Celebrating Six Years of CoFa: A Journey of Growth and Innovation
As we celebrate six years of CoFa, our CEO reflects on the journey of growth, learning, and innovation. He shares the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the excitement for the future. From building a dynamic team to continuously improving our digital product, CoFa's journey is a testament to perseverance, adaptability, and a relentless drive for excellence.
written by Alexander Lehsten, Managing Director
The Early Days: A Period of Adjustment
When children turn six, they leave kindergarten and embark on their school journey with excitement and curiosity. Their days become more structured, and by evening, they know what they've learned. Homework might take a bit longer, but it's always done with enthusiasm. This mirrors my experience at CoFa over the past six years. What surprised me most was how long it took for everything to settle. As an impatient person, I found the waiting frustrating. However, I've learned that growth takes time.
Lessons from Leadership
During this journey, I often thought of Angela Merkel. When asked about the difference between politics and science, she said, "In science, you don't always have to repeat what is known." The same applies to business management, especially during times of change. New ideas and practices need to be communicated and reinforced continuously. One lesson I've learned is to avoid creating an overloaded framework with too many processes and rules before knowing if they'll be useful. It's better to start small and expand as needed. This approach has gained acceptance over the years. We should try new things, measure the results, and adjust accordingly. Detailed, ambitious plans often become more of a hindrance than a help.
A CEO's Personal Journey
As the CEO of CoFa, my journey has been closely intertwined with the company's growth. Having spent over 20 years within the DKB Group, I worked for other companies before becoming the "head of CoFa". I always say I don't want to go back to them – CoFa is just so cool. I honestly didnt know what to expect from a corporate start-up and how my workdays will look. I also had to learn a lot, including English. Leading CoFa has been a rewarding experience, filled with continuous learning and development.
Building and Evolving CoFa's Digital Product
At CoFa, we build a digital product, and this is never done, so we are never done. Even if this is very unconcrete, you can still see my conviction that CoFa will have a bright future. There is always something to do, to improve, and it never gets boring. This mindset has driven us to innovate and continuously enhance our offerings, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the fintech industry. If I take a look at the business plan of DKB group and on what they focus for the next years, I see CoFa still playing a relevant role.
Looking Ahead: Embracing the Future
What will the next six years bring? I no longer ask that question because it can't be answered. When we started, our goal was to grow to 50 employees in three years. Now, six years later, we have over 160 employees from more than 30 nations. Whatever the future holds, I'm looking forward to it. Working at CoFa is fun, especially because I get to work with such smart, ambitious, likeable, and funny colleagues every day. Here's to the next chapter!