Building in public: our first year numbers

Why we are sharing this

One of InitLabs' founding principles is transparency. Not just with our clients and developers, but with everyone. We talk about transparent margins and honest communication. So it would be hypocritical to keep our own business numbers hidden behind a corporate wall.

This post is a full, honest look at our first year of operations. The wins, the losses, and the numbers that tell the real story. If you are thinking about starting a staffing company, or if you are a client or developer evaluating whether to work with us, this is for you.

The numbers

In our first 12 months, here is what happened:

• Total placements: 18. That is 18 developers matched with clients and actively working on projects. Some short-term (3 months), some ongoing.
• Average time-to-placement: 12 working days. From initial client brief to a developer starting work. Industry average hovers around 25-30 days.
• Our margin: 15-20%. This is the range we operate in. Publicly. The industry average for staffing agencies is 25-40%, with some going higher. We keep ours lean because our overhead is lean and because we promised transparency.
• Client retention: 89%. Of the clients we placed with, 89% came back for a second placement or extended the first one.
• Developer satisfaction score: 8.4/10. We survey every developer quarterly. This is the average across all four surveys in year one.
• Revenue: enough to be sustainable, not enough to be comfortable. We are not going to publish the exact euro amount, but we will say this: we covered all costs, paid ourselves a modest salary, and have runway for growth. We are not venture-backed. We are not burning cash. We are building slowly and intentionally.

What went well

The skill-based matching approach works. Clients who were initially skeptical about dropping seniority labels became our biggest advocates once they saw the quality of matches. Our repeat rate proves this.

Speed was a differentiator. Because we do not waste time debating labels and fitting people into boxes, our matching process is genuinely faster. We focus on what matters: can this person do this work? Do they want to? Is the environment right for them?

Transparency built trust faster than any sales pitch could. When we told clients our exact margin during the first call, the reaction was almost always the same: surprise, then relief, then trust. Most had never been told that number before by any agency.

What went wrong

Two placements did not work out. In both cases, we misjudged culture fit. The technical skills were there, but the working style was not a match for the team. We ended both assignments early and found replacement candidates within a week. No charge for the transition period.

We underestimated how much time the "people side" takes. Supporting developers during assignments, having career conversations, mediating when things get tense. This is the work that most agencies skip, and now I understand why. It is time-intensive. But it is also the work that makes everything else possible, so we are investing more in it for year two.

Cash flow was tighter than expected in months 3 through 5. Clients pay on 30-day terms, sometimes 45. Developers expect to be paid on time. The gap between those two realities is where young staffing companies get squeezed. We managed it, but it was not pleasant.

Lessons for year two

Here is what we are taking into year two:

• Double down on culture matching. Technical skills are necessary but not sufficient. We are building a more structured process for evaluating team fit.
• Invest in the community. The developers who work with us are not just candidates. They are a network. We are creating more opportunities for them to connect, share knowledge, and grow together.
• Stay small intentionally. We could have taken on more clients in year one. We deliberately did not. Quality over volume is not just a slogan for us. It is a survival strategy.
• Keep publishing these numbers. Transparency is a muscle. The more we use it, the stronger it gets.

If you are a client, developer, or fellow founder who wants to talk about any of these numbers, my inbox is open: guus@initlabs.nl. No gatekeepers, no PR filter. Just a conversation.