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Three years of Epic Fusion. Happy Birthday with a colorful cupcake and a candle representing the number three.

Three Years of Epic Fusion: On the Privilege of looking forward to the Future

Andreas Schmerek Insights

Three years as a startup, countless «aha» moments, and plenty of coffee later: Why we cannot wait for the future.

Three years ago, Sanche and I founded Epic Fusion. Our goal was to offer clients customized workplace transformations guided by the motto «Digital first, humans not second». That is, digital solutions that combine technological excellence with best practices in occupational psychology and human sensitivity. We wanted to do it, we took the plunge, and it turned out well. Not always, of course, but often enough. And so we now look back with immense gratitude and look ahead with a sense of privilege.
 

It is been a good thousand days since we started. It was a cold start: We had an idea we were passionate about, but neither connections nor a customer base. And right from the start, things were pretty rough. We were well aware of the problems that arise from assembly-line-style workspace transformations. And we did not need to explain to ourselves the advantages of our own holistic approach. But there was one thing we’d overlooked: Understanding an offering yourself is quite different from crafting a compelling sales pitch for that same offering. Until our offering structure and presentation were up to par, we ended up putting in some unplanned overtime and outsourcing work…

The upside was that, after this extra detour, we realized pretty quickly: The basic idea behind our offering is sound. What Epic Fusion offers is valued. Accordingly, our team grew rapidly, and even now we have quite a few open positions. Being able to hire rather than having to lay off employees – that is a blessing not only from a business perspective but also from a human one.

Epic Fusion is also fortunate when it comes to our clients. Because our approach involves tailoring workspace transformations as closely as possible to the needs of individual users, we have developed unusually close relationships with people in a wide variety of roles within our clients’ companies. Their success, in which we are able to share, inspires us; their challenges, which we witness firsthand, provide valuable feedback that allows us to further improve our processes and methods.

Having a team of specialists that not only works as autonomously as possible but also continues to learn was part of our concept from the very beginning. At first, this approach required some extra effort managing according to the «command, control, correct» principle sometimes seemed like a temptingly simple alternative. But even in this regard, it paid off to take the path that aligns with the facts rather than the easy one. And the facts are: If you want to build digital workspaces in a way that makes sense from an occupational psychology perspective and is user-centered, you need employees who can experience and further develop within their own work environment what they are expected to implement elsewhere. And for me, as co-CEO and founder, this means that the most important leadership factor is not me, but our principles and values.

Looking back now, I can be certain that our entrepreneurial vision was destined for success – in two ways. Not only are we growing, but we are growing exactly as I envisioned when we started: as an interdisciplinary and agile collective of talented individuals dedicated to creating the workplace of the future – and nothing less. With this in mind, I am truly looking forward to the next few years at Epic Fusion. And that is a tremendous privilege, for which I am incredibly grateful to everyone who’s been with us over the past three years.