In cooperation with B. Amsterdam - Written by:
Entrepreneur Viet Nguyen of scaleup XLINQ has a clear mission: to make reliable software accessible and affordable. Together with his team, he helps more and more customers get ahead. "Our toolbox is constantly growing - case by case, customer by customer.
The developers on entrepreneur Viet Nguyen's team are just like him: down-to-earth, humble and good at their jobs. They enjoy working together and granting each other success.
'We enjoy helping others move forward, both our colleagues and clients and other entrepreneurs with innovative ideas,' Nguyen says. 'It sounds cliché, but I owe the company's growth mainly to the mentality and stability of my team.'
Language barrier in software development
Nguyen is the founder and ceo of scaleup XLINQ (pronounced 'cross link'). Originated from "crossing borders, linking people. With their software platform, they bridge language barriers between software developers and companies in need of innovative and reliable software solutions.
Nguyen knows both the business and developer sides well. After studying at Eindhoven University of Technology, he soon found himself in the financial world, working at the intersection of business and IT. He saw room for improvement.
'Developing reliable software for a bank takes a long time and costs a lot of money, often millions or tens of millions. Many digitization projects focus on security, compliance and technology migration - important topics, but the direct impact for customers is often limited.'
'English for software'
The biggest obstacle is communication between the business and programmers, Nguyen says. "The gap between business knowledge and code is huge. We went back to the drawing board: where does software actually start? You have to capture domain knowledge well and make the solution secure and compliant by design to develop functionally correct, reliable and secure software.'
So he set out to find a way to capture the logic and domain knowledge of banks and governments in a structured way and avoid misinterpretation. He describes the idea as a kind of English for software: a universal language for enterprise software to express domain and business knowledge captured in processes, data and user interactions.
Startup from ING Labs
His employer ING gave him time, money and a team to develop the idea. He did so within innovation hub ING Labs. Some innovations stay within the bank to improve the organization, others eventually become stand-alone companies because they are relevant to the market.
'Too good to be true'
At first, Nguyen's goal seemed almost unachievable. 'Since the last century, people have been looking for ways to improve communication in software development, why should we succeed?' he says. 'But my motto is: if an idea doesn't seem too good to be true, it's not innovative enough.' Fortunately, ING's innovation board believed in my ambitious vision.'
The result is XLINQ: a platform that allows people without programming knowledge to describe their problem or task. Think of descriptions like: software to apply for a transaction or loan, sign a signature or send data to the government. A software generator converts these commands into working software.
'We express knowledge in a language close to natural language, which is the basis,' Nguyen says. 'After that, it's all about execution. One thing remains constant: change. We take that into account in our design. We develop technology that is flexible, reusable and future-ready.'
Continuing as an entrepreneur
It was a logical step to continue as a separate bv in 2023, he says. This is because XLINQ's solution is also useful for other sectors. 'We initially focused on the financial sector because that is our background. Meanwhile, we are working for several banks. In time, we can also help other organizations and types of companies.'
Many team members joined him. Nguyen found a pitch for his new company in startup hub B. Amsterdam. 'Such a flexible space was ideal, because I didn't want to be stuck with a five-year lease in case we grew,' he says. 'Furthermore, it is a dynamic, informal environment full of like-minded people. That makes for cross-pollination.'
Expansion to other sectors
An unexpected collaboration arose as early as day one. 'I spoke with the departing tenant about taking over the laminate floor at B. Amsterdam,' Nguyen says. 'He works in the insurance industry and there, too, domain knowledge is super important in software development. Now we are exploring together whether we can develop something within the insurance industry.'
How does XLINQ grow?
The more customer cases XLINQ builds, the faster the company can grow. 'Clients can develop their own software with us using XLINQ's tools. That way the toolbox gets bigger and bigger, case by case, customer by customer. We also offer standard modules that we can customize flexibly. Our ultimate goal is no longer to sit directly with the customer, but to enable users to help themselves and their own customers.'
No sales department
Remarkably, XLINQ has no sales department, only engineers. 'Our growth is mainly based on references,' he says. 'According to marketing agencies, we need to improve our product marketing and positioning. Maybe we are a bit too modest, but so far word of mouth is working very well. In my experience, we quickly connect with the decision makers within large companies. For example, I had a phone call last Friday and am already speaking with the cfo tomorrow about a solution.'
Thinking along about solutions and testing software: that's what he enjoys most. 'I strive to spend at least half of my time on content, although I don't always succeed,' he says. 'After all, as an entrepreneur, I am also a manager and responsible for getting our product out there. But when we have something new, I try it out right away. Experimenting, going through user journeys, identifying frictions and seeing where things can be improved - that's what I enjoy doing.'
'The important thing is that you continue to believe in the mission together,' says Nguyen. 'Every day is a new step. This is how we have been steadily building for eight years and seeing the fruits of our labor. What gives us courage are customers' reactions. Someone recently said, 'This is really cool, I can hardly believe we are already going into production!' Such words give us new energy every time.'
