haven't been one straight upward line. Are there things that helped you through all those crises?
KOEN: "Well, we've had to reinvent ourselves a bit with every crisis. In the end, that has made for a better and more stable Harmony."
HENRI: "What has often saved us is that we never bet on just one horse. We have project management, business consultancy and the IT pillars that Harmony is built on. That certainly helped in those difficult moments..."
KOEN: "And of course it's in those difficult moments that you get to know your business partner best. When everything's going well, everyone's happy. But when things go wrong, that's when you really see who you've gone into business with."
HENRI: (laughs) "Yes, we've said to each other more than once: 'I could never have done this alone.' Through all those experiences we've become not just business partners, but good friends too."
HARMONY: In between all those crises, you've kept growing steadily. Looking back, was there one particular moment in those thirty years that was crucial for that?
KOEN: "Perhaps 2015. We had 25 employees and realised that if we wanted to grow further, we had to surround ourselves with people who could do certain things better than we could. So we decided to set up different business units, each with its own driving force."
HENRI: "That was indeed a big step. We brought in three business unit managers then: Christophe, Riko and Robert. Before that, Koen and I did as much as possible ourselves, including sales. It was a conscious choice to bring in more people who could focus fully on the growth of each unit."
Was that hard, handing over part of what you had built?
HENRI: (laughs) "Definitely! We've certainly sat at the table sometimes thinking: 'What are they doing? How on earth can they make a decision like that?' But we had talked it through at length beforehand: we needed to surround ourselves with people who are different from us in certain areas. The art is then to actually let go."
KOEN: "Yes, that's another one of those things that's easy as long as everything's going well. But when things go wrong for a while, it's tempting to get back behind the wheel yourself."
As an employee, I feel that you attach a lot of importance to Harmony's company culture. Was that there from the start, or has it grown over the years?
HENRI: "It was actually my big ambition from the very start to make sure people simply enjoy being at the company. I've always said: 'The moment I wouldn't want to work here myself anymore, something's wrong.'"
KOEN: "We really want to make a difference. For the client and for the employee. We don't want to become the company where you ask a question and get told 'see page 24 of the employee handbook'. The challenge is to keep giving that personal attention, despite our growth."
HARMONY: That human side, but also that no-nonsense attitude, clearly stands out at Harmony.
KOEN: "In my career I've seen a lot of people from the typical consultancy world. Always in a sharp suit, looking very professional. But what really put me off was the amount of 'blah blah' they sold. Endless PowerPoints and slides, but little concrete action. We want to do it differently."
HENRI: "Exactly. We really believe in that no-nonsense approach. No showing off, just doing what we promise. From the very start I've said: 'The moment a client brings a problem to us, from that moment on it's our problem and we'll solve it.' Even if it isn't our fault at all, you know? Because passing the buck is not how we do business."
What are you most proud of after 30 years of Harmony?
HENRI: "I'm enormously proud that our philosophy has led to a really fine client base where we fill crucial roles. We work for big names like ING, the Postcode Lottery, the Dutch tennis federation, Colruyt Group... We've built that network over 30 years, and we often have long-running relationships with our clients. That tells you we're doing something right."
KOEN: "Completely agree. And for me, perhaps also that we've come back stronger after every crisis. The growth of the last 7 to 8 years has been spectacular, and we're now so stable and so spread across different sectors and activities that we're really well placed for the future. We can take a knock now."
Speaking of the future, those 30 years are clearly not an end point. How do you see the future of Harmony?
KOEN: "We're gradually making sure Harmony can carry on without us in an operational role. It's now up to the somewhat younger generation: Maarten, Christophe, Thomas and Robert. Henri and I sometimes compare it to driving a car. We used to be at the wheel. Then we sat next to the person holding the wheel... and now we're in the back seat. Maybe even a row further back by now, where the fold-out seats are in those big SUVs." (laughs)
HENRI: (laughs) "Yes, and we'll end up in the boot eventually!"
Haha. So what is the most important thing you want to pass on to the people taking over the wheel?
KOEN: "The culture, definitely. I hope that in 20 years I'd still be happy to identify with Harmony. If it became a company full of show-offs trying to outdo each other, I'd find that a shame. Harmony should be a nice place to work and simply a nice place to be. A place where we treat each other decently and with respect."
HENRI: "Well, I fully support Koen on this. It's so important to get that right... to give people a good feeling: that their future runs in step with the future of the company. And what has of course become more and more important in recent years: work-life balance, let's say. That needs to be looked after too. And if all of that is the case, and in 20 years we're having a bite to eat together here on the market square in Valkenswaard, and Koen and I walk past the Harmony office, then we'll be proud."
HARMONY: I think that's a lovely vision to end on. Maybe in 20 years we'll be celebrating 50 years of Harmony... and then of course we'll put you in the spotlight at café 'de Bel' or somewhere like that!
KOEN: (laughs) "Yes, we'll definitely come! I suddenly feel even older now!"
HENRI: (laughs) "It's in the diary! And then we'll have a wheelchair race together: 'Who gets from de Bel to the office first.' Great fun!"
