Sollit stories: Meet Ivo

Who are you and what is your role at Sollit?

My name is Ivo, I'm 40 years old and part of the Sollit team as a Key Account Manager. I'm based in Gera, a city in Thuringia, Germany, also known as the "Otto Dix City", named after the famous expressionist painter who was born here. It's one of those places that manages to combine the advantages of a larger city with a surprisingly green and relaxed quality of life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

In my role, I get to do two things I genuinely love: being close to our customers and building relationships that actually mean something. As a Key Account Manager, I'm essentially the voice of our customers within Sollit, making sure their needs, challenges and feedback are heard and acted upon internally. It's a responsibility I take seriously, because strong relationships are the foundation of everything we do.

At home, I share my life with my partner and our Labrador Alpha, who makes sure I never skip a walk in nature. Those walks are one of my favourite ways to recharge, because there's something about fresh air and open landscapes that clears the head like nothing else.

When I'm not out exploring with Alpha, you'll most likely find me in the kitchen. Cooking and baking are a real passion of mine, and so is collecting kitchen gadgets. Whether they're actually useful is open to debate, but the collection keeps growing either way.

How has your role evolved since you started?

The acquisition of Zolar brought a shift that I hadn't quite anticipated. In the early days, a big part of my job became explaining to our customers who Sollit actually is and what was going to change for them. There were moments where playing firefighter was simply part of the deal. At the same time, it felt a little like starting fresh at a new company. New software, new processes, new ways of doing things. It was a lot to take in at once.

What made the difference was the team around me. Whenever I had questions, I got help quickly and without any fuss. That kind of support meant I could find my footing faster than I expected, and after a few months I was back to focusing on what I enjoy most: building networks and nurturing the relationships that really matter.

Looking back, it was a challenging period, but also one that taught me a lot. And honestly, coming out the other side with a stronger foundation feels pretty good.

You have worked for Zolar first, how has the transition to Sollit been, what makes working at Sollit special to you?

I spent 5.5 years at Zolar, and those years meant a lot to me personally. I joined at a time when installing 20 systems a month felt like solid progress, and I watched that grow to over 450 at our peak. When you're part of something that scales like that, you pour a lot of yourself into it. So when it became clear that we couldn't make it work on our own, it was genuinely tough to come to terms with.

What made the transition easier was knowing that the product I had believed in didn't disappear. Through the acquisition, I got the chance to keep working on something that has its roots in the Zolar era and to help bring that vision to life in a new shape. That continuity meant a lot.

And if I'm being honest, there's something quietly refreshing about working at a company that is actually profitable. Not having to chase month-on-month revenue growth just to keep investors happy creates a completely different atmosphere. The focus can go where it belongs, on building something great for our customers, and that makes a real difference to how you show up every day.

What does the value “Everybody Counts” mean to you in practice?

This one is close to my heart, because I genuinely believe that rigid hierarchies get in the way of good work. When people feel free to speak their mind, regardless of their title or department, that's where the best ideas come from and where real progress happens.

In my day-to-day, I work closely with our developers, and that collaboration is a great example of what this value looks like in practice. I love it when they weigh in on sales topics, and equally when they want to know what our customers are actually thinking so they can shape the product around real needs rather than assumptions. It goes both ways, and that's exactly the point.

For me, "Everyone counts" isn't a poster on the wall. It's what happens when a developer and a Key Account Manager sit down together and both walk away having learned something. That's the culture I want to be part of, and at Sollit, it's genuinely how things work.

What are you most proud of about Sollit?

Honestly, what stands out most to me is the culture, and more specifically how we've managed to bring the best of two companies together rather than just picking one way of doing things.From the Zolar days, we carried over a team structure where developers, product, marketing and sales all worked side by side. That kind of setup might sound simple, but it makes an enormous difference when it comes to alignment and speed. At Sollit, we kept that approach, and you can feel it in how decisions get made and how quickly things move.

At the same time, we adopted something from Sollit that I think is equally powerful: involving customers early in product development. Instead of building what we think is right and hoping customers agree, we bring them into the conversation from the start. As someone who spends his days talking to customers, that means a lot to me.

But if I had to pick one moment that really captured what makes Sollit special, it was something small that happened a few months after I joined. I received a Sollit merge hoodie, which was a lovely gesture in itself. But inside the package was a handwritten card thanking me personally for the work and results I had delivered. I still think about that card. The hoodie was great, but knowing that your contribution is truly seen and appreciated by the people around you, that is genuinely rare. And at Sollit, it doesn't feel like a one-off. It feels like who we are.