How Dataminded Was Built: Kris Peeters on 11 Years of Data Engineering & Culture - The Data Playbook podcast with Kris Peeters & Pascal Brokmeier

In this season finale of The Data Playbook Podcast by Dataminded, the tables turn: Kris Peeters (Host & Founder of Dataminded) is interviewed by Pascal Brokmeier (guest from the Episode 2 and former colleague).Kris shares the real story behind 11 years of building Dataminded - from the stress of having zero customers, to landing the first project, to scaling from a small team to a company with a leadership layer. We dive deep into what makes an engineering-first culture work: autonomy + responsibility, raising (and protecting) the hiring bar, learning from mistakes, and why timeless engineering practices (Git, CI/CD, testing, monitoring) still matter, no matter the tech hype cycle.If you’re a data leader, data engineer, engineering manager, or founder, this episode is a practical playbook on building a company (and a culture) that can survive and scale.✅ Subscribe and follow Dataminded for more episodes, deep dives, and real-world data engineering stories. https://www.youtube.com/@Dataminded✅ Explore The Data Playbook Podcast archive for more conversations on data platforms, data products, AI, and cloud decisions. https://www.dataminded.com/resources/podcast✅ Want to work with us? Check our open roles or reach out directly.Open vacancies: https://www.dataminded.com/about/join-usOr email: [email protected]:00:06 - 11 Years of Dataminded: Why This Story Matters01:54 - Why Kris Founded Dataminded (Engineers First)04:12 - From Zero Clients to the First Big Win07:53 - First Hires & How Culture Was Born11:14 - Git, CI/CD & Why Engineering Discipline Wins15:59 - Growing from 6 to 20: Chaos to Structure23:30 - Autonomy, Trust & Professional Culture35:13 - COVID, Overhead & the Push to 50 People41:13 - How Dataminded Keeps the Hiring Bar High55:59 - Germany, The Netherlands & What’s Next