building for the real economy.

SME Tech Leaders

Community

For the 99%

SME Tech Leaders is the #1 community for founders and operators building digital solutions for small- and mid-sized enterprises in Europe.

What is SME Tech?"SME (or SMB) Tech is technology that serves small- and medium-sized enterprises with 20-500 employees and <EUR 500 million in revenues - improving their efficiency, productivity and purposefulness.SMEs make up 99% of businesses in Europe and contribute to more than 50% of GDP."


Support

P2P Mentoring

A community from builders for builders, providing an exclusive network for mutual support.

knowledge

SME Tech Expertise

The backbone of our economy is under-digitized, we provide the knowledge and unique insights to change the status quo.

Access

Fundraising

Our access to leading VC firms and business angels helps to raise funding.

Best Practices

Sales & GTM

Selling to SMEs can be challenging, our community provides the knowledge and tools to do it right.

in-person meetups

Unique Insights

Dive deep into the best practices of successful SME Tech founders.

Videesha Böckle

Videesha Böckle

Community Lead

General Partner at āltitude

Torge Schwandt

Torge Schwandt

Community Lead

Chief of Staff at āltitude

Marc Penkala

Marc Penkala

Community Lead

General Partner at āltitude

Ingo Drexler

Ingo Drexler

Community Lead

General Partner at āltitude

Matteo Benedetti, Co-Founder, Debtist

Interview Series

For SMBuilders

Follow our deep dive content to unlock the secrets to success in SME Tech shared by operators & investors.

December

12

Webinar

"AI-Powered GTM: Scaling with Automation"

January

29

Munich, GER

Meetup @ Fortino Capital

āltitude

brought to you by

āltitude

As Europe's SME Tech fund, āltitude's mission is to back exceptional founders that are solving the most pressing problems of SMEs through digital technology.

© SME Tech Leaders by āltitude. All rights reserved.

Interview Series

Make sure to also subscribe to our newsletter on Substack if you want to receive our latest interviews straight in your inbox!

Richard Davies, CEO, Allica Bank

In this edition of the SME Tech Leaders Newsletter, we sit down with Johanna Heise, an LP in Europe’s SME Tech Fund āltitude and a key driver of heise ventures, the venture arm of her family-owned heise group. With roots dating back to 1949, heise group has grown from an address book publisher into a multifaceted media company with a strong focus on supporting SMEs through directories, digital marketing solutions, IT publications, and more.Johanna shares her journey from growing up in a family business to leading heise group into the future through investments and venture clienting. She discusses balancing tradition with innovation, heise ventures’ strategic approach to staying ahead of emerging trends, and why supporting the digital transformation of SMEs is critical. Dive in to gain insights from a leader who is deeply passionate about creating impact in the SME sector.


Can you explain what exactly heise group does and what types of clients you serve?Heise group is a media company managed by Ansgar Heise in the third generation. The company was founded in 1949 as an address book publisher and is based on three sections: heise connect, heise content, and heise compare. Within the heise connect section, heise publishes directories such as Das Örtliche, Das Telefonbuch and Gelbe Seiten in certain regions in Germany. Moreover, heise regioconcept offers SMEs marketing solutions such as websites, apps, SEO, and social media. heise content consist of our magazines and media with a focus on IT. Famous brands as c’t, iX or heise online belong to this section. Other than that, heise hosts many events such as secIT, IT Summit or Horizons by heise, while being active in the education area with heise academy. heise compare consists of price comparism companies such as Geizhals and guenstiger.de. In total, heise employs 1299 people at 22 different locations.Growing up in a family business must have shaped your worldview in unique ways. Can you share how those early experiences influenced your personal and professional journey?Growing up immersed in a family business meant that discussions and decisions about the company were a staple at our dinner table, intertwining the business with our private lives. From a young age, the business became a constant presence in my life, a fact I embraced wholeheartedly. I have fond memories of accompanying my father on business trips and to meetings, experiences that have profoundly shaped my personal and professional development. These interactions offered invaluable lessons in negotiation, leadership, and strategic planning, fostering resilience within me and nurturing a deep-seated ambition to someday steer the company. My grandfather frequently recounts the early challenges the business encountered, instilling in me a profound understanding that success is neither guaranteed nor easy to come by. These stories highlight the importance of embracing failure as a stepping stone to learning and improvement. Most significantly, both my father and grandfather have imparted wisdom on the beauty and freedom of generating innovative ideas and creating a legacy for future generations. Their teachings emphasize the importance of humility and self-belief.As the third-generation leader at heise group, you’re carrying forward a legacy while steering the company into the future. How do you balance honoring your family’s traditions with driving innovation?For heise, the concepts of innovation and tradition have always complemented rather than contradicted each other. Indeed, the firm has recognized that continuous innovation is not just a choice but a necessity for survival. This is why future orientation stands as one of our three foundational values. Our family-owned business consistently embraces disruptions as opportunities for growth and the development of innovative business models.Heise group has successfully evolved with its pillars of compare, content, and connect. What inspired you to move into the world of investments?As the future grows more complex and innovation cycles continue to accelerate, we aim to stay ahead of these changes by investing in startups. Heise ventures is actively engaging in venture capital investments to gain insights into emerging trends, deepen our understanding of the industry, and identify promising startups within our area of business. Beyond its strategic importance, heise ventures was also established to diversify our revenue streams, complementing our operational income.Heise ventures recently invested as an LP in āltitude, supporting investments in startups that are making SMEs more digital. What excites you most about this initiative, and how does it align with heise group’s vision? Why do you think SMEs should innovate?As Europe’s SME Tech fund, āltitude aligns seamlessly with heise ventures, particularly through one of our business divisions, heise connect, which specializes in the digitalization of SMEs. Leveraging our existing expertise in this area, we are well-positioned to make co-investments in portfolio companies. As an SME ourselves, the portfolio of āltitude also offers potential opportunities for venture clienting relationships, providing a valuable channel for deal flow. We are actively pursuing this already with their current portfolio. This offers us the chance not just to co-invest but also get in touch with amazing founders and ideas early, benefitting our core business.From your experience, what skills do you believe are crucial for founders to thrive, especially in tech-driven industries that support SMEs?From my viewpoint, it is essential to have a deep understanding of the specific needs and desires of SMEs. These small- and medium-sized enterprises constitute a distinct category of businesses in the B2B landscape, markedly different from large corporations. Therefore, founders should focus on developing solutions that genuinely deliver value tailored for these particular types of companies immediately.Lastly, what’s your favorite book, and why has it been meaningful to you?I do not have one favorite book. Generally, I really enjoy reading biographies of individuals who have founded family businesses in Germany such as Reinhold Würth (“Reinhold Würth: The master of screws | The biography of one of Germany's greatest entrepreneurs”, by Helge Timmerberg). There is something incredibly inspiring about the ambition and creativity these type of entrepreneurs possessed, enabling them to create substantial value over generations.Thank you for the interview, Johanna!

Richard Davies, CEO, Allica Bank

We sat down with Matteo Benedetti, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Debtist — one of the first eight portfolio companies backed by Europe’s SME Tech fund āltitude — to find out how their team is transforming the traditionally outdated and inefficient debt collection industry.With roots in SaaS and business operations, Matteo and his co-founders, Tony Zabel and Brandon Baumgarten, identified a significant market gap and launched Debtist to empower SMEs and large enterprises, combining cutting-edge technology with a mission to make debt collection less confrontational and more collaborative.In this exclusive interview, Matteo dives into the company’s rapid growth, their Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy, and why partnering with āltitude has been pivotal in scaling their business.


Could you share a bit about Debtist’s mission and the problem you’re solving? What sparked the idea to build this solution and how did you and your co-founders come together to start your company?Debtist was founded to modernise the debt collection industry by providing SMEs and large enterprise clients in Europe with a seamless, transparent, and tech-driven solution to manage outstanding invoices. The sector is traditionally plagued by inefficiency and outdated practices – SMEs, in particular, often face significant cash flow challenges due to unpaid invoices, with incumbent solutions being either overly aggressive or inflexible, leaving them with very limited options. Accordingly, our mission is to revolutionise debt collection, making it less about confrontation and more about collaboration, preserving client relationships while ensuring financial stability for our customers.The idea for Debtist emerged from our co-founding team’s shared experience in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and business operations, including my time as a consultant at McKinsey, where I worked mainly on banking- and FinTech-related projects and noticed that there was a lack of innovation in the debt collection industry. Recognising a significant market gap, my co-founders and I combined our expertise and came up with the vision to create a platform that is primarily tailored to the needs of SMEs as well as larger enterprise clients, empowering them to manage outstanding payments efficiently while fostering their sustainable growth.Can you explain a bit more about the market you’re operating in with a focus on SMEs – what makes your solution unique and why is Debtist seeing such rapid growth so early in your journey?The debt collection industry is highly legacy-driven and fragmented, especially when it comes to SMEs. Larger enterprises often encounter excessive fees and a disconnected, non-customer-centric experience. At Debtist, we address this by adopting the client’s perspective, streamlining workflows to deliver exceptional quality while minimising touchpoints for a seamless and efficient process.Many smaller companies either face excessive acquisition costs or lack the tools to integrate into existing software effectively as traditional debt collection services are often designed for large enterprises with complex systems and high budgets.Debtist addresses this by integrating directly into widely-used accounting tools, allowing SMEs as well as large enterprises to handle debt recovery with a single click. This drastically reduces acquisition and integration costs while delivering a user-friendly experience. Our focus on SMEs while also going upmarket, closing larger enterprises as clients, has allowed us to see rapid traction, achieving several million Euro in debt realisations for our clients and over €3.5 million in annual recurring revenue since we launched our solution in July 2023.What does your Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy with respect to SMEs look like? How do you ensure that you’re selling your product to SMEs effectively?Our GTM strategy is built on two key pillars: integration and education. By integrating directly with accounting and other software platforms that SMEs already use, we eliminate barriers to adoption. This embedded approach makes it easy for businesses to start using Debtist without changing their existing workflows. On the education front, we focus on building trust and awareness through content marketing, webinars, PR and events, addressing the specific challenges SMEs face with debt collection.Additionally, we engage directly with SMEs at industry conferences and meetups, creating opportunities for dialogue and feedback. We’ve also adopted a highly targeted sales approach, prioritising SMEs that are most likely to benefit from our solution. By understanding their pain points and demonstrating how Debtist can solve them efficiently, we’ve built strong client relationships and a solid foundation for scaling.Fundraising is often a critical challenge for startups. Can you walk us through Debtist’s journey to raising your pre-seed round in 2023? What were some of the biggest hurdles and milestones during this process?Raising our pre-seed round in 2023 – a generally difficult year for startup funding – was an intense yet rewarding process. Over the course of 100+ pitches, we refined our story and strategy to align with what investors were looking for. One of the biggest challenges was positioning ourselves in a way that demonstrated both the size of the opportunity in the debt collection space and our ability to execute on it.A key milestone was securing āltitude as our lead investor, alongside 10x Value Partners and several strategic business angels. This funding not only validated our vision but also gave us the resources to enhance our platform and grow our team. The experience taught us the importance of persistence and the value of building relationships with investors who understand your mission. Ultimately, we raised a high six-figure investment, which validated our vision and gave us the resources to start scaling our operations and continue improving our product.Why did you decide to partner with āltitude as the only VC fund for your pre-seed round? What stood out to you about their approach or expertise that made them a great fit for Debtist?We chose āltitude as the only VC fund in our cap table at this early stage because of their deep understanding of the SME tech ecosystem and their commitment to backing transformative solutions for underserved markets. Their team’s complementary expertise, extensive network, and proven experience in scaling early-stage B2B software companies aligned perfectly with our needs, making them an ideal partner for Debtist. From the outset, āltitude demonstrated their ability to add value beyond capital, proactively supporting our mission and shaping our early success – may it be through important introductions to sales leads or hands-on support in PR and marketing. Knowing we had a partner who believed in our vision and had the tools to help us succeed made them an obvious choice.How has āltitude supported Debtist beyond capital? Can you share any specific instances where their involvement helped you tackle a challenge or seize an opportunity?āltitude has been instrumental in helping us refine our strategy and amplify our visibility in the market. For example, their support during our pre-seed funding announcement led to media coverage in numerous publications, significantly boosting our brand awareness. This visibility has had a direct impact on lead generation and our ability to attract new clients.They’ve also been a sounding board for critical decisions, from refining our GTM strategy to identifying opportunities for operational efficiency. Their hands-on approach and willingness to connect us with industry experts have been invaluable as we navigate the complexities of scaling.Last but not least, the SME Tech Leaders community that āltitude initiated provides us with a great peer-to-peer support network, enabling us to learn from other founders and operators that are building digital solutions for SMEs in Europe.What advice would you give to founders who are seeking strategic early-stage investors? What qualities or values should they prioritise in their search for the right VC partners?When selecting pre-seed investors, prioritise those who bring more than capital and have a track record of supporting companies like yours. Look for partners who understand your market, provide real value, and align with your strategic vision.It’s also important to establish a strong personal connection with your investors, as this sets the foundation for a collaborative and trusted relationship over the long term. The right early-stage VC firm will basically have as much skin in the game as you have, providing the insights and resources you need to tackle challenges and seize opportunities.Since raising your pre-seed round, what major milestones or growth achievements has Debtist reached?Since closing our financing round, we’ve achieved several key milestones. We’ve grown our team to 30 people, onboarded dozens of clients, and are on track to recover a low 9-digit amount in debt for our clients. Most importantly, we reached and maintained profitability within months of launching, a testament to our efficient business model and strong market demand.We’ve also made significant enhancements to our platform, integrating with additional accounting tools and payment service providers like Stripe, greatly expanding our capabilities to better serve our clients. These achievements have positioned us well for the next phase of our company’s growth.Looking ahead, what are the next big goals you’re working on as a company, and how do you plan to achieve them?Our key goals for next year include doubling our team size, reaching €10 million annual recurring revenue, and expanding our product offerings to include invoicing solutions, further integrating into our clients’ workflows. We’re also looking to increase our market penetration across Europe while maintaining profitability.To achieve these goals, we’ll continue to leverage our proprietary technology, deepen our integrations with other platforms, and build strategic partnerships that enhance our value proposition. Staying fully client-focused will be key to our success.Lastly, what is your favorite book, and why is it meaningful?One book that has deeply influenced me is “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries. Its principles of iterative development and validated learning resonate with how we approach building our product and company overall. It reminds me of the importance of staying close to your customers and continuously improving based on their feedback — a philosophy that drives everything we do at Debtist.Thank you for the interview, Matteo!

Richard Davies, CEO, Allica Bank

In this exclusive interview, Richard Davies, CEO of Allica Bank, shares his journey of transforming SME banking in the UK. With a career spanning roles at Barclays, OakNorth, HSBC, and Revolut, Richard brings a wealth of experience in fintech and understanding the unique challenges faced by small- and medium-sized enterprises.Under his leadership, Allica Bank has rapidly scaled from a startup that was authorised as a bank at the end of 2019 to a full-service provider challenging industry giants, and was ranked the fastest growing startup in Europe by Sifted at the end of 2024. Richard discusses how Allica leverages proprietary technology, innovative go-to-market strategies, and a customer-first mindset to redefine financial services for SMEs. From overcoming fundraising hurdles to building a high-growth team and maintaining a relentless focus on delivering exceptional value, Richard offers invaluable insights into what it takes to disrupt an entrenched industry and serve the backbone of the economy.


Tell us about your journey to becoming the CEO of Allica Bank, and what drew you to the SME sector?My professional journey has been anything but linear. I started as a strategy consultant, which was essentially a masterclass in understanding diverse business landscapes. After a first short stint in banking at Lloyds, I spent nearly a decade at Barclays developing a profound appreciation for the SME sector – a segment that I realised was fundamentally underappreciated by traditional banking.In 2013-2014, when the UK started making regulatory changes that made launching new banks more accessible, I was the first employee and inaugural CEO in establishing OakNorth Bank. This experience was transformative as it opened my mind to the possibilities of fintech and the pleasures and pitfalls of a startup.My subsequent COO role at HSBC gave me critical insights into the back office and regulatory complexity that impacts incumbents, and then at Revolut, I gained experience of what a world class product and engineering company looked like. Then the opportunity came up to take Allica forward post authorisation, it felt like more than a job – it was an opportunity to solve the systemic problem in business banking I’d seen at Barclays and HSBC.What truly fascinates me about SMEs is their incredible potential. These businesses are the core of the economy, yet they're chronically underserved by traditional banking models. While large corporations have armies of financial advisors and sophisticated banking solutions, SMEs are often left with generic, one-size-fits-all products that don't understand their unique challenges.What was your initial strategy for scaling Allica Bank?When I arrived in summer 2020, Allica was essentially a blank canvas. We had just £5 million in loans to SMEs, and the COVID-19 pandemic had complicated the initial launch post authorisation. But complexity breeds opportunity, and we were determined to create something revolutionary.Our vision was audacious: to become a full-service digital provider that could genuinely challenge established banks like NatWest and HSBC. We weren't interested in creating just another lending product. Our goal was to build a comprehensive banking ecosystem specifically designed for SMEs – current accounts, cards, lending, and savings products that truly understood the nuanced needs of established SMEs (those with 5 to 250 employees).I'm a firm believer in proprietary technology. When I arrived, our tech infrastructure was primarily third-party, which I saw as a significant limitation. We’ve undertaken a huge range of technology work, building out our ProdEng teams (now over 200 people) and developing our own systems that could truly solve for the needs of the established SME segment. We’ve been guided by three core principles:1) Consistent vision – we exist solely to transform finance for established SMEs
2) Execution focus – talk is cheap, we need to get things done
3) Continuous improvement – launch MVPs of a full set of products, and then continuously iterate those post MVP
We’ve been carefully designing our organisational structure to seek to enable parallel product development, reduce bottlenecks, and maintain execution speed. This wasn't just about hiring talented people, but creating a culture and infrastructure that could rapidly iterate and respond to market needs.How did you approach the go-to-market challenges?Distribution in the established SME sector is very hard. New micro-businesses are relatively straightforward – when the company is formed they need a bank account so are actively looking. But established businesses with entrenched banking relationships? They're a much harder nut to crack even if they are not happy with their current provider.We developed a nuanced strategy initially focusing on professional intermediaries and brokers. By building specialised technology that made lending easier and more accessible, we really appealed to these finance professionals, winning a wide range of awards as a result. More recently we’ve focused on building direct to customer – both in lending and particularly in current accounts.Currently, about 80% of our lending comes through intermediaries, with 20% from direct sales. Our longer term goal is a 50/50 split. For current accounts and cards, the ratio is reversed – 80% comes from direct sales.The key challenge was always the same: provide a compelling, differentiated value proposition that makes established businesses want to switch from their existing solutions.How do you compete with incumbent banks and build a credible brand?Building credibility in banking isn't just about marketing – it's about fundamentally reimagining the customer experience. We knew from day one we couldn't be another ‘me-too bank’. We had to be dramatically, almost exponentially better. Our differentiation strategy focused on three critical dimensions:1) Exceptional value: We didn't just want to be marginally cheaper, but to completely redefine the value proposition for SME banking.
2) User experience: We aimed to create a banking interface that is really intuitive and solves the key challenges for established SMEs in a simple way.
3) Relationship management: Unlike traditional banks that treat SMEs as transaction numbers, we wanted to provide genuine, personalised support.
Right now, we're 3-4x better than traditional banks, but our ambition is to be 10x better. This means constant investment, relentless improvement, and a willingness to challenge every existing banking paradigm. Banking is fundamentally about inertia – people stick with what they know. So to win, you've got to be so compelling that customers can't rationally justify staying with their current provider.What have been your fundraising experiences?Fundraising in the startup banking world is brutal. Initially, investors looked at us with significant skepticism. The market had been burned by various banking startups between 2015-2020 that either failed or burnt large amounts of capital to get anywhere.Investors weren't just looking for a banking license; they wanted proof of a viable, scalable business model. Our initial conversations were challenging. We had to demonstrate that we weren't just another regulatory checkbox, but a genuine business with real transformative potential.Our approach was simple but powerful: rapidly achieve product market fit and scale super rapidly. We didn't just pitch. We showed. We built. We executed. We proved.The turning point came when we started showing consistent growth and innovative solutions. Now, we have growth equity firms reaching out weekly, which is a complete reversal from our early days. It's a testament to the power of relentless execution and maintaining a clear, consistent vision.What's your approach to hiring?The right cultural fit and potential is key. We have implemented hiring processes like Amazon's bar raiser and Revolut’s home task.These aren't just recruitment techniques, they're systematic approaches to identifying talent that can thrive in our unique environment. We're not just building a team, we're creating an ecosystem of innovation. Accordingly, our hiring philosophy centers on three key principles:1) Cultural alignment
2) Potential for growth
3) Ability to execute in a fast-paced environment
But to be brutally honest about my limitations, I'm not a hiring guru. I don't interview everyone. If someone is an exceptional interviewer, that’s great. But I know I'm only average, so I'm transparent about that and let our best interviewers take the lead. The key is understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and building a system that compensates for individual limitations.The bottom line is: in the world of startup banking and fintech, you've got to be relentless. Adaptability isn't just a skill; it's a survival mechanism. And above all, you must remain laser-focused on delivering exceptional value. Our journey with Allica isn't just about creating a bank. It's about reimagining financial services for the backbone of our economy – the SMEs that drive innovation, create jobs, and fuel economic growth.Lastly, what’s your favorite book, and why has it been meaningful to you?"The Geek Way" by Andrew McAfee is an absolute must-read. It's a brilliant synopsis of the features of successful tech-driven companies, breaking down the common attributes that drive exceptional performance – the insights are profound.I'm also deeply fascinated by biographies of tech leaders like Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs. These aren't just stories; they're masterclasses in innovation, resilience, and transformative thinking. You always find fascinating insights about what to emulate and what to carefully avoid.Thank you for the interview, Richard!