Manuel Krähe of Notion Digital Growth

The digital growth and CRO space in Amsterdam is competitive. That's no surprise. What did surprise Manuel Krähe is what it actually takes to stand out. "There are a lot of bad actors around that make it really easy for you to do great business and get glowing reviews by literally just doing a good, reliable and professional job. I never would have thought that this is reality, but sadly, just being reliable and doing a good job is already a huge differentiator."

That's the market Manuel walked into when he set up notion.ch, a digital growth agency based in Amsterdam. After over a decade in digital marketing and analytics, he had seen enough companies claim to be data-driven while relying on wrong and outdated data. "Too many companies were telling themselves or their shareholders how data-driven they were working. I wanted to build an agency that focuses on making sure companies get access to factual data that is understandable and above all actionable."

"The biggest risk is not taking any risk. It needs a shift in the way we think about risk, it's a net positive instead of a negative."

The leap

Manuel had co-founded a startup in Switzerland and freelanced part-time while still living there. "I've always been passionate about doing something on my own." In 2023, he took the step to full-time self-employment in Amsterdam.

He knew what he was signing up for. The hard part was something else entirely. "It's hard to prepare for the moment when you are letting go of all the safety nets and relying purely on your own." And then came the clients. "Signing the first few clients was a much harder hurdle to clear in my head than it was in reality. All the doubts and fears went away quickly after getting the first couple contracts signed."

Start with a BV

One lesson Manuel learned the hard way: pick the right legal structure from day one. “I first started as an eenmanszaak, but then very quickly grew out of that and eventually had to convert my company to a BV. That conversion process was not as frictionless on the bookkeeping side as my bookkeepers had promised me.”

His advice? Short and clear. "If you are considering going with a BV right from the start: do it."

Be yourself, be on time

Manuel's approach to client work is deliberately simple. "Be yourself, be honest, don't promise things you can't deliver, and be on time." Multiple clients, both locally and internationally, have been working with him for over two years. Not because of fancy proposals or big promises, but because he delivers what he says he will.

"You learn a lot, quickly. That energy gets me up in the morning and keeps me going, while as an employee you often get dragged back into that comfort zone."

That energy also gives him the flexibility he was looking for. Good client relationships from the start meant he was never forced to work weekends. He does a lot of sports, and being his own boss makes that easier rather than harder.

The future

Manuel is scaling notion.ch while simultaneously building a MarTech startup he co-founded. On top of that, he's always looking for further business opportunities, either as a founder or an investor. One company clearly wasn't going to be enough.

The golden tip

"Just get into the doing phase. Get started. I am talking to so many people that want to get started, but are planning every eventual outcome before actually doing so. In reality, all these plans will usually be rendered worthless very quickly as things develop. The most important thing is to just get started, the rest will figure itself out."

Final thoughts

Starting and growing a business is a unique journey. That also applies to Nuno Assis of 72Seconds. Want to know more about the experiences and insights? Read the story.