Through perseverance and determination, Simon de Payne, co-founder and president of Workleap, has turned the services company he launched with two school friends 20 years ago into a large product company, with a presence in nearly a hundred countries.
Workleap (formerly GSoft) is on the rise: it has 20,000 customers worldwide, 430 employees, and revenue topped 135 million last year. The Quebec Deposit and Deposit Fund pumped $125 million into the company in June.
This is Workleap’s first partnership.
We built a technology company with $100 million in revenue without raising capital. Everything was going against us when we launched our startup: we hadn’t done anything yet… but we allowed ourselves to believe in it.
Simon de Payne
From a service- and consulting-based business model, Workleap has become a company that builds custom software to improve the employee experience at work. “We have our own laboratory, and we first test solutions at home,” says the father of three young children. Makes you a little crazy! It’s like climbing a new K2 every time. »
He emphasizes that in a highly competitive environment, he describes himself as “very demanding,” but also “very caring.” His leadership type oscillates between these two poles.
Anyone who left university after a few engineering courses would hope that Workleap will remain in the scene for a long time.
“We have created a great business! I want it to survive and for its successes to resonate around the world,” says the 38-year-old.
“Music guru. Incurable web practitioner. Thinker. Lifelong zombie junkie. Tv buff. Typical organizer. Evil beer scholar.”
