What has happened so far.

When a few university friends founded Panter in 2005, they probably never imagined that 18 years later their company would have around 50 employees and an equally large network of freelancers in Switzerland and abroad.

A lot has happened since then: high-quality software products that offer users real added value, of course, but we have also pushed ahead with agile project methods.

From the outset, the founders did not want to run the company in a traditional way, but wanted all colleagues to have an equal say in decision-making. That’s why Panter’s organisational chart is very simple: everyone is on the board.

Discussions about our direction and development do not take place behind closed doors, but are made – and supported – transparently by the collective. There have been some legendary meetings that have lasted well into the night. But so far we have always reached a consensus.

Another radical gift to ourselves was to move towards the organisational model of sociocracy (according to Bockelbrinck, Priest & David). We introduced this on our 10th anniversary.

The reason for this was that Panter had grown to 30 employees – and wanted to remain lean despite its growth and size. Sociocracy has enabled all groups to be semi-autonomous, self-organised and self-managed. Each group is responsible for tasks such as planning, sales and recruiting new colleagues.

Although we are no longer a start-up ourselves, we still surround ourselves with visionary ideas and great innovations every day. Thanks to our collaboration with Impact Hub Zurich and Kickstart, we work in the best coworking and acceleration space in Switzerland. Where tomorrow’s movers and shakers meet.

We are creative at four locations in Zurich and welcome our clients to meetings and workshops. So a lot has happened since 2005 – and we’re still not bored.