CLIENTS OFBack to CodeCLIENTS OF Back to Code

Software company Back to Code helps people with autism get started in IT. What began as a small-scale side project grew into a full-fledged care organisation and an independent software company: Back to Code. With their own tool, Emmie, they help care organisations cut down on admin and free up time for real attention. The challenge? Reaching a niche market without traditional sales DNA. That's where Barry came in.

From side project to an impactful IT workplace

Bert Kat is the driving force behind Script and Back to Code. "I've always worked in IT, mostly in e-commerce. Script started in 2016 as a project alongside my day job, to give people with autism a meaningful way to spend their days." The target group turned out to be a particularly good fit for software development. What began as a project in his spare time has now grown into an organisation that around 150 people can turn to every week, with more than 40 people having since moved on to lasting, paid work.

Back to Code and the start of Emmie

Alongside the care company Script, Back to Code was founded in 2022: a separate company where seven developers now work on client projects as well as their own software product, Emmie. "We noticed that a lot of care organisations struggle with an enormous administrative burden. While you actually want to spend time on clients, not paperwork. Emmie was built from and for practice — for care workers, not accountants."

The target group: small to mid-sized care organisations that are often stuck with large, clunky software systems that don't match their scale or way of working. "Emmie is practical, affordable and precisely tuned to the reality of small-scale care."

Sales as a validation tool

Once the software was up and running, the next challenge began: finding clients. "We don't have traditional sales DNA," Bert admits honestly. "But I strongly believe: the product needs to be good first, then you go out into the world. We wanted to validate our target audience through sales — so instead of investing heavily in marketing first, discover where the fit is through sales conversations. What feedback do we get, what makes people engage?"

Barry turned out to be a logical partner in that. "We started small, then got more serious later. We wanted to discover things step by step: what's realistic, what's our place in the market?"

Barry as an extension of the team

Back to Code has been actively working with Barry since April this year. "Our market is sluggish: little time, a lot of hesitancy. In that case, it's valuable to hand over that first traction to a party that specialises in it. Thanks to Barry, we now not only have our first clients, but also far more insight into our target audience, positioning and sales approach."

Bert is pleased with the collaboration with Menno, their dedicated Barry: "He's in the office one day a week, but always reachable in between too. He thinks along with us, is proactive, and doesn't work off a rigid script but with a real feel for our story. That really makes a difference."