DocWolves and Aexus: from start-up to scale-up and beyond

Headquartered in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, DocWolves is a highly innovative software company which provides digital solutions for better decisions. Through its cloud-based solution, the company supports boards, executives and managers to make better decisions, by allowing them to create, prepare, discuss, ratify, monitor and communicate decisions in one platform, with all relevant stakeholders.

A strong track record

Since its inception in 2009, DocWolves has established a very strong track record in the Dutch government market. The company’s footprint in the non-public sector was less developed, however. Rens Groeneveld: “About 18 months ago, we decided it was time for us to extend our reach into the private market. First, we employed a telesales person for a brief period of time, but that did not work out. We were also approached by various sales organizations that wanted to work with us, but none of them were able to gain our confidence. They lacked the focus on outbound commercial activities we required. Outbound sales were often only a part of their services portfolio. More importantly, none of the sales outsourcing companies we spoke to had a track record in cloud based software solutions.”

Extensive experience in several markets

That changed when DocWolves came across Aexus. Groeneveld: “We considered the choice of an organization that would act as our extended sales arm in new, uncharted segments of strategic importance. We did not take this lightly. Unlike the talks we’d had with other sales companies, we found the initial meetings with the Aexus team very promising. They certainly understood our offering, both in terms of functionality and business benefits. What’s more, they had extensive experience in several markets that were relevant for us. We performed an extensive due diligence and eventually decided we’d give it a go.”

An integral part of the commercial team

Eighteen months later, Groeneveld doesn’t have any regrets:

“Aexus has become an integral part of our commercial organization. They generate new leads, but also follow up on inbound leads, that approach us via our website. These two channels produce a continuous stream of prospects, thus constantly feeding new names to our sales funnel. Aexus follows up and takes responsibility for managing the sales process. When needed, they involve one of our consultants. But management of the accounts, including closure, is handled by them. As a result, we are able to respond to client requests, which could evolve into commercial opportunities, much more rapidly. Moreover, the partnership with Aexus allows us to focus on what we do best: developing the best software solutions for our clients.”

Organization and standardization

DocWolves’ sales process is much more organized now than it used to be. And this has clearly paid off! Groeneveld: “Together with Aexus, we have done deals with companies and organizations in a wide variety of segments, including pension management, housing corporations, healthcare and education. The list of verticals that we address together continues to grow. Interestingly, we also see a growth in customer size, in the sense that even the largest companies and organizations are now standardizing on our digital solutions, for better decisions. This is a direct result of the maturity of our solution and the fact that DocWolves is able to provide an on-premise solution as well, which is a major benefit for some of our larger clients. But the commercial savviness that Aexus injected in our company definitely made a difference, too.”

Strategic importance

The DocWolves-Aexus relationship is of strategic importance for both companies. Chris Gerretsen (Director of Aexus): “We are extremely interested in developing our relationship with DocWolves even further in the years to come. Leveraging our pan-European presence and the offices and teams we have built up in Düsseldorf, London, Barcelona and Prague, Aexus is keen to support DocWolves with its internationalization efforts as well.”

Groeneveld adds: “We are crossing the chasm. From a startup, we have evolved into a scale-up and now we wish to accelerate our growth. We are counting on Aexus to assist with that. Especially the go-to-market that we need to apply to new verticals and geographies will be a joint quest. Together, we should find the optimal product-market fit, which will allow us to continue to scale!”