Joris Olde Bijvank is the founder, co-owner, and Chief Technology Officer of Upper Spire. As a passionate technologist and creator, Joris believes that software has the power to transform businesses and lives. He started Upper Spire to solve real-world problems he observed in the Salesforce ecosystem. Outside of this business, Joris is also a music producer, a creative pursuit that mirrors his innovative approach to technology.
We sat down with Upper Spire’s CTO to discuss his personal journey, the vision behind Cartularius, and how passion drives the product forward.
Interviewer: Joris, you founded Upper Spire back in 2016. Can you tell us about your background and what led you to start the company?
Joris: Absolutely. I’ve worked with Salesforce for quite a long time, initially as a consultant implementing CRM solutions for various clients. When I started Upper Spire in 2016, it was a Salesforce consulting firm. The goal was to help businesses get more out of their Salesforce orgs, like cleaner data, better workflows, and custom solutions tailored to their needs. Over those years of consulting, a pattern quickly emerged: Many organizations struggled with document management inside Salesforce.
I remember seeing teams store contracts, PDFs, and all sorts of files in clunky ways. It was inefficient, prone to duplication, and lacked any clear structure. We’d deliver a beautiful Salesforce implementation, but then the client would ask, “How do we deal with our documents?” and there wasn’t a great answer at the time. Recognizing that recurring pain point sparked the idea for Virtual Private Storage. Around 2020/2021, I pivoted Upper Spire from purely consulting to becoming a product company. We built the first iteration of what would become Cartularius to address the document chaos we’d witnessed directly. It was a big leap, essentially going from project-based work to developing a product, but it was the natural next step in our journey.
Interviewer: What drives you personally and professionally as a technologist and leader?
Joris: I’m driven by a love for creation and problem-solving. From a tech perspective, I get excited about crafting elegant and valuable solutions. Like you mentioned, I believe great software can genuinely transform how people work and even improve their lives. That philosophy keeps me going on tough days, the idea that a piece of code we write or a feature we design can save someone hours of frustration or help a business run smoother. As a leader, I’m motivated by continuous learning and innovation. The tech world (and the Salesforce ecosystem) evolves so fast; there’s always something new to learn or a new challenge to tackle. I consider myself a lifelong student of technology. On a personal level, I also really value authenticity and quality in what I do. If we’re building a product, I want it to be top-notch and genuinely solve the problem, not just be a flashy add-on. Lastly, seeing our team grow and thrive is a big motivator for me. I started Upper Spire by myself, and now we have a team of passionate people. Watching others contribute ideas and make the product better is incredibly fulfilling.
Interviewer: How did the idea for Cartularius specifically come about, and how did you choose the name?
Joris: The idea for what eventually became Cartularius began with a practical challenge. I initially set out to create a dating platform on Salesforce but soon discovered that storing large volumes of files in a structured, native way was expensive and inefficient. This led me to build Virtual Private Storage, a cost-effective solution that provides inexpensive, structured file storage using Amazon S3. Over time, as we rolled out Virtual Private Storage and encountered recurring document management issues in our consulting work, it became clear that a more comprehensive, native solution was needed. We became an ISV Partner and launched our first version, which focused on secure file storage integrated with Salesforce.
As the product evolved into a full-fledged document management platform, we also realized it deserved a name with a stronger identity. After debating several options that never fit, Martijn suggested Cartularius. When he mentioned it, the three of us, Martijn, Marco, and I, were immediately hooked. Drawing from Latin, where a cartularius was historically a keeper of records or an archivist of important documents, the name perfectly encapsulated our mission: safeguarding and organizing vital documents for our customers. It’s a name with a story behind it that resonates with our commitment to being the trusted gatekeepers of companies’ archives, sparking conversation and quickly becoming a beloved identity among our users.
Interviewer: What have been some key milestones or lessons learned in developing Cartularius?
Joris: One key milestone was that first deployment with a client, seeing Cartularius work in an actual production Salesforce org and watching users react. That feedback loop was invaluable. We realized early on that user experience would make or break adoption. One lesson was to keep the app as seamless as possible. For instance, we integrated Cartularius directly into standard and custom Salesforce objects so that users can manage files in context without jumping to another system. We made a conscious decision that our app would use the customer’s own Amazon S3 storage in the backend, which helped them stay in control of their data and avoid hitting Salesforce storage limits while still managing everything from Salesforce. That architectural decision was a milestone and a lesson in scaling, it taught us how to balance Salesforce’s native capabilities with external services for the best result.
The rebrand and launch of Cartularius (the “new” version) at the end of 2024 also stands out. It wasn’t just a name change; it marked the product’s maturing. We celebrated when we re-launched on AppExchange with the Cartularius name and many new features. Lessons learned? Oh, plenty. We learned the importance of patience and persistence; building a product takes time, and you must iterate constantly. We also learned to anticipate a company’s governance and compliance needs. Documents are sensitive, so things like permission controls, encryption, and audit trails had to be top-notch from day one. Perhaps the biggest lesson is to listen to your users, no matter how good you think your solution is. Some of our early assumptions were proven wrong once real users got their hands on the app, and we had to be humble and adjust. That willingness to iterate based on feedback is, I think, a big reason why Cartularius is where it is today.
Interviewer: On a more personal note, what outside work shapes how you lead or build products?
Joris: I’m a software developer and a music producer by profession, a passion that began as a hobby at an early age. I learned to compose music and write software on a Commodore Amiga 500 (for those who remember it). Today, when I’m not writing code, I create music under the artist name Upper Spire. Yes, the same name as our company, which always brings a smile.
Working as a music producer has profoundly influenced my approach to both creativity and leadership. Composing a track involves building something from nothing, tweaking layers, and fine-tuning sounds until they resonate perfectly with the listener. Software development follows a similar iterative process, identifying patterns, refining details, and always striving for that perfect balance. This parallel has taught me that no matter how technically advanced something is, it must ultimately connect with its audience. I apply that philosophy to Cartularius: it must feel right for the end user, not just be technically sound.
Moreover, the discipline of perfecting my art, spending countless hours in the studio, keeps me humble, patient, and ready to tackle challenges with a fresh perspective. Like software development, music production keeps my creative muscles in shape, continuously inspiring how I innovate and lead at Upper Spire.
Interviewer: What excites you about the future of Cartularius and Salesforce in general?
Joris: I’m excited about the technological advancements on the horizon. For Cartularius specifically, integrating AI and smarter automation is a game-changer. We’re looking into AI-driven features that could automatically categorize documents, suggest tags, or even flag content that needs attention. Imagine uploading a batch of files and having the system intelligently organize them or highlight potential duplicates or compliance issues. That kind of intelligent document management gets me up in the morning. Salesforce as a platform is also pushing into AI in a big way with things like Agentforce, and since Cartularius is a native Salesforce app, we can hook into those advances. I foresee Cartularius leveraging AI to offer predictive file management (e.g., “Hey, this opportunity is missing a contract document”) or enhanced search that understands context and intent. Another aspect is the ever-growing importance of compliance and security. As regulations tighten (think GDPR, industry-specific rules, etc.), companies must keep an even closer eye on their documents. We’re poised to help by providing structured, auditable document management inside Salesforce. In general, the Salesforce ecosystem keeps expanding, new clouds, more industries, more integration with tools like Slack and MuleSoft. That expansion excites me because it means more ways to integrate and add value. For example, Salesforce is focusing a lot on flow automation; we’re working on making documents a first-class citizen in those automated workflows (so you can, for instance, file documents as part of a Salesforce Flow).
Overall, I’m thrilled that what started as a simple idea to attach files more efficiently has grown into something that can fundamentally improve business information management. And honestly, I think we’re just getting started, the best is yet to come as tech like AI and maybe blockchain (for verification) enter the document management space. It’s an exciting time to be innovating.
Interviewer: How do you see your role evolving as Upper Spire continues to grow?
Joris: In the early days, I was the one writing most of the code, managing projects, and even handling support. I was essentially the classic startup CTO who did a bit of everything. As we look to grow our development team, I envision my role evolving significantly. I plan to gradually shift from the day-to-day coding grind and focus more on architecture and long-term technology strategy. I see myself becoming more of an architect and mentor for the team, staying close to the product because I’m a builder at heart, yet embracing the broader responsibility of guiding our technical vision.
As our team expands, I anticipate spending more time on code reviews, setting coding standards, and ensuring that our technology scales robustly for the future. My role will also become more cross-functional as I work closely with Marco, Martijn, and others to align our product capabilities with customer needs and business goals. In larger organizations, it’s easy for engineering to become siloed, so I’m committed to bridging that gap, keeping our development efforts in tune with user feedback and vice versa.
I also look forward to becoming more outward-facing, engaging with the Salesforce developer community, and sharing information about our experiences building a Salesforce-native app. Ultimately, as Upper Spire grows, I will focus on ensuring our tech foundation remains rock-solid and future-proof, fostering an engineering culture that thrives on innovation, quality, and collaboration. I’m confident that, with this approach, our team will continue building amazing things even as my role evolves.
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