Erik Nicolai is co-founder and CEO at Workspace 365, a digital workspace platform.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in the Netherlands, the European tech firm chose Manchester as its first UK base in 2022.
Workspace 365 is designed to simplify business software, empowering employees to be more efficient and enabling businesses to unlock the potential of their teams.
Here, Nicolai shares how a recent week in his life went.
Monday
I live in Bunschoten in the Netherlands, a short drive away from our company’s Dutch headquarters in Nijkerk. Workspace 365’s UK office is based in Manchester.
At 5.30am my alarm sounds. Fortunately, I’m a morning person and getting to my CrossFit box by six isn’t a problem. I know the workout will push me, but I believe it gives me strength, energy and a sense of balance. Afterwards, I grab a quick shower and I’m home again in time for breakfast with the kids. They’re aged seven, five and three, so you can imagine the chaos of a morning.
My commute is short but never wasted. In fifteen minutes you can learn a lot. The current audiobook I’m listening to is Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh. We’re scaling up right now, and the book has important messages about the pressures and the pitfalls of the process.
Workspace 365 is offered to clients via a partner network, and the day’s priority is a meeting with one of our key partners. It’s a regular thing and always becomes an interesting two-way exchange as we learn what’s happening, what’s in the pipeline and what we need to be thinking about moving forward. When there’s a shared passion for progress, any problems become opportunities.
Tuesday
My business partner, Hans de Graaf, and I founded Workspace 365 in 2010. We already knew each other well having worked together since 2005, however, in 2009, the software company we were working at was acquired by another organisation. Hans and I felt that it was time to start from scratch on our own. Our aim was to develop and deliver a software solution that would reduce confusion and complexity, boost productivity and enhance the digital user experience in tech-reliant organisations. Like the company, the platform goes by the name Workspace 365.
This week it’s our Super Circle Quarterly. We’ve got the bold aim of 100 million employees using Workspace 365 by the end of 2031 and these meetings are important review and planning sessions.
We reflect on the quarter just gone, take a few minutes to celebrate the wins and examine the lessons from the occasional parts of our work that could have gone better.
As a business, we have several strategic initiatives, which are always under review and always broken down into timed phases. The meeting ends when we’ve successfully defined and agreed on “Rocks” – the tasks we must complete each quarter to nail our one-year priorities.
Wednesday
By 8:15am, I’m in the Privium Lounge at Schiphol Airport, enjoying the free breakfast before my flight to Manchester. As a regular on the route, I’ve discovered that it’s not the breakfast that’s important, it’s the predictable travel time and the swift transit through security. I can relax, get a bit of work done and make a few calls.
The flight arrives at 10am and my Bolt driver drops me at the Manchester office forty-five minutes later, ready for the weekly progress meeting. We discuss the results of the past week and define the priorities for the weeks to come. It’s usually a lively meeting, which can run into lunch, but I value the opportunity to spend time with the UK-based team.
I have discovery meetings with two potential new partners in the afternoon. The first partner’s focus is vertical education. As Workspace 365 can be fully white-labelled, we discuss how they could implement it as a portal for their customers and unite all their offerings.
The second potential partner helps customers migrate from existing data centers to fully cloud-based infrastructures. Workspace 365 is fully agnostic, and we show the prospect how we could integrate all applications, based on VMware, Citrix, Azure and Microsoft technologies. It appears that Workspace 365 is a perfect fit – the platform meets diverse needs so well.
I’m buzzing after a CrossFit session and tell myself to relax, but can’t resist the pull of the Kindle. I’m reading Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity by Frank Slootman. The title speaks for itself.
Thursday
The UK huddle kicks off at 8.45am. We share our priorities and then it’s straight into a meeting with our marketing lead. We’re defining the Global Value Proposition of Workspace 365 and aligning our story with the identified needs of our ideal customers’ IT managers. We’re working on ensuring clear messaging across all media that differentiates our organisation and resonates with the target audience.
Lunch is combined with another potential partner meeting. It becomes clear that Workspace 365 will allow their customers to increase workforce loyalty and talent retention. We head back to the office and I outline our onboarding plan. It’s a positive meeting.
Before I head back to the airport, I have another important challenge to face. Putting work aside for a few minutes, I enjoy a quick round of the Mushroom Cup Challenge on Mario Kart with a colleague. No apologies. It’s great fun and even though I’m competitive, I don’t mind – much – if I’m beaten.
On my flight back to Amsterdam, I sit next to an entrepreneur from Eindhoven. He founded a business in the Netherlands that is, like Workspace 365, getting established in the UK. The parallels are obvious and it’s a great reminder that we should always try to connect with people rather than diving straight into a streaming service or an audiobook. Guilty as charged on other occasions.
The kids are in bed but still awake. They’ve been waiting for me to say goodnight and want to know what small gift I’ve brought them. I love travelling, but since the kids arrived, coming home is simply the best thing.
Friday
I allow myself a break from being a leader. Handing over responsibility to my CrossFit coach, I follow instructions for an hour. It’s a hard session but because it’s my body working, not my brain, it’s the most relaxing thing I’ve done all week.
I head straight back to the office to give a presentation about our thirteen-year history and current goals to our latest recruits. While I touch on expectations, I’m keen to stress that we know their talent will shine and that they should ease themselves into the role and the culture rather than rushing to impress. Listening and understanding need to be their priorities. We know from the selection process that they’ve got the talent and commitment we need.
