Meet Jonathan Korntheuer and Klaas Seynaeve, newly promoted Principals at One Peak

One Peak is pleased to announce that Jonathan Korntheuer and Klaas Seynaeve have been promoted to Principal at One Peak, reflecting their strong contribution to the business since joining the team in 2020 and One Peak’s focus on developing its talent.

Jonathan and Klaas joined One Peak from McKinsey and Goldman Sachs, respectively, and have been rising stars at One Peak, where they have been instrumental in sourcing and executing a number of successful investments and are trusted immensely by the entire team at One Peak.

Our people are our greatest asset and promoting talent from within builds on our culture and reflects the strong contributions made by these individuals. We congratulate Jonathan and Klaas on their well-deserved promotions. Let’s get to know them!

What do you like about growth stage investing?

Jonathan — At One Peak, we run a concentrated portfolio and commit to making every single company a success, which requires high conviction. Building that conviction — in the product, in the market, in the team — is an incredibly exciting journey and differs greatly from one opportunity to the next. Once invested, it’s all about empowering founder teams and providing a helping hand where needed. This reminds me of my previous work as a management consultant but with a much greater sense of responsibility and ownership. As a lead investor, we’re there through thick and thin, all the way to an eventual exit — something that really resonates with me!

Where do you see the greatest opportunity?

Klaas — Here in Europe! The continent has a long history of building category leading companies. Be it global enterprises or the famous hidden champions, in many cases Europe builds the best of the best. We are seeing the same in software now: European and Israeli founders building great products and becoming the solution of choice for customers around the globe! Not only do Europe and Israel have a track record of excellence, but they also continue to have the deepest and best educated talent pools on the planet to power that next generation of digital, cloud-era companies. Another key ingredient to winning against global competition is funding, and we as growth investors are here to be long-term partners, helping European and Israeli founders scale their companies and expand globally.

What qualities do you look for in growth stage founders?

Jonathan — Building a growth stage business is difficult and requires a great deal of qualities: passion, focus, grit, a clear vision and the ability to articulate it. One that I find particularly important is humility, by which I mean the willingness to be challenged. Improving something that’s already good (you’ve made it to the growth stage after all) requires continuous questioning of the status quo. Similarly, key executive hires can really super-charge a company, but once again this requires constant openness to new perspectives. Being humble becomes more important as a company matures and the number of voices around the table grows — then it can really make the difference between good and great, I think.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for building global category-leading businesses from Europe and Israel?

Klaas — Hiring the right senior talent is critical for building a successful global business. Given that Europe and Israel don’t have a long history of building category defining global software companies yet, it’s harder to find the right talent particularly for the GTM functions locally, and we often end up hiring senior leaders from the US. However, Europe and Israel are at an inflection point where this is changing rapidly and an increasing number of experienced leaders are home-grown, providing a much broader pool of world class talent to build on. We are truly in the early stages of development of the broader software ecosystem and are very bullish on the future of European and Israeli technology.

What can founders expect when they pitch One Peak?

Jonathan — We love asking questions! Questions about you, your company‘s products and customers, your team, and many other topics. Before we dive into the numbers, we like to understand your story and how your company delivers lasting value for your customers. So be ready for an interactive conversation rather than a classic pitch.

What’s the best life hack you have learned from a founder or colleague?

Klaas — A founder told me once she organized her day as mini product sprints, breaking it up in blocks of 2 to 3 hours focused on specific topics. Day-to-day reality often interferes with this, but when it works I’ve found it to be super productive!

What is your favorite SaaS metric and why?

Jonathan — LTV/CAC, Magic Number, Rule of 40 — there are a lot of great SaaS metrics, which are typically a good indicator of the underlying health and readiness to scale of growth-stage businesses. These metrics can also often help spot problems before they arise. If I had to pick just one, I would go with Gross Revenue Retention (GRR). Seeing customers predictably renewing their subscription from one year to the next not only validates that a scale-up has built a great product with a strong value proposition, but is also critically important for building great, sustainable companies in the long run.

What are the key events that have shaped who you are today?

Klaas — Studying in Paris and moving to London definitely had the biggest impact on me. Moving abroad opened up a world of possibilities, but also showed me how my background and biases really impacted my way of thinking. Getting new perspectives and meeting people from all over Europe was amazing and is still one of the best parts of being a pan-European growth investor!