Thirty years of Harmony. It's quite a milestone for our company, which first saw the light of day in the mid-90s and hit its stride in the early 2000s. These three decades are brimming with stories. And who better to share them than founders and CEOs Koen Mercken and Henri van Hoek?
What follows is a candid conversation about triumphs and setbacks, about growth and growing pains, and about the art of entrepreneurship in a rapidly changing world. A chat with two business partners who, as quickly becomes apparent, are also good friends who've weathered every storm together.
HARMONY: Let's go back to the very beginning. What did those early days of Harmony look like?
KOEN MERCKEN: "I'd actually been working on a business idea with another partner for a while. We wanted to tackle some typical IT development issues, like version control and multilingual support. But if I'm honest, it was rather neither here nor there. We grew to three or four people, but real success remained elusive."
HENRI VAN HOEK: "I came into the picture later. I was working for AIA Software at the time, where we'd developed a data-text integration product. Originally it was for law firms and notaries, but we were expanding into other sectors. That's how I met Koen, who was then a project manager at Nationale Nederlanden and a client for our product."
KOEN: "That's right. I was responsible for a document creation project at Nationale Nederlanden. Henri was the vendor representative. We got talking and discovered we lived quite close to each other - I was in Hasselt and Henri in Valkenswaard."
HARMONY: Was there an immediate connection between you?
HENRI: "Absolutely. We quickly realised we were on the same wavelength, both professionally and personally."
KOEN: "I still vividly remember an incident that I felt was typical of Henri's professionalism. We had a problem with the software, and Henri said he'd look for a solution and call back. He did call back, as promised, but unfortunately to say he hadn't been able to find anyone to fix it. Many people would have avoided making that call, but I found it quite admirable that he took the trouble to call anyway. It said a lot about his integrity."
HENRI: (laughs) "Yes, I remember that too. I just thought it was the proper thing to do."
HARMONY: Then suddenly you're working together. Was it straightforward going from that first contact to the collaboration within Harmony?
KOEN: "Actually, yes. We quickly realised we both had ambitions to build something bigger. And Harmony only really started taking off once Henri came on board. We were quickly aligned on our vision and ambitions."
HENRI: "In terms of culture and style too, actually. That's crucial when you're building a company together."
HARMONY: Did you have a clear vision for Harmony in those early days?
KOEN: "We've always had two pillars, really. On one side, there was Henri's background in document solutions. My background was more in project management. We've continued to build on both those fronts."
HENRI: "Exactly. We became a reseller of that data-text solution from AIA software, where I came from. Additionally, we provided project managers and consultants to various companies. You can still see that dual focus in our company today."
HARMONY: You grew rapidly in those early years. How did that unfold?
KOEN: "It did move quickly. We grew from 4 employees to about 14 in just a year. That was largely thanks to Henri's efforts."
HENRI: (modestly) "We had the wind in our sails back then. There was high demand for our services, and we could attract good people quickly. But then suddenly there were those two planes in America..."
HARMONY: You're referring to September 11, 2001 - was that a turning point?
HENRI: (nods seriously) "We were working with many companies that were hit hard by the attacks, like airlines. We had people stationed at Schiphol Airport too. We were 15 strong at that point, and in no time at all, we were back down to 5."
KOEN: "It was an enormous blow. We'd just experienced this lovely growth spurt and suddenly we had to dramatically downsize. Those are the moments when you really feel tested as an entrepreneur."
HARMONY: How do you get through something like that?
HENRI: "We made a crucial decision then: we needed to diversify. We realised we were too dependent on one sector. We started focusing on banks and insurers. That worked out well, and we experienced nice growth again. Until 2008..."
KOEN: (sighs) "Yes, then the banking crisis hit. Another moment when we were tested. But it taught us quite a lot."
HARMONY: So these thirty years clearly haven't been a straight upward trajectory. Are there things that helped you through all these crises?
KOEN: "Well, we've had to reinvent ourselves a bit with each crisis. In the end, that's led to a better and more stable Harmony."
HENRI: "What's often saved us is that we've never put all our eggs in one basket. We have both project management, business consultancy and IT pillars that Harmony is built on. That's certainly helped during those difficult moments..."
KOEN: "And it's during those tough times that you really get to know your business partner. When everything's going well, everyone's happy. But when things go south, that's when you truly see who you've gone into business with."
HENRI: (laughs) "Yes, we've said to each other more than once: 'I could never have done this alone.' Through all these experiences, we've become not just business partners, but good friends."
HARMONY: Between all these crisis moments, you've managed to keep growing steadily. Looking back, was there one particular moment in those thirty years that was crucial for that?
KOEN: "Perhaps 2015, when we had 25 employees and realised that if we wanted to grow further, we needed to surround ourselves with people who could do certain things better than we could. We decided then to set up different business units, each with its own leader."
HENRI: "That was indeed a big step. We brought in Christophe, Riko and Robert as business unit managers then. Before that, Koen and I tried to do everything ourselves, including sales. It was a conscious choice to bring in more people who could focus entirely on growing each unit."
HARMONY: Was that difficult, letting go of part of what you'd built?
HENRI: (laughs) "Absolutely! We've certainly sat at the table sometimes thinking: 'What on earth are they doing? How is it possible they're making that decision?' But we'd discussed extensively beforehand that we needed to surround ourselves with people who are different from us in certain ways. The art is in actually letting go."
KOEN: "Yes, that's another situation that's easy when everything's going well. But when things get tough, it's tempting to grab the wheel again yourself."
HARMONY: As an employee, I feel that you place a lot of importance on Harmony's company culture. Was that there from the start, or has it grown over the years?
HENRI: "It was actually my great ambition from the very beginning to ensure that people simply enjoy working within the company. I've always said: 'the moment I wouldn't want to work here myself anymore, something's wrong.'"
KOEN: "We really want to make a difference. Both for the client and for the employee. We don't want to become the company where, when you ask a question, you're told 'look at page 24 of the employee handbook.' The challenge is to maintain that personal touch despite our growth."
HARMONY: What are you most proud of after 30 years of Harmony?
HENRI: "I'm incredibly proud that our philosophy has led to such an impressive client portfolio where we play crucial roles. We work for major names like ING, the National Lottery, Colruyt Group... We've built that network over 30 years, and we often have long-running relationships with our clients. That suggests we're doing something right."
KOEN: "Completely agree. And for me, perhaps also that we've come back stronger after every crisis. The growth of the last 7-8 years has been spectacular, and we're now so stable and spread across different sectors and activities that we're really well-positioned for the future. We can take quite a knock now."
HARMONY: Speaking of the future, these 30 years are clearly not an endpoint - how do you see Harmony's future?
KOEN: "We're gradually ensuring that Harmony can continue without us in an operational role. It's now up to the younger generation:. Henri and I sometimes compare it to driving a car. We used to be at the wheel. Then we sat next to the person holding the wheel... and now we're in the back seat. Maybe even one row further back now - where those fold-down seats are in those big SUVs." (laughs)
HENRI: (laughs) "Yes, and we'll end up in the boot eventually!"
HARMONY: Haha. What's the most important thing you want to pass on to the people taking the wheel?
KOEN: "The culture, definitely. I hope that in 20 years' time, I'd still be proud to identify with Harmony. If it became a company full of peacocks trying to outdo each other, I'd find that sad. Harmony should be a nice place to work and just a nice place to be. A place where we treat each other properly and respectfully."
HENRI: "Well, I completely support Koen in this. It's so important to get that right... to give people a good feeling: that their future aligns with the company's future. And what's become increasingly important in recent years, of course: work-life balance - that needs to be protected too. And if all that's the case, and we're indeed having a bite to eat together at the market in Valkenswaard in 20 years' time, and Koen and I walk past the Harmony office, we'll be proud."
HARMONY: I think that's a lovely vision to end on. Maybe in 20 years we'll be celebrating 50 years of Harmony... and we'll certainly honour you, maybe at café 'de Bel' in Valkenswaard!
KOEN: (laughs) "Yes, we'll definitely be there! Though I suddenly feel even older now!"
HENRI: (laughs) "It's in the diary! And then we'll have a wheelchair race from de Bel to the office. Brilliant!"
