team5pm is a data-driven content group that creates effective content for brands on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram
Could you please tell us about yourself and introduce your startup, team5pm, to our audience?
I’m Jelmer Wind, and I’m the CEO and co-founder of team5pm. We are a data-driven content group that brings together the worlds of data and creativity to create effective content for brands on various platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. By analyzing real human view and search behavior data with our in-house developed video SEO technology, topictree, we find the sweet spot for brands — where their target audience is and their competition isn’t.
team5pm was founded in 2018. Since then, we have grown from a local YouTube agency to an international company with 135 people and offices in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Cape Town, and Warsaw. We have a global network of clients, including Prime Video, GAMMA, bol., and KPN, and our work has received international recognition at awards like The YouTube Works, The Webbys, Global Search Awards, and The European Video Awards, among others.
Prior to founding team5pm, I worked at the Dutch media network RTL as Senior Development Manager of Digital Media and Head of Content and Channels at RTL MCN. The interest in video has always been there, as well as the entrepreneurial mindset.
What inspired the concept of team5pm?
We noticed that brands were finding it increasingly difficult to reach their audience in the new media landscape. With my and the other co-founders’ years of media experience and backgrounds at RTL, we recognized the potential to help brands succeed on YouTube. We started off with strategy and channel management, and eventually became a full-service YouTube agency, doing our own in-house video production. Today, we do everything within the social domain, assisting brands not only in the Netherlands but around the globe.
What motivated you to launch team5pm?
We were always wondering why the business market on YouTube revolved only around creators and advertising, while the organic possibilities of the platform are endless. YouTube is not only the second most visited website in the world; it is also the second-largest search engine. In our opinion, brands were all competing on the same platforms while neglecting the second most important one to be present on. Being the first to claim this domain gave us the opportunity to grow much faster than the average agency start-up.
Along the way, we discovered that our way of work and data-driven approach could be easily adopted for other social platforms. This allows us to produce video content more efficiently and achieve different, better, and more strategic goals for our clients.
Could you share the core vision and mission of team5pm?
If you want to stand out in the crowded content landscape, you need to be different. That’s where our data-driven approach comes in. While others focus on mass data and trends, we help brands find the sweet spot where they can be the most effective and impactful. We create content that drives results, using data to make it happen.
Can you talk about the initial challenges and difficulties you faced while starting up?
Probably the most difficult challenge we faced was the fact that there were no YouTube agencies at that moment. Although, it finally gave us the possibility to grow as fast as we did. Sales was hard work to educate the market on why they should make use of the platform.
Next to this, we faced the most obvious challenges and difficulties while starting up. Cash-flow management to keep up with the fast growth, from managing a team of 4 to 60 within a year, creating structures and workflows, and dealing with setbacks while not losing the energy to grow.
Key has been to stay agile; testing, adjusting, and optimizing what doesn’t work. Planning ahead is important, but being open to change is key. Never be afraid to kill your darlings.
Who do you consider the primary audience for your services?
We help the CMO of the future. This means that we serve as a partner for CMOs and marketing professionals who are dealing with an increasingly complex media landscape, the pressure of managing more channels, navigating more technology solutions, and managing more product and service partners.
And as if that weren’t enough, many also face the pressure of doing more with less due to budget cuts. At team5pm, we do more with less and eliminate costly guesswork. For example, by integrating all our specialties into one plan or campaign, we can produce content more efficiently; there’s no need for a separate plan for each platform. Our data-driven approach also allows us to know exactly which video we need to make; the most expensive mistake is to produce a video that doesn’t generate results.
What sets team5pm apart from other companies in the same field?
We take the guesswork out of marketing by creating content that people actually want to see. Data is part of our DNA, and by combining it with creativity, we can outsmart our clients’ competition. We are also international and 360 when it comes to content, making us the ultimate partner for the modern CMO, with expertise across both platforms and markets.
Could you describe a typical day at work for you?
As CEO of our company I can truly say that there is a lot of variety in my working days. My scope is divided around our running operations, growth of the company like international expansion, M&A and connecting with our MD’s in Cape Town, Warsaw, Amsterdam and Stockholm. But also more long-term topics like business models, innovation or impact of AI.
The most typical workday for me is Monday, because it is the only one that is more or less the same every week. My day begins with a management team meeting where I discuss various aspects of our agency with the board members, focusing on operations, finance, commercial activities, business growth, and people & culture. The afternoon is dedicated to one-on-one discussions with the directors, where we delve into challenges and explore potential solutions.
Where do you envision team5pm and yourself in the next five years?
We are observing a shift towards social platforms. Brands and CMO’s are increasingly looking for an agency that can manage all types of marketing across various platforms, including influencer marketing, YouTube content, and online commercials. This demands expertise in content creation, algorithms, and platform-specific media buying, all crucial for engaging the broad audience that TV once reached.
Essentially, the CMO of the future needs a partner who can take one overarching idea or concept and efficiently apply it across multiple platforms. This is the direction we are heading. We aim to be the go-to partner for marketing professionals as their needs continue to evolve, always employing a data-first approach and delivering measurable results.
What are three pieces of advice you would offer to aspiring entrepreneurs?
1. Don’t make long-term plans when starting up your own company. Keep a horizon, but plan and adapt with a 3-6 month strategy to stay agile. Release, test, adjust. Kill your darlings!
2. You run a business, not a family.
Focus on the core of your business and/or business model. Try to free yourself from tasks that seem like your responsibility as a founder, such as finance, HR, or operations, but ultimately consume too much energy or time and prevent you from doing what the company needs most. It may look expensive at the beginning, but it will bring more value in the long run.
Thank you Jelmer Wind for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
