People Ops from the Top: Florian Ritzmann, CEO at FutureFarm

In this ‘People Ops from the Top’ we talk about; getting outside code silos, bad bosses, how to communicate to your team that getting an office is a commitment, and the importance of trust and a good cause. 

Florian Ritzmann is the CEO at FutureFarm. What’s FutureFarm? They run a marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of agricultural commodities. They work directly with farmers, buying groups, marketing co-ops, wholesalers, importers and exporters, to make trading easier, cheaper and faster.

I grew up in online price comparison, specifically energy and consumer finance products. I have worked big and small names - Tesco.com used to host our energy price comparison calculator, which was one of the first really successful b2b2c deals.  Comparethemarket and Confused.com also used our tech.  Later on I joined Simplydigital where I developed the first energy-switching app called Voltz. That was fun – Currys ended up buying our platform. That was a good moment.

After the Currys transaction, the ‘what’s next’ question somehow led me to a group of farmers. Not that they would agree with this – but I found the problem they face in farming really intriguing. There is no margin in farming, at least not for farmers – only risk. Without subsidies, UK farming would not exist. Growing food is not profitable, it’s a crazy thought! So I started to look into it and realised that I have the skill set to help fix this. I am simplifying, but all that agriculture needs is a functioning, fair, balanced market. And I was thinking – we got so far with our comparison technology in shifting the balance of power to the consumer, let’s go and do the same for farmers.  So that’s what I have been doing for the last three years, creating a platform that helps farmers buy and sell better. It’s definitely a tough market but we’re beginning to get traction. This June we were able to sell 1,000 tonnes of fertiliser at 10% below retail. That’s the margin that’s going to go back into farming and it was all done through technology.

I am not a techie, but I join the morning standup every day and tell the tech team what I’m up to when it’s my turn. Somehow, just telling people about the business outside their code silos feels like it is appreciated. And it is important to actually work with everyone directly – my background is Product, so I write up a lot of the new features and I am also the chief tester, as well as the CEO. None of this is stuff is something we’re consciously implementing, we have always kept the team as close as possible and the hierarchies flat. My CTO Gordon and I had our share of bad bosses, the kind who thinks that waving their arms and spreading pressure is the way to get results. Now that it is our turn to run a business we don’t want to be like that. It’ll be interesting how this will evolve when the team grows, I am confident we’ll keep the flavour as it is. It has to – we all work remotely and there needs to be trust for that to work.

I think the team enjoyed it most when I took them to the Roller Disco in Shepherds Bush and wiped out in front of them when trying to skate backwards. The best team-building moments are the simplest. We met in Hyde Park to play Kubb during a break in the pandemic lockdowns. And bowling is always excellent. It doesn’t have to cost much and the team appreciates when I organise these events except last summer when I took them boating on the Thames at Pangbourne on the one day when it was too cold to do so. That earned me some side looks. When we’re rich I am going to organise a weekend away on a working manor farm, so that the developers can get a bit closer to agriculture – still at a safe distance.

Towards the end of the pandemic we did a survey to ask how everyone felt about coming back to the office. When I read through the responses I thought Uh-Oh, times have really changed. Nobody wanted to come back full-time (the average was 1.5 days), yet everyone wanted their own desk and could it please be close to where I live? I thought we should buy a camper van, kit it out and pick our people up/drop them off. So it’s really tough, you could spend a lot of money on an office and get really low occupancy – which is such a waste. When we find our next office in autumn, we’ll create some ground rules before signing – ie dedicated desks for those who commit three days a week. And the location has to be a draw, so for this one, I am thinking Soho. But I still would not force anyone, it won’t work. But a top tip? Make it clear that renting an office is a commitment for everyone. So if you say you’re going to use it, then come in.

What's something that you would you not scrimp on?

Good, ergonomic furniture and multiple high-definition displays. When we’re rich I’ll lobby for a LaMarzocco espresso machine in the office. And a pinball machine.

In a start-up things will get tough, so focus on trust as the most important building block of corporate culture. I always looked up to people who showed this mix of professional competence and genuine loyalty to their colleagues, because of the trust it inspires. Made me work harder and also endure things that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have. Being able to trust your colleagues is the secret sauce and if you find that you cannot, then you should get out. Life is too short.

That it’s more than a job, it’s a mission. There is something really wrong about the fact that 30% of the world’s food is wasted, that food producers face such precarious economics and that consumers pay such high prices. Who is pocketing all that margin and what are they doing to deserve it?  Don’t get me wrong, we also want to turn a profit, but there has to be a cause, it has to be a thing in itself. That’s what’s great about my job – it is about something.

For more from Florian, follow him on Linkedin

Tally Workspace knows the importance of People Operations. People Ops, is a crucial business function that focuses on managing and developing a company's workforce. It goes beyond traditional HR practices and places a strong emphasis on creating a positive company culture and enhancing employee engagement. People Ops teams understand the importance of fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment, where employees feel valued and motivated to perform their best. They play a vital role in shaping the overall employee experience by implementing strategies to improve communication, training and development, recruitment practices, and more. By championing company values and promoting a strong culture, People Ops professionals contribute to building a cohesive and thriving organization.