Based in Copenhagen, Qvest has created unique digital tool called an interaction survey, designed to drive change processes in larger organisations. Founded in 2017, the software startup has raised €870k from four investors, most recently from the North-East Venture Fund, which invested €200k. Qvest is now really ready for global roll-out of their digital tool for change management.
Qvest collects unique data for organisations by capturing stakeholders’ questions. Normally, questions don’t count as data, only answers do, but Qvest contends that questions are actually the most valuable data source; questions demonstrate what people know, what they don’t know, and who they turn to for knowledge. Qvest captures this data in both quantitative and qualitative form, delivering insights into stakeholders’ knowledge and perceptions for organisations.
In 2018, the company developed its digital platform, and now Qvest is ready for full deployment. It has great ambitions – because the market is global, and right now there are no direct competitors, according to the startup.
However, this also means that the company has to define a market and establish a completely new product category while selling the solution.
“It is a huge task to pioneer something new in the world, but our product is global, so it is a task we have been aware of from day one,” said Qvest CEO Marie Mathiesen. “We have had paying customers already in the beta phase and it has strengthened us, as well as our investors in the perception that we have a solid business case ready for global growth.”
“For us, it has been crucial that Qvest has the potential to redefine Change Management as a category,” said Martin Lumbye, Managing Director of North-East Venture. “It is a potential that we can see in the product and a potential that we can see in the team. They have the highest professionalism and deep, relevant experience in the field. In addition, they have a fearless attitude and energy that is just as necessary to succeed. We are excited about the collaboration and we have very high expectations for Qvest.”
One of Qvest’s customers is Maersk Drilling, which just used the platform with 3,000 employees as part of a major change process. According to organisational researcher and Chief Methodologist at Qvest, Pia Lauritzen, the pilot project at Maersk Drilling is a clear example of the fact that successful change must be based on the employees’ everyday life.
“Change management is very complex, and there are countless examples of change projects failing because managers and project managers simply have not had the right methods and tools to understand the organization,” explained Lauritzen.
“Normally, you don’t consider questions like data, it’s just the answers that count. But in fact, questions are a very valuable data source. Not least in complex change processes. Questions show what people know what they don’t know, and who to reach out to for knowledge Qvest captures this data in both quantitative and qualitative form, analyses it and makes it easy to share the results with the organisation.”