In 2022, I watched a bakery in Utrecht lose its soul.
Not its recipe. Not its clients. Its soul.
The founder, warm, tireless, beloved, was the baker, the bookkeeper, the HR manager, the delivery driver. One day, the ovens stopped. Not from failure, but fatigue. The weight of too many roles, too many silent responsibilities, had buried the business in slow, invisible layers. No fraud. No scandal. Just overload.
And like many others, it happened without anyone naming the real cause: role confusion.
THE WHY
If you run a business with 3 to 20 people in the Netherlands, chances are you're doing too much, or worse, everyone is doing everything.
That sounds noble. Agile. Flexible.
But structurally? It’s a governance blind spot.
When roles blur, so does responsibility. Mistakes aren’t seen, decisions go unaudited, and trust, both internal and external, erodes. Slowly. Quietly. Until it's too late.
And here’s the twist: this isn’t about growth.
It’s about risk.
Governance doesn’t start when you hit 50 staff. It starts the moment money moves, people join, and promises are made.
THE NUMBERS
Let’s get painfully practical.
- €2,700: Average penalty from the Belastingdienst for inaccurate VAT declarations (yes, even honest mistakes).
- 41% of Dutch micro-companies that collapse do so due to internal mismanagement, not market failure.
- 20–30 hours/month: Time lost due to unclear task ownership in small teams (source: ZZP Nederland, 2024).
Every role not defined = a risk not owned.
And in the Netherlands, where liability is personal in BV structures, lack of clarity can cost you your house, not just your company.
WHAT NO ONE TELLS YOU
“Everyone here just helps each other.”
That phrase, while beautiful, is often lethal.
Dutch entrepreneurial culture loves gezelligheid, a spirit of togetherness. But in governance, too much coziness becomes collusion.
Here’s what we avoid admitting:
In micro-companies, the biggest fraudster is not a thief.
It’s the well-meaning founder avoiding difficult conversations about accountability.
If nobody knows who is auditing decisions, then everyone assumes someone is. And that’s how bad actors thrive and good actors burn out.
DECISION COMPASS
Ask yourself today:
- Who signs off on expenses and who checks them?
- Am I the only one who knows our passwords, contracts, or risks?
- If I disappeared for 10 days, would anything still function ethically?
- Do my team members understand their limits, not just their tasks?
- Have I separated my owner role from my operational role, or do I hide behind one to excuse the other?
FINAL REFLECTION
A well-run micro-company is not a family.
It’s a small republic.
Built on trust, yes, but sustained by clarity of duty.
Ethical leadership is not about doing everything yourself.
It’s about creating a structure where others can be trusted to act and to be held accountable, without fear, shame, or chaos.
Separate your roles not because you’re too important, but because the company deserves to be more than just you.
And one day, when you finally take that long overdue breath, it will still stand.
Co-Creator of Xtroverso | Head of Global GRC @ Zentriq
Paolo Maria Pavan is the structural mind behind Xtroverso, blending compliance acumen with entrepreneurial foresight. He observes markets not as a trader, but as a reader of patterns, tracking behaviors, risks, and distortions to guide ethical transformation. His work challenges conventions and reframes governance as a force for clarity, trust, and evolution.
