Scale-up Hero of the Month: December 2019 – Mathias from Passendo

Every month, we at Statum award an employee at a scale-up company as ‘Scale-up Hero of the Month’. This month we have chosen an employee who has made an extraordinary contribution to the growth and company DNA over the last couple of months at Passendo: Mathias Rugholm.

Anders Rasmussen, Co-founder and CCO at Passendo, has the following reason for the nomination of Mathias Rugholm:

“In his two years of employment, Mathias has helped develop Passendo commercially and has been most responsible for representing Passendo for media agencies and direct clients. In addition, Mathias always contributes to everyday life with his positive attitude, good mood and great hair”.

I had a talk with Mathias to get to know him and his job at Passendo:

Tell me a little about yourself, Mathias.

My name is Mathias Rugholm. I’m 33 years old and live at Vesterbro, Copenhagen. I’ve been working with sales and marketing for the past 11 years, and I have a Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management (HDMM 2. Del) from Copenhagen Business School. My passion in life has always been ice hockey. This has given me a lot of great experiences, taught me about being part of a team, and knowledge on how to make your team successful.

Cool! What do you work with at Passendo?

You can divide sales at Passendo into two divisions – technology sales for publishers, and ad sales for agencies/advertisers. I’m in charge of ad sales, and I use most of my time helping clients creating value. Furthermore, I have a significant role in the increase in revenue Passendo has been through the last two years.

Sounds interesting! What is the best part of your job?

To see growth. I’m very driven by progress and growth, and Passendo is both. The team is awesome, and everyone works towards the same goal. Also, I have the freedom to do what I feel benefits Passendo the most, and I like that.

I can hear from Anders that you really make a difference at Passendo. What’s your ‘secret sauce’?

Well, great question. I’ve got a technical mindset, and I know how to speak with non-technical clients. I’m very curious about ad-tech and mar-tech, I like working in sales and making a difference, and I always try to understand people. Combining that might be my secret sauce.

Why did you choose to be a part of a scale-up like Passendo in the first place?

I’ve been part of several start/scale-ups since 2011, including my own start-up a few years ago. Being part of a team that all urge to win is what drives me. When I first met Andreas and Anders, I got the feeling that this could be the next big thing for me, and I haven’t regretted it for a second.

What’s keeping you happy at Passendo?

Even though I’ve been at Passendo for two years, I still feel like the journey has just begun. I see great potential in the Passendo technology, and what we offer our clients – not only in Scandinavia but in the whole world. In my first year, my focus was on the Danish market. In my second year, my focus was on Scandinavia. This year my focus will be in Europe and the US, and that is just awesome.

Anders has nominated you for Scale-up Hero of the Month with the following reason:

How do you feel about these reasons?

Anders is totally right – I do have great hair. Also, I appreciate his nomination of me a lot. It’s always nice to be recognised for what you do.

Finally, what is your best advice for making a difference in a growth company?

Create your own demand (if necessary), know your marked, hard work pays off, stay curious, and listen to your clients.

Meet the other Scale-up Heroes

November – Jannick from Likvido

September – Gautier from Penneo

July – Agne from Templafy

May – Bogdana from Contractbook