Bending Spoons, Europe's third-largest SME in terms of workplace: the secrets of a company with 1 billion users.

Bending Spoons , a Milan-based IT software development company, has taken the top spot among the best workplaces in Europe in the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) category. Although Italy has only three companies among the 100 European companies considered Great Places to Work , lagging behind other countries on the continent, the Milanese company is on the podium, in third place, thus standing out from the average. This is what emerges from the 2025 edition of the Best Small & Medium Workplaces in Europe ranking, compiled by Great Place to Work , a leading global research and consultancy organization for organizational culture, based on the opinions and views of over 1.5 million European employees . The ranking comprises the 100 best European companies , representing 21 countries, certified as Great Places to Work and with between 50 and 499 employees in the Old Continent.

Bending Spoons, founded in 2013 in Copenhagen and headquartered in Milan, is a prime example of a company that combines ownership of highly recognized digital brands with strong in-house technical capabilities. Through applications such as Evernote, komoot, Meetup, Remini, StreamYard, and WeTransfer, it positions itself among the global digital players. Reaching nearly one billion users is a significant milestone, but according to the company itself, it's just the beginning. The company creates shareholder value by acquiring a digital company with untapped potential and making it as effective as possible by leveraging its platform, expertise, technology, data, and talent. The proceeds are used to make the platform more powerful and acquire new companies.

One of Benging Spoons' flagship products, used by thousands of users: the WeTransfer program for transferring large files

Bending Spoons is a company specializing in the technology development and management of popular digital products. Evernote is one of the most popular apps for taking notes, organizing ideas, and syncing content across devices; komoot guides outdoor enthusiasts in planning hikes and itineraries; Meetup helps people with similar interests connect; Remini improves image quality; StreamYard enables professional streaming; WeTransfer facilitates large file sharing. Together, these services generate an overall impact that goes far beyond the sheer number of users: the spectrum is global, with nearly a billion people who, directly or indirectly, use the platforms launched by Bending Spoons or the services it develops. The name Bending Spoons means "spoon bending," and derives from the ability to bend a spoon with the power of thought (like in the movie The Matrix), that is, doing something thought to be nearly impossible in an alternative way.

It's not just about owning popular applications. What differentiates Bending Spoons is the strategic choice to not limit itself to acquiring or using external technologies , but to invest in its own technical infrastructure . The company develops internally the algorithms , interfaces, and scalability systems necessary for platforms with tens or hundreds of millions of users to function without failure. This approach allows for greater control, faster updates, vertical integration into emerging features, and often better results in terms of reliability and performance.

Great Place to Work's Top 10 Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Going into even more detail and analyzing the top 10 best workplaces in Europe, we see that the top spot on the podium is occupied by the Swedish IT company Castra AB , followed by the Austrian willhaben internet service GmbH & Co KG and the Italian IT company Bending Spoons , which deals with software development. Completing the top ten are the Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish mnemonic (professional services), the Austrian comprei Reinraum-Handel-und Schulungs GesmbH (professional services), the Dutch Blue Bricks (professional services), the Portuguese Mind Source (information technology), the Danish VELA (manufacturing and production), the Spanish Redarbor (information technology), and the Danish Abakion (information technology).

Italy boasts a total of three companies , including Milan-based Bending Spoons, ranked third. Other Italian companies ranked among the best workplaces in Europe include Alnylam (24th) , a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company, and Skylabs (93rd), a digital IT consultancy. "The 2025 edition of the Best Small & Medium Workplaces in Europe ranking confirms that Italy is still not a country where people are listened to (the European Workforce Study published this year by Great Place to Work itself demonstrated this). However, even in a national context where listening to and supporting employees is not yet a widespread priority, some Italian companies manage to stand out as virtuous. These companies are breaking the mold of an organizational culture still too tied to control and hierarchy, focusing instead on trust, shared responsibility, and the valorization of people," explains Alessandro Zollo, CEO of Great Place to Work Italy.

This recognition is based on confidential survey data that evaluates employee experiences with trust, innovation, company values ​​and leadership. Organisations are also evaluated on their ability to create a “For All” work experience, where everyone in the company feels welcome and valued, regardless of who they are or what role they hold. When comparing European countries, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom lead the ranking with 13 organisations each, followed by Spain (12), Germany and Sweden (10) , Belgium, France and Norway (7), Cyprus, Denmark, Greece and Portugal (5), Austria (4), Finland, Ireland, Italy (3), Luxembourg and Switzerland (2), Iceland, Poland and Turkey (1).

Among the sectors, Information Technology (37%) leads the way, followed by professional services (15%), other sectors (11%), biotechnology and pharmaceuticals; education and training (6%), financial services and insurance (4%), manufacturing and production (3%), and advertising and marketing (3%).

Alessandro Zollo, CEO of Great Place to Work Italy

Great Place to Work , a world leader in organizational culture, has drawn up the 2025 edition of the ranking of the 100 best workplaces at European level among SMEs with between 50 and 499 employees. Among the countries, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom stand out with 13 excellent work organizations, while Italy, with only 3 organizations present in the ranking but one of which occupies the third step of the podium, follows Spain (12), Germany (10), Belgium and France (7). Among the sectors, Information Technology (37%) and professional services (15%) dominate. "The third place obtained at European level by Bending Spoons demonstrates that it is also possible to build excellent work environments in Italy, but more listening, trust and delegation towards people is needed", declares Alessandro Zollo, CEO of Great Place to Work Italy.