Smint.io breaks even - it's time to say thank you!

Today is a very special day for Smint.io , for our team and for me.

By the end of Q1 2023, after 4? years of building the company, Smint.io is finally making more money than it spends. This means that we are now cash flow positive and that we have survived the well-known "Startup Valley of Death".

And I can tell you: it was a hell of a ride! From those early beginnings, to meeting all our amazing supporters and colleagues, to surviving multiple near-end-of-life situations, to a pivot, to dealing with all those crises, to incredible moments of success - so far it feels like as if our journey has included everything imaginable.

In all this time there has only been one constant. At every crossroads, in every pivotal moment we experienced, there was someone who supported us, who believed in us, who gave us energy. These people helped us get up when we fell. They helped us lift our heads when things seemed hopeless. These people are our heroes and the reason for our success.

I think it's time to bring these heroes in front of the curtain and to say "Thank you" for all their help.

Thank you, Steffen Kujus from REWE Group , for being the first person on Earth to believe in our vision. You risked a lot by letting us build that first pilot project for REWE Group, and without you Smint.io simply wouldn't exist. The cooperation with REWE Group ignited the Smint.io engine, and it has never stopped working since.

Thank you, Reinhard Koepf and Bernhard Zelch from 10hoch10 GmbH for being my first supporters when I still worked alone, sharing your office space with me, and becoming some of Smint.io 's and mine's dearest friends. Later on you even moved with us into our new Smint.io offices at Schubertstrasse. This is pure romance! :) But really: every day that I go to the office and you're there is definitely a good day!

Thank you, Dieter Rappold and Thomas Rosenmayr , for being the first angel investors with Smint.io and for supporting our journey so massively from the beginning until today. Working with you is amazing and an honour for all of us! Thank you also for introducing me to my co-founders Gert Fahrnberger and Nikolaus Rosenmayr .

Niki is no longer with the company since a long time, but he still spent days and nights building the company before he left. Thank you, Niki, for sharing that time with us, and for spending that huge efforts together with me and Gert. Your contribution was crucial! We will never forget!

Thank you, my dear co-founder Gert, for being who you are, for being the best co-founder anyone could dream of, for driving all those incredible deals in, and above all thank you for being my friend! You really have become that special part of my life, alongside my family! We've been through so many ups and downs together and I think we'll make it together through whatever challenges are yet to come!

Many thanks, Philip Axmann and Ramon Forster from Fotoware Switzerland (formerly Picturepark) , for being our first partner, for believing in our Smint.io Portals vision from the very start, for sharing one of your most important customers with us, and for risking everything by entrusting us with this project for this customer. The partnership with Fotoware Switzerland (formerly Picturepark) was key to getting traction in the marketplace, and we couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you, Paul Silk and Jim Byrne from Pearson , for being the very client who trusted us to launch your Asset Library project based on our brand-new Smint.io Portals technology. I can still remember - we worked day and night, even during the Christmas holidays, to bring you that product. And since then you have even expanded your cooperation with us - and still we have this very special customer relationship I love so much.

Many thanks to Armin Dressler for joining our company as a shareholder a little later. Your trust and above all your financial support at the time helped a lot to survive the "Startup Valley of Death"! Thank you also for helping us fix these critical things about our GTM - you truly are a genius when it comes to vision! Also, without your words of encouragement, sometimes I might have given up when those strong winds blew in my face.

Many thanks go also to Temel Kahyaoglu and team (introduced to us by Armin) - we were very inspired by the brainstorming sessions with your team. We wouldn't be where we are on our messaging-side without your input and your advice!

A BIG "Thank you" goes to all our innovative customers who decided to solve their problem with our software solution. To name just a few of those innovators (unfortunately we are not allowed to name them all): Fabienne Flückiger and Daniel Moreno from Bystronic Group , Przemek Rembelski from Infront Sports & Media AG , Stephanie Heinrichs from BNP Paribas Real Estate , Karin Bürker from Somfy and Petra Amstad from 科莱恩 .

A BIG "Thank you" also goes to all our partners: Aprimo , Box , Bynder , brix, Cloudinary , 谷歌 , 微软 , Fotoware Switzerland (formerly Picturepark) , Tenovos (personally, John Bateman , now at Tenovos, but formerly at OrangeLogic, who was one of our first supporters too!), Thron and 4ALLPORTAL . Without your help, our pipeline would have remained largely empty, and we would have had a hard time breaking even. Your trust in us and your willingness to work with us is that crucial puzzle piece that makes our success possible.

I also want to say thank you to all the people who put all their time and energy into Smint.io - every day. This "Thank you" goes to our former and current employees.

The first "colleague" who joined Smint.io was Christina Holzner - ok that's a longer story... ;) Christina, you are my wife, the mother of our two wonderful children, and the great love of my life. You actually joined the first trade show in New York alongside your regular job, but still it took quite a while to convince you to join Smint.io as our CMO. We were afraid it wouldn't go well to work together professionally while having a relationship. But it is now proven - that decision was the best for Smint.io, but also for our family. Christina, I really appreciate your hard work, energy and dedication. But even more, I think that without you, the Smint.io brand would miss its heart and soul and - we would be just another software company. Thank you so much! I love you! PS: headhunters, give it up - we won't let her go ;)

The second colleague who joined was Yanko Belov . I mean - that guy - he's just great. He started out as a consultant and then somehow fell in love with Smint.io. Yanko worked as our first frontend developer, sometimes day and night to bring the product to market. He's even a shareholder of our company now! Although he is no longer an active part of Smint.io, he is and will remain an important part of our success. Thanks, Yanko, for everything!

Employee no. 3, Gerald Waldburger provided Gert with outstanding support in sales alongside his studies at the JKU Linz. He helped us learn a lot about the market by making outbound research calls so we could optimize our positioning and messaging. Thanks for that, Gerald!

Employee no. 4, Helene Kronschl?ger , is the heart of our graphics and design. All of those beautifully designed layouts and graphics that we love so much are from her hands. In addition, Helene really brings this positive energy to our office every day! Thank you, Helene, for being a part of Smint.io and for making everything we do so much more enjoyable!

Our backend development pro is employee no. 5: Yosif Velev . He really is one of the most dedicated programmers I've ever met. He is there at any time of the day to improve our platform. Plus, he is always focused on making our product better for our customers. And he does a great job at that! Yosif - so many thanks! You are really important to everything we do on the product side of things. Please never leave! (I'll take care of that... ;))

Our newest colleague is Tanja Grünwald . She is now at the core of our outbound activities and really helps where she can. Yes, we're still a small team, there's so much to do - it wouldn't work without Tanja. It's so great, Tanja, to have you on board. Thank you for all the effort you have already put into our project in the short time you have been with us!

Last but not least there is our families and friends, without whom Smint.io would not work. They have shouldered a great burden over the years and have always stood by our side, whatever happened. A big thank you goes to all of you! Your support is priceless! Please keep it up! I know it is not always easy!

OK - so where will the future take us? At the moment, even with all these achievements, it feels to me like Smint.io is just taking off. The dynamism and speed with which things are happening is amazing. It will be onwards - and upwards!

In doing so, we will continue to concentrate on what we do best – purely focusing on the benefit of our customers. Working with full love and dedication in everything we do. And to go big - because going home... that doesn't seem to be an option anymore ;)

Thank you for your time reading. I hope you enjoyed it!

Best wishes,

Reinhard

CEO and master servant, Smint.io