From Architecture to AI: How Cobrainer Built a Skills Platform Through Strategic Pivots
Most founders follow a linear path, but sometimes the most interesting companies emerge from unexpected directions. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Hanns Aderhold shared how Cobrainer evolved from a university project into a fast-growing skills platform - through a series of strategic pivots that ultimately led to 252% year-over-year growth.
The journey began in 2013 when Hanns and his co-founder, both architecture students at the time, identified a challenge in university project teams. "Can we build a system that actually facilitates the coming together in project teams at university on a skills basis?" Hanns recalls. What started as a solution for students quickly caught the attention of enterprise companies.
Their first pivot came when a large German enterprise approached them, saying "We want to work exactly the way you're advocating for, with your platform." This led to their first €100,000 contract, followed by a €2 million deal. "We suddenly noticed, okay, something's here," Hanns explains.
For the next six years, Cobrainer operated as a consultancy, building custom solutions for enterprise clients. While profitable, this model had limitations. "The products that we were building were always one-offs," Hanns notes. "They were basically always different shells for different use cases for enterprise clients... it was not really kind of a scalable solution."
The turning point came in 2019 when they decided to pivot from consultancy to SaaS. They identified a common use case across their clients: internal career transparency. Their platform would help employees understand their skill profiles and receive smart recommendations for roles, job vacancies, and relevant courses.
The timing seemed catastrophic - they discontinued their consulting contracts just before COVID hit. But sometimes apparent setbacks hide opportunities. "COVID actually turned out to be an accelerant for us because with COVID lots of people had a hiring freeze... and actually that made them turn to more their internal talent management, which was exactly our platform," Hanns shares.
Their go-to-market strategy centered on partnerships rather than traditional marketing. "We're really banking on our partners," Hanns explains. They work closely with consultancies and major HR platforms like SAP and Workday. These partnerships provide pre-qualified leads and help them navigate enterprise sales cycles more efficiently.
This approach has paid off. Cobrainer is "growing ARR on an average of 252% year over year" and approaching €10 million in revenue. But the journey hasn't been without challenges. In 2021, flush with funding, they overextended. "We really hired a lot of headcount. So went up to like 70, I believe even more than 70 people, just, we had eight people in marketing alone," Hanns recalls. When market conditions tightened in 2022, they had to restructure.
Looking ahead, Cobrainer is exploring expansion into the SMB market - companies with 50-150 employees, compared to their traditional focus on enterprises with 5000+ employees. They've also completely rebuilt their product from scratch in 2023, positioning themselves for the next phase of growth.
For founders building HR tech companies today, Hanns emphasizes two key points: "Be very niche" and focus on partnerships early. The trend is moving away from all-in-one platforms toward specialized solutions for specific use cases. Working with both consultancies and technology partners can accelerate growth and provide valuable market insights.
This approach of constant reinvention - from university project to consultancy to SaaS platform - has been core to Cobrainer's success. As Hanns puts it, "I kind of always have these moments in time where I kind of redefine the company. And this just gives me so much energy because I also see, and like, as I see this new company, this gives me new energy and it kind of translates into lots of new energy for the team."