Building the Company We Always Wanted to Work In
Alexandra Stoica
In March 2025, a few of us from different parts of the world crowded into a small Italian restaurant in Bretten, Germany. There were about 13 of us around the dinner table, sharing drinks and stories. When I asked Bjorn, our COO, about his plan for WunderGraph from a people perspective, his answer was straightforward:
I want to build the company I always wanted to work in.
For me, that made all the difference, especially since I had just joined the company. I realised we were at a stage in our growth where we were allowed to dream and maybe even make those dreams real. I’ve always believed in fairness, transparency, and leading with empathy throughout my career, so for me, that was the dream.
At WunderGraph, our mission is to build high performance systems that make it easier for teams to collaborate with data and with each other. Strong engineering is only possible when collaboration scales with the company. That balance is what drives our work and our products. It’s about always improving and scaling how we work together, at each stage of growth.
Because building a company isn’t just about scaling systems, products, or revenue. It’s about scaling how we work together. Every feedback moment, every decision, every celebration sets a precedent. If we don’t define what “great” looks like, then habits will form by default, not design.
WunderGraph tripled in size this year, and we’re now focused on intentional culture design with meaningful touchpoints throughout the year.
2025 was both tough and exciting; it was the year WunderGraph truly became a team, not just a tech startup.
We grew from a tight founding group into a company of 34 people, spread across 10 countries and representing 18 nationalities. If diverse backgrounds bring innovation, then we’re off to a strong start with a team located around the world.
One metric we focused on this year was increasing women’s representation on the team. We know the numbers across tech, especially in startups, can look grim. Our current gender ratio is 32.4% women and 67.6% men. It’s a good start, especially given that we’re above the European tech average of 22.5 percent women (Euro Tech 2024–2025). As a People leader, one of my priorities for 2026 is increasing women’s representation in engineering and in leadership so we can tap into more diverse perspectives and strengthen our competitive edge.
Tripling in size in under twelve months requires discipline, clarity, and consistency. Between April and November 2025, we ran over 730 first-stage interviews while maintaining a human-first, values-driven approach.
Here’s how WunderGraph stacked up against industry benchmarks this year:
These numbers aren’t about speed for its own sake. They reflect our ability to stay decisive, human, and aligned in how we hire. Even at this pace, our candidate experience stayed top tier, placing us first for responsiveness in our category on Cord. We set ourselves an SLA of replying to candidates within three days of applying, and we remain stubborn about not using AI in our recruitment process and hiring decisions. There are real people on the other side who took the time to show interest in working with us, and we treat that as an honour. Last year we were a team of twelve; now we have industry professionals actively seeking us out. I consider that both a success and an advantage.
Our turnover rate is 21.7% with 4.3% voluntary and 17.4% involuntary exits. We are bringing together a top team to solve hard problems. We are building developer tooling, a challenging and demanding work. We serve some of the biggest companies on the market. This is why we hire for colleagues who constantly make us better and push for innovation. Some of the people we brought on board were not the right fit for the current growth stage and unfortunately we had to part ways. We’ve been candid with the team about the reasons, and we’ve taken feedback on board in every case.
To improve in this area, we redesigned our onboarding flow (which now receives excellent feedback), launched the WunderGraph Engineering Growth Framework , completed our first performance and compensation discussions.
As part of that work, I also wrote a blog about our approach to engineering progression, which you can read here: The Engineering Growth Framework .
And most importantly, we listened. We did this through surveys, open sessions, and our culture co-creation workshops. Our latest eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) of 73 (which matches our Customer nps by the way) reflects a team that’s deeply engaged and proud to be part of what we’re building, a clear sign that belonging and belief remain strong even as we scale.
As founders, we’re often pedal to the metal, always chasing the next milestone. But sometimes, the best thing you can do is slow down with your team. Step back, reflect, and recharge so you can move faster after. I’m learning that slowing down isn’t falling behind. It’s actually what sets you up to go further.
— Stefan Avram, CCO at WunderGraphWe take great care into shaping our culture, and this is led from the top, our founding team. That’s why 2025 became the year of intentional in-person connection.
We met in person five times this year, with one more event planned in December:
Alta, Norway (January): We kicked off the year surrounded by the northern lights.
Bretten, Germany (March & June): Two deep working sessions where we co-created our culture framework, tackled leadership challenges, ran hackathons, and built alignment for growth.
Gran Canaria (November): Our company retreat was a blend of celebration and alignment. This is where we truly felt like one WunderGraph.
New York (Sales Strategy): A sharp, forward-looking strategy session for our GTM and sales leadership.
Germany (Ops & Finance Meet Up, November): A focused meetup to solidify operational excellence for 2026.
API Days Paris (December 9–11): We’ll be sharing talks on secure GraphQL for AI with MCP, intent-first schema design with Fission, and event-driven federated GraphQL subscriptions.
So much potential goes missing when we keep grinding without a reset. In a fully remote setup, the leak is slow but real. We skip breaks, push through weeks, and the tank quietly drains. Retreats aren’t a perk. They are how we refill the tank, reconnect as humans, and rebuild the trust that turns ideas into shipped work. WunderGraph is about people. I’m proud to be one of them.
— Dustin Deus, CTO at WunderGraphIn June, during our Culture Co-Creation Workshop in Bretten, we took a hard, honest look at how we’re doing.
Accountability (100% Healthy): People own their work. There’s no room for micromanagement, and no need for it.
Psychological Safety & Equal Voice (100% Healthy): Everyone feels safe to speak, challenge, and contribute.
Raising Problems & Embracing Change (80% Healthy): We iterate fast, adapt faster, and see change as part of our DNA.
Handling Failure (73% Healthy): Failure is treated as feedback, not final.
These are the foundations of a scaling company that values trust and autonomy.
Overall, when scaling WunderGraph, the goal is not to become bigger but better. We still operate with a lean structure, and it has served us well so far.
We’re already taking concrete steps:
- New hiring frameworks → structured, values-driven, and inclusive by design.
- Upgraded onboarding → early feedback from new hires is much improved
- Leadership and team development → beginning in 2026, we will focus more intentionally on identifying gaps and supporting team growth.
- Knowledge sharing systems → reducing silos as we scale, how we prioritise work.
We’re learning to blend remote efficiency with human connection, growth with belonging, and speed with intentionality.
WunderGraph, at its core, isn’t about policies or playbooks. It’s about people who care deeply about building something better, together. It is about an engaged team that wants to help companies build bridges between data and their people.
We want WunderGraph to be:
- A place where accountability feels empowering, not heavy.
- Where feedback is normal and embraced, not scary.
- Where clarity beats politics, and trust beats process. Hence our no BS policy.
- Where people feel, at the end of the day, they were able to do their best work.
Paul, our Senior Growth Marketer who joined us in 2025, has summed it up beautifully.
I really feel I have landed on my feet being part of such a kind and supportive team. Everyone is so aligned on the business goals which makes getting the help and support you need so much easier. In my first week I finished my working day and said to my family that I have had the nicest working day in my entire career.
We also made culture a focus at our company retreat in Gran Canaria, where we wanted to understand why our people joined us and why they want to stay at WunderGraph long term.
When you first create a company, most people spend little to no thought about culture. It sort of emerges along the way. This was never the case for me personally, having spent more than two decades with different companies in different roles. I knew that if I ever were to start a company, I would do many things differently, starting with culture — and culture always starts (and lives and dies) with leadership.
Although I appreciate every experience with my previous employers, they still all sucked more or less at culture, because leadership (top execs) wasn't leading or underestimated their effect as an example for middle management and all staff around them. You cannot expect full commitment from your team if you don't walk the talk as the executive team (emphasis on team!), and it's nothing the middle management can fix for you. You may still build a good company, but hardly an exceptional company, because it's exceptional teams that make exceptional companies.
So when we started WunderGraph, it was my chance to finally build what I always envisioned: a company where leadership leads by example and is able to build the cultural foundation for such a truly exceptional team from day 1.
On our retreat in Gran Canaria last week, I was amazed (again) to see that it actually seems to be working. I'm lacking the words to describe how it feels to see the team that we brought together spark with ideas, vibe with each other, share contagious inspiration and commitment.
Even though I feel an almost indecent level of pride, I'm also incredibly humbled, because even though we as founders may have set the right things in motion, it's the people that pick up on it and actually make the dream come true that only existed in my head.
It's really one of the most satisfying experiences ever in my life, and it makes me hungry for more — and I think our team feels just the same. (BTW - we're hiring, just in case you wondered :)
Make no mistake, scaling up a company is very hard. But this is what I signed up for in the first place, and I'm honored to be joined by so many great and talented people. The only thing we'll have to work on are our collective karaoke skills, but that's a story for another day.
— Björn Schwenzer, COO at WunderGraph- Many joined because of personal connections, trust, and the leadership's reputation.
- The underdog - a lot of our colleagues love the build stage, the momentum, and the chance to create something better than the industry standard.
- The work itself- especially for the engineering team, where our focus on engineering excellence, open source roots, technical challenge, and creative autonomy has been a major attractor for builders, engineers, and storytellers.
- Culture and Values - transparency, an egoless and collaborative team, our international environment, and high ownership came up repeatedly.
Challenging environment
Plenty to learn while solving real problems.
Belonging
The people and the diversity. That sense of belonging with purpose — building a company you believe in alongside people you trust — is a major retention factor.
Compensation
It came up playfully but meaningfully. People appreciate that WunderGraph is starting to formalise growth frameworks, salary reviews, and equity, tying individual contribution to company success. Staying here feels like building something that will pay off both financially and personally.
Learning
As one Wundernaut mentioned in an anonymous survey: "The founders are great mentors. I learn a lot from everyone in the company."
As Bjorn said, “I want to build the company I always wanted to work in.”
We all do. And in 2025, we took big steps toward that vision.
Here’s to scaling with intention, and to the culture we’re co-creating. We have the autonomy and the space to build a culture we are proud of, one that feels good from the inside. We also have the responsibility to do so, for the people who are here and for those who will join us along the way.
If you’re interested in speaking with us, please review our current open roles . Reach out to Alex or Mariya — we’re always open to a conversation:
We're HiringIn an industry that can feel cutthroat, we've built something different. A culture where people want to work together, build something great, and actually enjoy the process. That's not just nice to have. It's our competitive advantage, and it's why we're going to win.
— Jens Neuse, CEO at WunderGraphAlexandra Stoica
People and Culture at WunderGraph
Alex is the People and Culture Lead at WunderGraph and brings over a decade of experience helping start-ups and global teams grow with purpose. On a daily basis, she designs frictionless processes and strategies that make scaling possible and exciting. She helps us build a winning team by hiring top talent globally. During her career, she developed expertise in the end to end employee lifecycle experience, from People Operations and leadership development to culture, engagement, talent acquisition and wellbeing. She is a strong advocate of remote work, lifelong learning, and the power of cross-cultural exposure. Alex writes about how the future of work looks like, as well as recent developments in WunderGraph's team and culture.
