Nadja Perroulaz: Every Crisis has its Good Side

Nadja Perroulaz, the co-founder of Liip, tells us about user experience optimization for websites.   

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Nadja Perroulaz: We are all doing well, thank you. Of course, there have been several adaptations to make to cope with this uncertain situation. Gladly working from home is something we got used to as well as wearing face masks and being limited in our liberty. We are doing our best to support each other and our customers and are looking forward to times when we can meet in person again.

Tell us about you, your career, and how you founded Liip.

Nadja Perroulaz: I co-founded this company in 2007 with 3 partners. Back then, digital solutions haven’t been as they are now. In the last 14 years, we evolved a lot, from a couple of employees to 1800 with hundreds of projects and amazing clients. For more than a decade, Liip has been helping customers overcome digital challenges – from developing award-winning online platforms, mobile apps, and online shops, through to coaching sessions for new ways of working. From A to Z we cover with experts in strategy, ideation, user experience, and custom development – whether start-up, large company, or federal authority, from retail to mobility. Rather than off-the-peg solutions, we offer digital progress: user-centered innovations with a social, environmental, and economic impact. Since 2016 Liip works in an agile way in self-organized teams using Holacracy. Means there are no bosses, just lots of entrepreneurship and drive. 

How does Liip innovate? 

Nadja Perroulaz: We strive for user-centered innovations with a social, environmental, and economic impact on our customers. Open Source is part of our DNA, and we are always applying creative problem-solving, agile methodologies, and Holacracy. Our strength is our mindset: we work in a truly agile way. We don’t offer ready-made standard solutions; we offer digital progress on all levels to our customers. We provide support with not only implementation but also finding the right solution – from websites, mobile apps, and online shops through to digital platforms.  

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business and how are you coping?

Nadja Perroulaz: Digitalization isn’t a buzzword anymore but a duty on many levels. This means we are helping our clients to innovate on their digital platforms and evolve solutions for them. So far – and luckily, the effects of the coronavirus have been rather positive to our business. As there are many companies in need of state-of-the-art websites, apps, and e-commerce platforms.

Did you have to make difficult choices and what are the lessons learned?

Nadja Perroulaz: I’m sure every person and every company had to make difficult choices during the last year. To us, the protection of Liipers was of high priority. That’s why we are working from home for a year now. And yes, we miss our offices a lot as this is an important part of our strong mindset and culture. Business-wise we took the groundbreaking decision to focus on meaningful growth, that was difficult, but we are confident to drive digital progress for our clients in the future too.

What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?

Nadja Perroulaz: Transparency, caring and good financial management helped to move the company forward together with all its employees. Insights and planning of the projects helped to focus on the company’s core values. And of course, we’ve already been used to all sorts of online communication tools and used them for and with our clients.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Nadja Perroulaz: Any digital agency has many competitors; from creation and communication agencies to big consulting companies. The consolidation of the market started a couple of years ago already and got more comprehensive in 2020. We will stick to the core business we do to serve even more clients in the future.

Your final thoughts?

Nadja Perroulaz: Liip is nothing without its people. Only because of the self-organized setup and a lot of trust in roles and skills we are at the point we are facing now. I am very grateful for that and look confidently into the future.

Your website?

https://www.liip.ch/