Tech Icon Spotlight:
Daniel Krauss
Cofounder and CIO/CHRO, Flix
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Daniel Krauss shares his insights into why tech leaders should focus on people, how to navigate rapid growth, and the importance of going with the flow.
From techie to tech leader
Krauss launched his career by founding an IT consultancy with his classmate André Schwämmlein. After selling the consultancy and working in IT for Siemens and Microsoft for a few years, Krauss had the opportunity to partner with Schwämmlein on Flix. At first, his role was clear: he was the tech guy. But as the company scaled, Krauss realized his impact wouldn’t come from writing code, but from leading people.
“André trusted me and needed a techie,” Krauss said. “But what I realized is that while I have a deep understanding about how the tech works, my real passion was and always will be working with people. Bringing people together to achieve something more than they can alone, this is my passion, and is what has led me to a relatively easy path of growth into a large tech organization.”
“I think I’m better fitted into my role than I used to be in the early days when I literally had to program stuff on my own.”
I think I’m better fitted into my role than I used to be in the early days when I literally had to program stuff on my own.”
Merging teams, tech, and culture
The shift from founder to leader sometimes happens gradually as the company finds traction, makes sales, and scales operations. Other times, it can take place in an instant. After merging with a competitor in 2015, Flix instantly doubled the size of its team while adding a completely different technology stack and company culture.
“My job until that point was 80% managing tech capacity, and 20% making sure things worked well from an organizational and people point of view. After the merger, it flipped. It wasn’t a decision I thought about, it was just like, ‘Now we’re together, so get it done.’ I just had to do my job, which changed overnight basically,” Krauss said.
By redefining his role from tech leader to organizational leader, Krauss was able to focus on building a more productive team. This eventually led Krauss to add the CHRO role to his remit, helping unify people, technology, and product under one vision.
“One reason tech fails is that the translation between the engineering side and people isn’t good. If you’re a CIO that only focuses on the tech side, or a CHRO only focusing on people, you can miss the interface between humanity and technology that will only become more important.”
I just had to do my job, which changed overnight basically.”
The difference between managing and leading
Krauss believes that anyone can learn to be a good manager, while leadership requires an innate personality and passion that can’t be taught. While management is about execution, leadership is about inspiration.
“Management is a bunch of tools and skills; anyone can learn that. Leadership is about having an idea, figuring out how to work with others, and then solving the puzzle on how to get results,” Krauss said.
“On my LinkedIn profile, I call myself the Chief Organizational Plumber because my job is to hire the best people, and if there’s anything that blocks them, my job is to resolve that.”
“I call myself the Chief Organizational Plumber because my job is to hire the best people, and if there’s anything that blocks them, my job is to resolve that.”
Seek trust, not control
Growth requires letting go. To scale a business, a leader must trust the team they’ve built and resist the urge to dictate solutions.
“When undergoing rapid growth, it can feel awkward because you feel you are not in control. But so what? Let it go, and make yourself comfortable with that feeling. That’s way, way easier than trying to take control of everything. If a system grows as fast as Flix, you won’t be able to sit on top and control everything, so don’t even try. Go with the flow.”
In order to let go, you must hire people you can trust. While skills are key, don’t neglect the personality or culture fit: “I talk way more about non-work related stuff in an interview to figure out if someone is a fit rather than how they would design a certain piece of code.” Just as important as hiring the right people is recognizing when someone no longer is the right fit–and acting fast.
“If you have a slight feeling it’s wrong, act immediately, as things will only get worse. If you grow, you sometimes need a new pair of shoes; even if you like them, you can’t walk in them anymore, so you can’t keep them.”
I talk way more about non-work related stuff in an interview to figure out if someone is a fit rather than how they would design a certain piece of code.”
