This year’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates businesses and entrepreneurs who are able to seize the opportunities that emerge in the wake of the crisis, who demonstrate adaptability and define long term perspectives, that will bring them through the challenging times. Through agility and adaptability, Acubiz has launched initiatives and solutions that both have strengthened the business here and now during the crisis period and likewise will benefit the business going forward.
TL;DRAcubiz was nominated for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020, recognized for its agility during the COVID-19 crisis. While international travel collapsed and the traditional travel expense use case shrank, Acubiz accelerated its focus on adjacent categories including time tracking and digital invoice handling, demonstrating that its platform had moved well beyond its travel expense management origins.
For almost 25 years EY has celebrated the best growth creators in Denmark, but due to COVID-19 the accounting and consultancy agency has chosen to radically change this year’s edition of the competition. This year, EY has found businesses who have spotted opportunities during hardship, been capable of adapting their business, seen new behavior patterns in the market or responded to new market requirements through focus on growth and innovation.
Expense Management solutions like Acubiz has traditionally been closely connected to business travel and the administrative routines related to documentation, control and accounting of the travel expenses. Obviously, Acubiz still creates plenty of value in this process, but to an increased extent, the software also embraces a huge range of other employee-initiated expenses. In addition, the solution can also be used to digitize and automate other administrative tasks, that also needs to be processed in a workflow. And as international travel is very affected by COVID-19, Acubiz has seen an opportunity in intensifying focus on the customer processes that does not necessarily has to do with travel activity. This is, as examples, time tracking and digital invoice handling.
Immediately after the lockdown in March, Acubiz implemented several initiatives to secure the above focus and to secure the best possible conditions for getting safely through to the other side. This other side was characterized with much uncertainty. Acubiz chose a strategy where progress was the focal point:
Even though we were uncertain of the future, we acted quickly. We would not stop our positive development by pushing the brake hard. On the contrary, our goal was to develop the business. We have done that by keeping focus on our marketing and sales activities together with securing resources for further development of our solution, says Lars de Nully, CEO and Founder of Acubiz.
It is not surprising that the nomination for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year evokes happiness with Lars de Nully:
We have been nominated for the price before based on our growth. To be nominated again makes me proud, and the fact that the nomination comes in a challenging year makes me extra proud. Our dispositions and efforts during the year is securing that Acubiz stands in a strong market position with an outlook for further growth potential – also within areas outside of the traditional core around travel expenses.
Whether Acubiz proceed in the competition is not settled yet, as EY must find the regional winners. This will happen on 2. December. After this, the country final will go down on 21. January 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the basis for Acubiz's nomination for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020?
EY redesigned the 2020 competition to recognize businesses that spotted opportunities during the COVID-19 crisis, demonstrated adaptability, and defined long-term perspectives. Acubiz was nominated for launching initiatives that both supported the business during the crisis and created lasting improvements, specifically by expanding focus beyond travel expenses to time tracking and digital invoice handling.
How did Acubiz respond to COVID-19 significantly reducing business travel?
Immediately after the March 2020 lockdown, Acubiz implemented initiatives to redirect focus to the parts of their platform that did not depend on travel activity. This included intensifying development and marketing around time tracking and digital invoice handling, demonstrating that the Acubiz platform's value extended well beyond its original travel expense management use case.
What is the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year competition?
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is a long-running recognition program that has celebrated Denmark's best growth creators for nearly 25 years. The 2020 edition was significantly changed due to COVID-19, shifting focus from traditional growth metrics to recognizing businesses that demonstrated adaptability, seized new opportunities during hardship, and positioned themselves for long-term success.
How has Acubiz's product scope evolved beyond travel expense management?
While Acubiz originally focused on travel expense documentation and reimbursement, the platform now handles a wide range of employee-initiated costs including company credit card transactions, supplier invoices, time tracking, absence management, and mileage. The COVID-19 period accelerated this shift by demonstrating the platform's value even when travel activity dropped to near zero.