How Reconi is scaling a shifting identity landscape

Summary

Frank Jonker, co-founder and Managing Director of Reconi, shares his perspective on the evolving landscape of digital trust. A domain where integrity, verification, and regulatory alignment have become non-negotiable. As identity services mature from technical tools to strategic infrastructure, companies in this field face increasingly complex choices. Reconi explored how to strengthen its position and broaden its expertise. All while retaining full operational independence. Joining Your.Online provided a framework to grow with focus and gain long-term direction in a market that is only beginning to take shape.

Key messages

• The digital trust market is maturing and strategic decisions today will shape tomorrow’s position.
• Reconi is scaling with precision, not speed, strengthening what works while preparing for what’s next.
• Joining Your.Online brought a broader perspective, without giving up independence.
• Collaboration with like-minded peers unlocks new insights in a complex and evolving environment.

Trust infrastructure and rising expectations

The emergence of digital trust as a core layer of online infrastructure is no longer speculative. It’s happening and it’s accelerating. Where trust used to be implicit, perhaps a matter of brand reputation or standard encryption, it is now formalized, audited, and written into contracts.

Frank Jonker, Managing Director at Reconi, has spent more than a decade at the intersection of identity services and regulation. In his words: “In our early years, being secure was a feature or even a unique selling point. Today, it’s the minimum requirement to operate.”

New frameworks such as eIDAS 2.0, DORA, and NIS2 are reshaping how providers approach everything from onboarding and encryption to the storage of credentials and signature validation. But it’s not only about regulation. According to Frank, the trust market is becoming professionalized. Clients, especially in healthcare, legal, and government, expect providers to think ahead. Not just stay compliant.

Operating in this environment requires a different mindset. Traditional growth levers like speed or price don’t apply in the same way. What counts is reliability and the ability to prove it.

From strong position to strategic alignment

When Reconi joined forces with Your.Online, it became part of a long-term investment group that operates under the umbrella of Your.World. This is a European platform supported by the family-owned investment firm Strikwerda Investments. Within this structure, Your.Online brings together entrepreneurs in distinct focus areas. Reconi joined the Trust segment, alongside other companies working at the forefront of digital identity and compliance.

“We knew we didn’t want a partner who would take control or rush us into new markets. What we needed was the ability to challenge our own assumptions and speak with people who understood the dynamics.”

Reconi made this move from a position of strength. The company had built a resilient business, with a deep focus on electronic identity and a strong customer base in the Netherlands. “We weren’t looking for a way out. We were looking for the right lens to scale,” Frank explains.

Your.Online offered a different path: a buy-and-hold model, built on decentralized operations and strategic patience. “They didn’t show up with a set of instructions. They listened. They challenged. And they committed not to taking over, but to enabling.”

A domain defined by nuance

Trust is not necessarily a volume game. “We’re in a space where credibility is earned slowly and lost instantly,” says Frank. “That changes how you think about growth.”

While other digital sectors may reward fast iteration or aggressive market entry, digital trust requires careful calibration. Reconi operates in a landscape where certification standards (like ETSI, eIDAS and ISO 27001) are not just boxes to check; they are living systems that affect every product decision.

“Scaling in trust means solving for complexity, not size,” Frank notes. “It means knowing when not to automate. When to build in redundancy. When to pause instead of push forward.”

Your.Online understood this. Unlike PE-backed consolidators, there was no pressure to consolidate platforms or unify branding. “The only goal was to create clarity and to protect what works.”

Turning ideas into action

One of the less visible, but highly valuable aspects of being part of Your.Online is the ability to make strategic ideas actionable. “We don’t operate on targets or timelines,” Frank explains. “But we do challenge each other on how we approach commercial decisions, how we respond to market shifts, and how we structure our go-to-market strategy.”

That level of peer sparring brings clarity. Founders within the Trust segment regularly exchange insights on regulation, competitive positioning, commercial strategy, daily operations, and customer journeys. Not to standardize, but to sharpen. In an emerging market, that kind of dialogue turns intuition into sharper decisions.

“When you identify an interesting company – the kind you’d usually just keep an eye on – you suddenly have the expertise and capacity to explore that opportunity seriously.”

This approach captures the essence of what the partnership is about: not exiting or stepping back, but having the right support to build what you believe in with focus, conviction, and the ability to act when it matters.

Building without urgency, scaling with intent

For Frank, one of the most important aspects of the partnership is the absence of urgency. “There is momentum, but no pressure. That’s rare.”

In many trust-related industries, external capital often comes with trade-offs: faster targets, tighter timelines, and reduced autonomy. But Your.Online’s model, anchored in a permanent capital approach, allows for measured decision-making.

“We can still be ambitious,” Frank notes. “But we’re not rushed. That means we invest in the right capabilities at the right time. It also means we keep control over how we serve our customers.”

That long-term lens also fosters stability internally. “Our team knows we’re not building to flip. That clarity changes how people think, plan, and commit.”

What comes next and why it matters now

The trust market in Europe is still early-stage in many ways. Fragmented and under transformation. But the signals are clear: demand for secure, compliant, and transparent identity solutions is growing across every sector. From public tenders to private platforms, the need for certified trust services will only accelerate.

“We don’t know exactly what the market will look like in five years,” Frank admits. “But we know it won’t be simpler.”

That’s why the choices Reconi makes today are not about short-term efficiency, they are about long-term readiness. And for other founders in this space?

“If you’re in trust, you already know how critical your role is. The question is: how do you want to scale? Alone, or with a partner who shares your view of what’s at stake?”

Let’s talk

Are you navigating similar dynamics in the trust space? Let’s have a conversation. Not about selling, but about sharing. Frank is available for one-on-one meetings to exchange insights and strategies with fellow entrepreneurs in digital trust. No agenda, just an honest conversation about where this market is going.