Peter Mϋhlmann is founder and CEO of Trustpilot, a fast-growing tech startup looking to transform online consumer shopping experiences. Founded in 2007, Trustpilot now provides more than 165,000 businesses with TrustScores based on 29,1 million customer reviews. Peter has expanded the company from 1 to 500+ employees and and soon will ready to open up their 7th office in Vilnius.

We are very happy that Peter agreed to chat with us a bit about his startup, how did it grow and has shared some advices for other entrepreneurs how to build a successful startup. Please read the interview below:

Trustpilot was found in 2007, how did you grow for 10 years? You received huge investments – $25 million in 2014 and $73 million in 2015. What has changed after these funds?

Peter: We have been very fortunate to be in a market with enormous demand. Entire industries have moved online and they all need a way to build trust and differentiate on service. Think about it, when would you not like to know if previous customers were really happy or unhappy?

Raising the money has professionalised us and been like rocket fuel.

Would you have been able to grow Trustpilot successfully without this investment?

Peter: Never. In today’s world you don’t have as much time to get things right as you used to have. Aggressive growth is usually necessary to capture the market before someone else.

What are the main steps to build successfully startup and to scale it?

Peter: Obsess over the team and the product market fit.

Trustpilot continues receiving large investments, it now has raised over $122 million from various investors. How it’s changing your company, how it’s helping you and how would you been doing without continuing investments?

Peter: Raising this much allows us to make the investments required to be the number one global review site for companies in the online space. People often think “is it not just a website?” Well websites these days are often much bigger things than people realise! If we had not raised we would have grown much slower and likely lost to competition.

What were the main difficulties you faced while creating your consumer base?

Peter: Finding the right business model was difficult. Once we had it, things developed fast.

How do you think if and when startups should start looking for an investment from venture capital funds?

Peter: I recommend looking for investment as soon as you have a core team and a strong idea.  Platforms like kickstarter and indiegogo allows people to get funding before even having a product.

What do you think about Lithuania, our potential in the start-ups field? What is your opinion on the Baltic region future?

Peter: I’m extremely bullish on Lithuania, there is immense tech talent. This is a strength for the entire Baltic region. The question is which country can create the best ecosystem that makes new companies thrive.

How do you think, what criteria make investors notice future successful startups? What is the most important thing for a person/group of people who want to create great and future successful startup?

Peter: Investors look out for great ideas every day. In particular they will look for a great team, a big market and proof of product market fit.

The most important thing for someone who wants to create a startup is a belief in their mission.

Thank you for your answers Peter!

Trustpilot CEO Peter Mϋhlmann is coming to LOGIN Startup Fair next week. His topic will be “How to Grow to 500 People Without Going Insane”. Come to Vilnius Tech Park on 24-25 of May to listen his announcement!

Find full program at LOGIN Startup Fair Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1179815642135522/.