From Friction to Flow: How Smartive Reinvented Itself Around Clarity, Trust and Shared Ownership
When Peter Manser and Thilo Haas left their agency jobs in Switzerland in 2012, they weren’t following a grand plan.They were disillusioned with corporate overhead and wanted a simpler way to work. Together with early team memberMoreno Feltscher, they founded Smartive with one basic ambition. “We just wanted to work and have fun at work,” Peter recalled.
This blog post is part of 80+ case studies of progressive organizations we created for the ZeroDX awards 2025. These organizations embody the principles of RenDanHeYi in their work structures:
Zero Distance to customer: Decision what to build is based on insights from the marketplace
Autonomy: Small teams with full decision-making autonomy enable speed in execution
Shared Rewards: Everyone in the micro-enterprise participates in its financial success.
Their first projects came through personal connections, and the company expanded at a steady pace. There were no formal job titles, no bureaucracy, and no layers between people and decisions. The atmosphere was collaborative and informal. But as the team grew, so did the complexity of running the business. A board formed consisting of Peter, Thiloand Moreno. They began meeting separately to handle strategic and operational matters. Though intended to fulfil legal obligations, these “meta meetings” slowly created a divide between decision-makers and the wider team.
By 2018, the strain was visible. Robert Vogt, a long-time member of the company, felt sidelined after one of his client negotiations was quietly reversed. Frustrated, he considered leaving. But before making a final decision, he sat down with Peter. “It was the first time I saw Peter speechless,” Robert said. The conversation became a turning point. Peteroffered him a choice. He could leave or help transform the company so that no one else would feel excluded in the same way.
Robert stayed. The board was dissolved. In its place, Smartive introduced a structured advice process. Anyone could make a decision, provided they consulted with those affected and those with relevant experience. “We needed a wayto make decisions without chaos,” Peter explained. This approach redistributed authority without creating bottlenecks. It echoed the RenDanHeYi principle of safe enough to try and reflected Zero Distance to Action by placing decision-making power closer to those doing the work.
To support this shift, Smartive invested in radical transparency. A Notion-based board tracks all tasks and responsibilities. A liquidity dashboard shows how long the company could operate without new revenue. A custom-built Advice Process Wizard helps team members initiate and record decisions clearly. As Moreno said, “Everyone can see everything.” These tools reflect Zero Distance to Data, Tools and Skills, ensuring that everyone has access to the same information to manage and improve their work.
To bring structure to their evolving model, the team undertook a role-mapping process. Over several weeks, everyone documented their daily activities and reorganised them into clearly defined, purpose-driven roles. This resulted in aflexible system of around 50 roles, each with specific responsibilities and visible to all. Team members often hold several roles
simultaneously, depending on their skills and interests. At one point, Robert managed 15 before intentionally narrowing his focus. Roles are taken on through mutual agreement rather than being assigned, allowing people to adjust their involvement over time. The approach reflects RenDanHeYi’s principle of micro-entrepreneurship, where individuals take ownership of their contributions within a transparent and adaptive structure.
To prevent isolation in a manager-free environment, Smartive introduced communities. These cross-functional groupsbring people together around shared clients or themes. Originally called “islands,” they now serve as both social homes and coordination hubs. Some focus on clients like Migros, others on internal development. These groups strengthen Zero Distance to Colleagues, allowing Smartive to function as a network of small teams rather than a rigid hierarchy.
Smartive also transformed how it handles compensation. The company replaced informal salary discussions with a public, formula-based system. Everyone’s salary is calculated using the same metrics: education, years of professional experience, tenure at Smartive, and family status. Whether someone works in design or engineering, theformula applies equally. “We were that transparent that we even gave out the numbers,” Peter said. This has resulted in a narrow 1.6 to 1 ratio between the lowest and highest salary. Though the formula is transparent and consistent, it cansometimes lead to disagreement when individuals feel their efforts are not fully reflected. Nevertheless, it has reduced frustration by removing hidden decisions. It reflects Zero Distance to Results and Rewards, where compensation is based on clear rules and open processes.
Ownership is similarly distributed. After one year, employees are invited to buy shares. As of 2024, 24 out of 26 team members had done so. Founders sell a portion of their shares each year to broaden participation. When shares become available, they are first returned to the company and then offered internally. Annual profits are shared, with 55 percent paid as employee bonuses, 15 percent as dividends, and the rest kept as reserves. This creates real financial alignment and reflects Zero Distance to Mission and Strategy, where everyone plays a role in shaping the company’s direction and future.
Smartive’s rhythm supports its structure. Weekly or biweekly meetings are held for most roles, using structured agendas with rotating facilitators and note-takers. Monthly all-hands meetings combine company updates withhumour and reflection. Regular retrospectives help teams learn from what’s working and what isn’t. Tasks belong to roles, not individuals, and people choose how to execute their responsibilities within that role. This way of working supports both autonomy and accountability.
The model, however, presents its own set of challenges. Some employees have taken on too many responsibilities at once, leading to overload and difficulty in maintaining balance. The large number of roles and meetings can alsoreduce efficiency when coordination is not carefully managed. Meanwhile, the salary system, while clear, can raisequestions about fairness in times when contributions differ significantly across the team. Even so, most employees continue to prefer the openness and structure of the current system over the ambiguity and unevenness of more traditional approaches.
Smartive’s transformation didn’t follow a corporate playbook. It emerged from a moment of personal friction and evolved through daily practice. Yet it aligns closely with several of the RenDanHeYi principles: decentralised decision-making, distributed ownership, clarity of roles, and real financial participation.
As Peter reflected, “We don’t have goals. We just want to have a good time here. It’s really the values that we want to endure, like people over profit.”
Their model continues to evolve, but the foundation they have built offers a thoughtful and concrete example of how a small company can reinvent itself through principle, participation and purpose.
