In conversation with Tor Inge Vasshus, Founder and CEO of Corporater on the occasion of Corporater celebrating 25 years of enabling organizations worldwide to manage their entire business on a single platform.
1. What was your original vision for the company 25 years ago, and how close are we to that today?
Our original vision was to create a business management platform, mainly focused around Enterprise Performance Management. Over time, we’ve added more functionality in the GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) area, which wasn’t part of the initial plan. That said, the way we built the platform is 100% in line with how we envisioned it 25 years ago — using a LEGO block approach, no-code, and designed for business users. In many ways, we’re very close to the original vision, but the shift toward GRC is something that evolved differently than I had anticipated.
2. What was one of the biggest challenges the company faced, and how did you navigate it?
One of the biggest challenges was developing the company without money. We had to be extremely cautious with how we spent every bit of it. Essentially, we bootstrapped the company, which meant things took more time, but it also taught us to be deliberate and resourceful in our decisions.
3. What has been the most surprising source of growth or innovation?
The switch to GRC has definitely been the most surprising. It wasn’t something we originally planned for, but we found that we didn’t have to do much to adapt our platform to cover GRC needs. Despite that, it has opened up huge revenue opportunities and become a major driver of our growth.
Reaching this milestone is a testament to our unwavering commitment to empowering organizations with the tools they need to navigate an increasingly complex business environment. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved and remain dedicated to driving digital transformation and innovation in GRC, performance and strategy execution. – Tor Inge Vasshus
4. What leadership lesson has stayed with you throughout this journey?
Go for people with the right values — the values that align with our company. Don’t choose someone just because they look great on paper. If there’s a risk they might disrupt the company culture. It’s the loyal people who really matter. They’re the kind of “material” you can build a strong, lasting company around.
5. What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders in this company?
Stay true to our values — that’s the foundation for a strong future here. If you’re proactive, hardworking, positive, and skilled, there’s no limit to how far you can go. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, focus on finding solutions. It’s easy to see what’s wrong, but those who take the initiative to fix things are the ones who truly drive progress.
6. How would you like the company to be remembered 25 years from now?
I’d like it to be remembered as one of those special companies that took the “long route” — one that didn’t raise money from investors but still grew consistently over 50 years to become a world leader. What makes the company truly stand out is its strong values — customer centricity, ethics, and servant leadership — and its clear purpose: life, light, and increase. It shows that you can build whatever you want if you have the right people with the right values and a purpose that people believe in. I’d also like Corporater to be remembered as the Norwegian company that stayed Norwegian, not one that ended up being sold to private equity firms.
7. How are you personally planning to celebrate this milestone?
I’ll be celebrating in Brighton with colleagues and my lovely wife. She’s my secret weapon and has been by my side through it all.
About Corporater:
Corporater is a leading global provider of enterprise software solutions for Governance, Performance, Risk, and Compliance (GPRC) management. With more than 20 years of experience, innovation, and customer satisfaction, Corporater empowers medium and large organizations to achieve their objectives for effective GRC and Performance programs. Whether traditional GRC challenges such as enterprise risk, internal control system, IT risk, incident management, and Internal Audit or emerging challenges such as ESG or operational resilience, Corporater can deliver an integrated system on one platform. Visit corporater.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
