Steve Jobs once said, “When you’re in a start-up, the first ten people will determine whether the company succeeds or not.” It’s a truism that has stood the test of time and one which business coach Matthias Aumann governs his professional life by.

“A good workforce is a backbone for every successful company,” explained the German Managing Director of 2 successful companies. “But sadly, too many businesses still underestimate or overlook the value of the right employee, and that is usually their first and final mistake. In other words, good employees are like building blocks; they are both an asset and integral part of your company; if you fail to acknowledge this, you may as well be building a house of cards or castles made of sand.”

At the age of 23, Matthias founded his first business, the gardening, and landscape company Aumannn:Grün AG. Through a series of trials and errors, he eventually came to the stark realization that the success of any business depends on the right employees. By taking the time and ensuring to find the right employees for open roles, his company enjoyed a surge in growth. Four years later, his company employs more than 50 people, and Matthias is one-hundred percent sure that he can count on every single team member.

Matthias explained, “There’s no ‘I’ in the word team. It’s not enough for you to be good at your job, everyone around you and the people that work for you also have to be good at theirs, or the company is doomed to fail.”

In 2017 he founded his second company, the Mission Mittelstand GmbH, which currently employs over 30 people and consults with small and medium-sized businesses on how to enhance their development and boost their growth.

Matthias said, “Many businesses always feel like they’re attracting the wrong employees, and that’s a major mistake. It may have something to do with their recruitment processes or the culture they have adopted in the workplace, but that is a situation that can and must be subject to change. Amongst others, Mission Mittelstand is about sharing knowledge of the importance and process of attracting and keeping the right employees because without them, your business won’t be going anywhere fast.”