Five customers paid before the product existed

On Startbase’s Startup Insider podcast, Jan Thomas talks to Patrick Koch about the road WorkFlex took from its first signed contract to a Series B.

In this podcast episode, Jan Thomas talks to Patrick Koch, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of WorkFlex, an Amsterdam-based compliance platform for cross-border business travel and workations. The episode covers Patrick Koch’s entrepreneurial path, from selling chocolate crossies through failed start-ups to founding WorkFlex, which has since reached 10 million euros in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and a Series B of 37 million euros. Patrick explains how WorkFlex managed to win customers before the product existed, and how the platform helps HR and global mobility teams manage compliance risks for work abroad automatically. He also talks about his own experience, his studies at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and his professional stations, among them Altman Solon and the Berlin start-up studio finleap. WorkFlex now processes more than 100,000 cross-border trips a year and secured a growth investment from Spectrum Equity in March 2026.

Listen to the Podcast (in German) here: https://www.startbase.de/mediathek/startup-insider/fuenf-kunden-zahlten-bevor-das-produkt-e5e9e13e0b/