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Be bold – you always regret what you did not do

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Brick: power bank-sharing that allows users to pick up a charger in one location and return it to another. 

Please introduce yourself and your startup Brick to our readers!

My name is Emil Esselin and I’m the founder and CEO of Brick – a Swedish startup for power bank-sharing that allows users to pick up a charger in one location and return it to another. 

Today, Brick is available in 18 countries and on all continents. Our rapid global expansion has been possible thanks to our scalable and well-developed business model – and that we have succeeded in getting talented partners around the world. Their unique knowledge and experience of the local markets have been essential for our success.

How did you get the idea of Brick?

The idea for Brick was born when we realized that there are two growing problems around the world, the increased mobile dependence and poorer battery life. If you then merge the two together, you get a situation that in our opinion should not even exist.

Why did you decide to start with Brick?

We started Brick as a reaction to the development we saw in front of us. We wanted anyone to be able to charge their phone, even if you are on the go. 

What is the vision behind Brick?

The vision is clear and simple – we want to have power banks available for people who forgot to bring a charger, do not want to buy one, or simply want to continue the day even when the mobile is dying. In other words, we want to send “my battery is dead” to the past.

How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?

Brick was founded in 2019, just before the pandemic. Many of our partners, who in many cases are bars and cafes, had a hard time running their company during the pandemic. After a slow start, we saw a boom in our business during 2021 and have since then quickly expanded to several new markets. 

Who is your target audience?

Our target audience is both companies that have a natural space for anyone to charge their phone. It could be a café, restaurant or shopping-mall. But also our users all over the world, who can find, rent and return our power banks in our app. 

What is the USP of your startup?

Our scalable and well-developed business model, that differentiates us from our competitors. Also that we are available to our users, whenever and wherever they need to charge. All hours of the day and in cities all over the world – from Stockholm to Brisbane. 

Can you describe your typical workday?

During a typical workday, I am talking with Brick’s partners all over the world and looking for new markets to expand on. A lot of meetings with colleagues and various partners where we discuss how to develop and expand the company even more. 

Where do you see yourself and your startup Brick in five years?

Today we are established in all the continents, however, in five years we expect to be available in even more countries around the world, and that Brick has become the number one choice for power-bank rentals. We also believe sharing is the future and we aim to take sharing beyond power banks, because access beats ownership. As CEO, I see myself developing and building an even better and bigger organization around Brick, with many more partners and colleagues on board. 

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

My three tips to founders are (1) be bold – you always regret what you did not do, (2) listen to others and build a strong network, but always trust your vision, (3) find the right investor for your startup and go beyond the most obvious. Maybe someone wants to perform consulting services for your company in exchange for convertibles?

Thank you Emil Esselin for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

How To Create A Branded Content Marketing Strategy in 2022?

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content marketing

The primary goal of content marketing is to spread information about the brand, attract prospective customers to the sales funnel, and gain user trust. To make it easier to make the right decisions in this area, you should devise a strategy. Do you know how to write it so that your brand gets the most out of it?

The planning of actions to promote the created brand has a significant impact on the result. It is difficult to make the right decisions in marketing without knowing what the end goals are. As a result, developing a content marketing strategy for your brand is critical.

What is a Content Marketing Strategy?

A content strategy is a document that outlines all of the steps necessary to create, place, and distribute any content that will or can be used to promote a business. According to statistics, about 80% of B2B marketers report using a content marketing strategy.

Hereby, there are only 43% of those who have written it as a document. A well-developed marketing content strategy allows you to understand many important things, including:

  • Content your target audience (TA) requires;
  • The topics that will be interesting for your TA, the issues to be disclosed, etc.;
  • Specialists that must be involved in writing content. Fortunately, there is a wide range of such experts available. Visit best essay writing services if you need professional assistance with content creation;
  • Effective platforms for publishing content for promotion;
  • Assessing the effectiveness of published content for your brand.

How do you create a brand content marketing strategy?

Every decision in the content marketing process, from an idea to content promotion, is driven by strategy and planning. Let’s look at how to create a content marketing strategy for your brand:

1. Target audience analysis (TA)

The first step in developing a content marketing strategy includes the creation of a TA portrait. Following that, you will be able to better understand what content is appealing, useful, and worrying to your audience. For example, suppose you create content for teenagers. Consider answering questions like, “How do I find a writing company to write my term paper?” or “How do I effectively prepare for a semester exam?”

You risk wasting time and money if you plan to create articles without first analyzing the audience as a properly chosen topic for content (article, video) significantly increases the likelihood of getting traffic and increasing sales rates.

2. Competitor Analysis

Identify five major competitors and study their content. Consider the following factors:

  • Channels they use to communicate with their TA (social networks, blogs, emails, etc.);
  • Content they publish (form of content delivery, frequency of publishing);
  • Which content is most successful and appealing to their TA.

During the competitor analysis, you can make notes of the most successful content cases. This will help you understand what not to do and think about content that will help your brand stand out from the crowd.

3. Keyword research

Keywords are still important for content. If you want your posts to appear at the top of search engine results pages in organic search results, you must use keywords in your content.

At the same time, keep in mind that you create content for people. As a result, it should be useful for TA and answer their questions.

4. Planning of publications

The content plan in marketing is just as important as the creation and promotion of materials. It is built in the form of a table, with each publication specifying the purpose of its creation, the format of placement, the intended effect (transitions to the site, likes, etc.), the date of publication, and the placement channel. If you do not have time to create content on your own, you can delegate it to professional websites such as best essay writers online.

5. Content promotion

After you have prepared and posted the material, you must inform people so that they will visit the site and convert. It can be accomplished using many tools, including social media, contextual advertising, email newsletters, and organic search.

6. Analysis of the outcomes

It is time to assess the results. Which factors should be considered?

  • The volume of new traffic brought;
  • Conversion;
  • Social media activity;
  • Brand recognition.
Conclusion

These days, there is a wide range of tools available for promoting content. As a result, it is critical to select the best option while keeping the specifics of your business niche in mind.

It should be noted that business does not allow for rash or impulsive decisions. After all, all of your choices will have an impact on the outcomes. The development of a good content marketing strategy, based on the crucial data about buyers and competitors, will allow you to use the most effective way to promote and make the best decisions for your brand.

Photo by pixabay

Autor: Frank Hamilton

More articles from Frank Hamilton you can find here

Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

It is important to have a clear target of what you want to achieve

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Unlimint: A constantly evolving financial interface for innovators

Please introduce yourself and Unlimint to our readers!

My name is Irene Skrynova, I am 27 years old and I am the Chief Customer Officer at Unlimint. Unlimint is a global fintech company founded in 2009, and it currently operates from 16 offices all over the world, from APAC to LATAM, with over 400 employees. We offer a large portfolio of financial services to businesses – from acquiring (payment processing) to banking and issuing. In my current role, I’m focused on commercial success through opening up new opportunities, expansion, optimization, and creating successful teams. My expertise lies in online payments, acquiring, and crypto, and is spiced up with a deep understanding of consumer psychology through a marketing background.

How did you come to join Unlimint?

I joined Unlimint more than four years ago, after having worked in other fintech organisations including within the crypto and finance fields. Joining Unlimint was a logical step in my career journey and I’m glad I’m here at such an exciting time for industries like online payments and crypto.

What is the vision behind Unlimint and the company’s mission?

Our mission is to be “ready for tomorrow” to provide our customers with a sense of stability in the ever-changing financial landscape and to give them an opportunity to be prepared for whatever the tomorrow of business brings their way so that while others observe, they can be one step ahead. We utilise our technological stack to deliver all of entrepreneurs’ financial needs in a single platform and to simplify complex processes to ensure our clients get what they need to expand and grow globally.

Who is Unlimint’s target audience?

Innovative digital and online businesses, from eCommerce to gaming and crypto.

What’s your role within Unlimint and what are you responsible for?

As a Chief Customer Officer I’m responsible for the Customer Development Strategy and oversee all activities of the department globally (Europe, Asia, and LATAM) to ensure the strategic targets and KPIs are met. My team proactively grows the business by expanding and developing relationships with the merchants and partners, ensuring the highest level of client service, and exceeding team commercial goals.

How difficult was the start of your career in fintech and which challenges did you have to overcome?

I’d say that fintech is a relatively new field that hasn’t been taught in universities so you had to gain all the knowledge on the go. I was studying almost everything I could find and put an effort into building my own experience and point of view. As a young woman, I was quite lucky to be supported by many people who believed in me.

What is the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of Unlimint?

Unlimint provides solutions that go beyond acquiring, including banking, card issuing, and banking as a service, as well as a platform developed especially for the gamedev industry. This way, we are able to address a number of our customers’ challenges at the same time, backing the technical side of things with deep local expertise.

Can you describe your typical workday?

As I manage a global team, my typical morning starts with a catch-up with our APAC team who are located in Hong Kong, Xiamen, and Singapore. I am very number-centric and every day when I arrive at the office I start with an overview of our payment performance and other metrics over a cup of coffee. The workdays with our European team are very dynamic, usually fully packed with internal discussions and meetings with our clients. The second part of the day is when our LATAM team steps in and more time is dedicated to our Brazilian and Mexican teams.

Where do you see yourself and Unlimint in five years?

Personally, I feel that I’m at the right place now as the company is well aligned with my values: it is ambitious, international, and fast-growing, at the same time it is very innovative, and I’m planning to continue the journey with them. The online payments industry is now more dynamic and challenging than ever. In the next years, I see that Unlimint will continue to expand and evolve with transaction volumes growing across the globe. For sure it will introduce new business models to satisfy the business needs of other client profiles. All of that reveals a need for constant modernization and infrastructure update to open up the possibility to enter new markets overseas.

What three tips would you give to fellow women in tech?

It is important to have a clear target of what you want to achieve and where exactly you see yourself in your career. A strong vision will shape the reality and lead you to the expected future sooner or later. Secondly, people are vital for success, and as a leader, you need to be supportive of your team. Sharing a vision of the desired future with them is the best way to achieve extraordinary results.

More information you will find here

Thank you Irene Skrynova for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Green Alley Award 2022 finalist MakeGrowLab from Poland

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StartupValley
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The next Green Alley Award 2022 finalist we present you is MakeGrowLab from Poland. The startup develops oxygen and water vapor barrier coatings and films that can be either recycled like paper or biodegrade in your organic bin. With this solution, the startup contributes to tackling packaging waste, just like Flexi-Hex. Such solutions are needed because of the European Green Deal which aims at making all packaging on the EU market reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.

With 23,2% of all applications, packaging waste was also the top waste stream represented in the Green Alley Award 2022. Let’s learn more about MakeGrowLab and their innovation!

Your innovation is another great step to make packaging more sustainable. However, some consumers might not know that it is compostable. How do you ensure that consumers dispose of it correctly to benefit from its biodegradability?

Scoby Packaging Materials are based on high quality nanoscale (not visible by human eye) fibers. SPM is fiber based cellulose- just like traditional paper. We can repulp SPM with paper stream, so when SPM is applied as an additive in paper packaging it won’t cause trouble in paper recycling facilities like conventional glues or coatings. There is also a scenario that material will not get recycled at all- in this case SPM will biodegadate in the natural environment, just like paper added to compost!

What is your USP? What differentiates your material from other biobased and biodegradable plastics?

It is common practice to add fossil based additives to plastic alternatives like paper cups, water bottles from paper and similar. Our materials work without additives from fossil fuels or any other toxic releasing substances. It actually replaces these plastic based additives in paper or other plastic alternatives, giving required barrier and strength properties of packaging without releasing microplastics. Additionally we can be incorporated into many material making processes without changing the manufacturing machinery. That is a very important factor that helps incorporate SPM in many single-use products, just like plastic but without environmental burden.

Your coating is a truly circular innovation: Where do you draw the food waste from that is needed to produce the coatings and films?

It is important to mention that MakeGrowLab can use a variety of feedstocks from food producers like juice makers, breweries or sugar mills. Additionally we reuse substrates during SPM production that make this process even double-circular. Thanks to versatility of feedstock use we can plan scaling up production outside of Europe- where other food waste is available.

Apart from having made it to the Green Alley Award 2022 finals, what has been your last greatest success moment?

We are piloting our materials with companies like Colgate-Palmolive and we are currently raising a $2M round. With recent partnerships and programs we entered, MakeGrowLab is on pace to become the Europe’s largest producer of bacterial nano-cellulose (BNC) for packaging and textiles use.

Complete the following sentence: Our solution helps to save the world, because…?

… it incorporates production where we co-work with nature, not exploit it! Besides the process that incorporates biological systems, SPM helps to save the world because it adds barrier properties and strength to biomaterials without use of fossil fuels but with waste and power of nature. Only small addition of SPM can make biomaterials lighter and protective which will make them more affordable and safe to use by industries. SPM can make adaptation of other biomaterials faster and really contribute to replace and minimize use of plastics in packaging together.

Take your chance and watch Atelier Riforma pitch their idea live on stage in Berlin on 28th April. Register here and meet our finalist in person.

Source Green Alley Award

Paper packaging with a patented honeycomb sleeve to protect fragile items

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Today, let us present you the next Green Alley Award 2022 finalist: Flexi-Hex! The brothers Sam and Will Boex developed a paper packaging with a patented honeycomb sleeve to protect fragile items. They got inspired for their innovative idea by their hobby surfing. Having a close connection to the ocean and being passionate about protecting the planet’s marine environment, they were looking for a solution for transporting their surf boards without using plastic and without running the risk of damaging them. Their recyclable, biodegradable and natural material is their contribution to counteract the plastic pollution of the oceans. So, being a Cornwall-based, coastal business obviously had a strong impact on Flexi-Hex. Let’s see if their country of origin, the UK, also had an impact. Read the interview and learn more about the startup.

The circular economy scene here in the UK is vibrant. British consumers are hyper aware of greenwashing and asking probing questions to businesses on what materials they are use in their products, what their manufacturing process looks like and what packaging they are choosing to protect their goods. Every element of the product offering has to be considered and packaging is just one component – and one that we are obviously passionate about!

This consumer interest has led to a growth in start ups looking at circular economy business models, but also pushing established brands to improve the way they work. We’re fortunate to have customers and partners who put sustainably at the top of their agenda, however there is still a long way to go to make circularity mainstream. There are a lot of questions around what it really means and how companies can set out to achieve it.

We’re also seeing growth in the term “regenerative businesses”, one where a company leaves a net positive impact on the planet, leaving more resources for generations ahead. This term is something we have recently built into our vision however is again, not an easy one to achieve with current technology within the packaging industry. But we promise to stay on the forefront of innovation, to keep asking questions and continue to seek out solutions so that one day we might achieve our vision.

The most exciting trend we’ve seen within the packaging industry is the developments of paper material and the possibilities of making it from seaweed or grass, both of which are showing to have better sustainability credentials that virgin or recycled paper.

Can you describe how does your material behaves in the paper stream and how the biodegradation process of it ultimately works?

Paper is made using plant-based cellulose fibers such as wood and starches which means it is naturally biodegradable within 6 months. Admittedly, there are chemicals added during the production process but fortunately this does not affect the biodegradation.

Another main benefit of paper is that it can be recycled up to 6 to 7 times and kerbside recycling is available across the UK, Europe and USA. Most importantly, consumers understand paper as a material and know how to correctly dispose of it by recycling or composting at home. To support this statement, ‘paper is the most recycled packaging material in Europe with an 84% recycling rate’ – CEPI, March 2022.

What is the benefit of your paper alternative over others? Where do you see your USP?

In a growing e-commerce market, there’s a lot of cardboard packaging that goes to waste. That gets ripped open never to be used again. That doesn’t actually protect what’s inside. That’s incongruous with the craft and care of the product people are investing in. We are proud to be the first business to design a paper honeycomb sleeve that’s as flexible as it is protective. One that’s natural, plastic-free, lightweight and thoughtfully designed with people and planet in mind. A sleeve that fits your product no matter what. And one that seamlessly fits in with the look and feel of your brand, enhancing the consumer experience.

We believe our packaging is not only beneficial for brand perception and loyalty, but also helps drive supply chain efficiencies and reduce logistics costs. The sleeves are incredibly compact and can stretch up to 35 times their natural state, making them easy to store and saving companies up to 80% in storage and shipping fees. All our cardboard solutions use minimal material and are designed to protect only the necessary parts of the product to avoid excessive waste. Having passed rigorous European drop tests, the unique structure of our honeycomb sleeves has proven to be incredibly impact resistant, reducing breakage rates to less than 1%.

We’re constantly innovating our products, so they are not only biodegradable, recyclable and plastic-free; but strong, flexible, and easy to use.

Your packaging solution is already utilized for sports equipment, bottles, cosmetics, homeware, and electronics and you already established an international business partner network (US, Europe, Asia, Australasia). What are your next (expansion) goal?

Although we have tailored packaging solutions for the aforementioned industries, we’ve only really taken significant market share in the UK drinks market, so our expansion goals are to continue gaining traction in these markets as well as new ones such as the art and framing market, automotive, pharmaceutical etc.

We are also looking to improve our supply chain and we have recently hired a dedicated team to develop and manage how we source and distribute our products to ensure it runs as efficiently and sustainably as possible.

Complete the following sentence: Our solution helps to save the world because…?”

… it is tackling packaging design with thought and care for the people and our planet.

Take your chance and watch Flexi-Hex pitch their idea live on stage in Berlin on 28th April. Register here and meet our finalist in person.

Source Green Alley Award

Enjoy the stress, there will be a ton of it.

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Numarics business operating system that completely (OS) covers business management for SME, entrepreneurs and finance experts

Please introduce yourself and your startup Numarics to our readers!

Hi, I’m Kristian Kabashi, co-founder of the Swiss fintech startup Numarics.

Recently, with Numarics we introduced the world’s first business operating system (OS) that completely covers business management for SME. Used by entrepreneurs, finance experts and accountants alike, Numarics eliminates all need for orchestrated use of disparate accounting and finance software. Startups get the services of a CFO and COO through one engine and the strong operations team behind it. The team of fiduciary and financial experts feeds the artificial intelligence of this engine with process flows – transforming the use of accounting and finance services. Currently Numarics is available for in Switzerland registered businesses.

How did you get the idea of Numarics?

The idea of numarics was over a decade old and only waited to be realized during this time.

I remember it very clearly when I was still with my ex wife, she was sitting in the kitchen and working hours on an Excel spreadsheet, she was an auditor at one of the “Big Four”. I looked over her shoulder and said “You know that this work will be automated pretty soon“, she did not take it very kindly and I remember how irritated she was and how she said “you know how much I had to learn to be able to do this job“.

Why did you decide to start with Numarics?

Running a business has not changed basically since the old ages of Mesopotamia which is approximately 1000BC, the framework of running your business has stayed the same, the only thing that changed was the material of engagement from stone, to papyrus to Excel.

Running your business has become similar to going to the dentist, yes you need to do it, but I never heard someone who says that they enjoy doing so.

We are in a world where we have an app or a solution for basically everything yet in business we keep working with archaic software which is decades old and as much fun to use like your abacus in school.

What is the vision behind Numarics?

The world has moved over the past century from the blue collar to the white collar worker, Numarics will become the engine to enable the blank collar worker, the worker that leverages advanced technologies to enable the second renaissance. 

The pandemic has created a seismic shift which we have not seen since the industrial revolution, decades of change occurring basically over the timespan of a pandemic. The office has become just a place like any other place in any other city, country or continent. To empower this trend we need to empower business owners and entrepreneurs to be agile and mobile as the dynamic world we now live in, software should be an enabler, a simplifier to get things done and not a burden which enables procrastination, cost and frustration.

We want to empower these business owners and entrepreneurs to always have their CFO/COO with them who helps them to make the best decisions possible while optimizing their business growth.

How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?

The funny thing is that when it comes to the business idea and to the technology we use, everything was straightforward from day one. The difficulty was to connect business cultures. Since our team is very diverse in profession and also execution, it was very hard to synchronize the mindset of water and agile, MVP versus perfection, efficiency versus effectiveness.

Everyone we talked to and showed what we created always asked us the same question, why did not anyone else do this before and the answer was, people like in our team would not have met or ever worked together and it had to be many coincidences for us to come together as a team and emulgate water and oil to a smooth solution.

Who is your target audience?

We want to support SME entrepreneurs with less than 100 employees. Business owners who hate their administration but love their business.

What is the USP of your startup?

I call ourselves the senior startup since all founders are not the typical out of the university kind of guys but already had global executive careers and decided to start a new adventure. Our team is very very diverse, we have people like Dominique Rey (CEO) who has a background in auditing.

Can you describe your typical workday?

The majority of the day are micro decisions, lots of them. I think this is also a big part that distinguishes startups from enterprises. While I had to do up to 5 decisions a week as a global executive, within the startup world I have to do five daily if not more.

Where do you see yourself and your startup Numarics in five years?

Our vision is that Numarics becomes the engine of the new gig economy post Covid. We want to empower every business with a toolset that is usually only reserved for large enterprises with deep pockets. 

I want entrepreneurs in Europe to think of Numarics when thinking of running their business basically out of their pocket and have the security with them that their business is 24/7 in secure hands.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

Start with an MVP, and show it to as many people as you can and ask them, would they be willing to pay for it and if yes, how much. It is absolutely crucial to get as much information early on as possible so you dont waste unnecessary time developing something that you might think will work but really does not satisfy the needs of others.

Enjoy the stress, there will be a ton of it. Put yourself again into kindergarten shoes and take every misstep as a learning experience which you will use to make better decisions going forward.

Look after yourself, sleep, train and eat well, it is you, your body and your brain who need to function for several years at full speed, oil the engine and don’t wait for it to be repaired.

Thank you Kristian Kabashi for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

CEEZER closes seven-figure pre-seed funding round to revolutionise the carbon market

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CEEZERʼs digital platform makes voluntary carbon compensation and removal convenient, trustworthy and optimized for impact

Climate-tech start-up CEEZER enables European companies to filter through thousands of certified carbon reduction and removal projects across the globe, compare prices and quality points and buy high-quality carbon credits directly from carbon project developers in just a few clicks. This way, companies can compensate for their unavoidable emissions with more trust and carbon project developers work more seamlessly with corporates. 

While reducing emissions is priority number one across corporates from all sectors, many companies need to complement their climate impact by buying compensation and removal credits in a market that is expected to hit $50bn in 2030. This is especially often the case for companies that committed to net-zero pledges.

The current voluntary carbon offset market, however, can not always guarantee transparency on pricing, quality and availability. 

“We are delighted with the feedback we received around the platform so far and will continue to do everything to enable companies to act in removing CO2 from our atmosphere. With the new funding, we will grow our team of industry experts and focus on a product that ensures unparalleled transparency and guidance for both sides of the market” says CEEZERʼs CEO and Founder Magnus. Chief Product Officer Hannes, formerly at Ecosia, adds: “By providing a data driven, end-to-end platform we can offer direct transactions between corporates and developers without risking quality. This is something that has long been missing in the voluntary carbon space. ” 

CEEZER works with both large project developers across established standards as well as smaller removal players to offer access to a balanced, high-quality portfolio. Much like on AirBnB, developers use CEEZER to create listings, highlight key quality indicators of their projects, set pricing and manage their carbon credits inventory. Early partners are closely involved in defining radically new services such as price recommendations from CEEZERʼs own benchmarking algorithm. First corporate customers are using CEEZERʼs portfolio algorithm to generate climate-impact optimized credit portfolios across technologies. 

Oliver Heinrich, Partner at Picus Capital, was immediately convinced byt CEEZERʼs vision:

“Magnus and his team are building the much-needed infrastructure for the voluntary carbon market, thereby creating transparency, establishing trust and facilitating transactions. They are addressing a truly vital challenge because offsetting is decisive to fighting climate change. We couldnʼt be more excited to be partnering with CEEZER in creating positive climate impact. ” 

Source Lea Schramm | PR & Communication

Hire experts who are much better in their fields than you are

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Orderlion offers customers an e-commerce operating system for food supply chain

Please introduce yourself and your startup Orderlion to our readers!

My name is Stefan Strohmer, I am Co-Founder & CEO of Orderlion. My co-founder Patrick Schubert (CTO) and I started our company in Vienna, Austria in 2018. We offer our customers an e-commerce operating system (e-commerce OS) that we developed specifically for companies working within the food supply chain. 

With our SaaS solution, we help food suppliers and wholesalers digitize their key business processes, enabling them to connect more efficiently with different participants along the supply chain and optimize their operations. For food suppliers and wholesalers, the first step in their digital transformation is usually to digitize their ordering processes as 95% of all orders are still done via phone calls, voice messages on answering machines, and even fax machines.

Orderlion enables every supplier and wholesaler in the food industry to build their own webshop and ordering app so that their customers (e.g. restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets) can work with them more easily. In that respect, we also like to call ourselves the “Shopify of the food supply chain”. 

We are now active in 4 European countries, and our customers process over 60 million euros of order volume per year through their online portals provided by Orderlion, with a strong upward trend. Our customers and distribution partners include fruit and vegetable wholesalers, beverage suppliers, breweries and numerous national business associations (e.g. Deutscher Fruchthandelsverband e.V.).

How did you get the idea of Orderlion?

My co-founder Patrick and I had founded businesses together before. One of them was an IT consulting firm with a focus on optimizing the supply chain processes of companies. We had identified a recurring pattern among our former clients in the food industry: Time and again, we were tasked with optimizing the inefficient collaboration with their suppliers on one side and their customers on the other. They wanted to bring their outdated processes into the digital age – we identified this recurring pain point as a valid reason to develop a B2B SaaS solution specifically tailored to the food supply chain.

Why did you decide to start with Orderlion?

After Patrick and I lived and worked in Silicon Valley for a while a few years ago, it was obvious to both of us that we wanted to build a startup with a global focus and impact. With this shared goal in mind, we decided to develop a software platform that should incorporate our previous experiences as founders. Accordingly, we started working on Orderlion in 2018. 

What is the vision behind Orderlion?

Our vision is to make the global food supply chain more sustainable through digitalization. We have two goals: 1) to reduce food loss caused through inefficient planning and collaboration along the supply chain and 2) to enable thousands of food suppliers and wholesalers to grow in the long term, and thereby empower regional businesses through the creation and preservation of jobs. 

We are convinced that we can only realize a more sustainable global food supply chain if all players involved work with state-of-the-art technologies to unleash their full potential. This means in particular to develop digital solutions tailored to the specific needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as these companies make up 99% of the businesses along the supply chain. We want to be the #1 digitalization partner for them.

How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?

The food market is an absolutely fascinating industry. With billions of euros worth of goods moving across the globe every year, there are a lot of really big problems that need to be solved, offering plenty of business potential. It requires a lot of discipline to limit oneself to just one topic within this large market and focus 100% on it. Since digitizing the food supply chain can be accomplished in a number of ways, we wanted to take the time necessary to develop the right strategy and product that would satisfy our clients when we founded Orderlion.

After raising an initial pre-seed financing round from business angels, we first tested and iterated different MVPs for almost a year and a half to understand the industry and the processes that needed to be optimized in all possible details. At the beginning of 2020, we eventually had identified a scalable approach for solving the most important pain points that no one had tried before and clearly worked out our business model – this is how today’s Orderlion was born. Based on that, we closed a seed investment of one million euros with Austrian VC fund tecnet equity which specializes in B2B startups to kickstart our growth.

Who is your target audience?

Our target group are basically all suppliers and wholesalers who are part of the global food supply chain. The world of food and beverages is big, all kinds of goods have to get from A to B at any time of the day. Accordingly, our customers range from national beverage suppliers and international breweries to regional meat, fruit and vegetable wholesalers who deliver fresh products to their customers. On the ordering side, there are a large number of businesses that regularly have to order new goods and produce from their suppliers via Orderlion’s e-commerce OS. This includes restaurants, hotels, care businesses, supermarkets or international fast food chains.

What is the USP of your startup?

Orderlion is like Shopify in terms of its fundamental idea, but with the difference that it is tailored specifically to food suppliers and wholesalers. A supplier or wholesaler can link its existing inventory management system with Orderlion and then let its customers place orders via its own online store and mobile app which get provided through our platform. It basically works as if we as end consumers order something online from the comfort of our homes, only with much higher volumes.

In addition, suppliers and wholesalers can use Orderlion for optimizing their sales. With our platform, they can set up target group-specific offers and promotions to their existing customers. Our clients can also use Orderlion to make their customer support more efficient. Through a built-in chat function, every customer has the possibility to get in touch with a supplier immediately.

Can you describe your typical workday?

It depends a lot on the specific role of a founder what a typical workday looks like. In the case of our CTO, the ongoing coordination with our product development and developers as well as testing new technologies for future projects are the main areas of responsibility.

In my role as CEO, most tasks revolve around the growth of our company. Whether it is through conversations with investors, business partners, or our operational teams, my job is to make sure that everyone else can do their job as well as possible and that there are no obstacles in anyone’s way.

Where do you see yourself and your startup Orderlion in five years?

At the moment, everything at our company is geared towards international growth. After our start in Germany and Austria, we expanded into Switzerland and the UK a few months ago. These markets are developing extremely well for us. We are already evaluating which countries we will launch in next. Overall, we aim for Orderlion to become the most comprehensive online platform to strengthen the relationship between food suppliers and wholesalers and their customers and to make their collaboration more sustainable.

We aim to become the digital standard for the food supply chain so that the entire industry can work together in a data-driven and more efficient way. In the future, we want to be in a spot where we massively help reduce food loss along the supply chain as well as support regional businesses in building economic resilience and thus maintaining their independence.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

Use the first 15 minutes of each morning to write a daily to-do list. Order and prioritize your tasks by “business impact” and focus only on those throughout the day. Without compromise.

Work out your “core business” as early as possible. You can’t have too many different goals going on at the same time or you’ll have chaos in the company. As a team, with a clear main process and focus throughout the whole company, you create a higher output and better outcomes with less resources. For example, it is better to start with a very narrow customer target group instead of all of the ones that could theoretically be approached. 

Hire experts who are much better in their fields than you are. This way you can focus 100% on your tasks and your areas of responsibility. If you don’t delegate enough, it will bring a company to a halt. A team made up of strong generalists and subject matter experts will accomplish much more together than you ever could on your own. Once you find the right setup, you can watch with joy how your initial idea grows over time into something that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

Thank you Stefan Strohmer for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Never lose hope

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Myla.in home services start-up aiming to bridge the gap between the individual and small-scale service providers and the customers

Please introduce yourself and your startup Myla. In to our readers!

Myla.in is a home services start-up aiming to bridge the gap between the individual and small-scale service providers and the customers looking for quality service. We provide doorstep services and products to our valued customers through our curated and verified partners. We enable ease of access to all our services and products through our in-house digital and technology platform.

Myla.in is active in 20+ cities in India and has to date completed 25000+ orders, collaborated with 5000+ vendors who are a part of this platform.

How did you get the idea of Myla.in?

I am a serial entrepreneur with varied business interests ranging from Oil and Gas, Shipping, Marine and offshore, Food and beverages, properties, etc. Myla.in is my latest venture with a couple of my associates, whom I have known since my school days. We have been curious about how the digital revolution is constantly transforming the world. Modern technologies have changed the way we interact and communicate. It has also bridged the gap between the people and the availability of products and services. This factor drove us to venture into this startup by creating a Super app offering a myriad of services. 

Why did you decide to start with Myla. In?

The home service industry is a huge untapped sector in India and we believe our firm has a huge potential for market penetration and expansion. 

What is the vision behind Myla. In?

The vision of the start-up is to make the majority of the Indian unorganized service provider workforce a part of digital India. The approach of the founders of Myla.in is to empower the unorganized service providers of India with end-to-end digital capability of their own. In this regard, they aim not only for the domestic market but also for the global market. 

How difficult was the start and which challenges you have to overcome?

Any startup journey is a mixed bag of learning new things and challenges. But one major challenge I encountered was understanding the demand for home services in smaller cities. Though the response rate from Tier 1 cities has been exemplary, the same expectation from Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities was difficult to assess.

Who is your target audience?

Myla.in has taken advantage of rapid urbanization, leading to nuclear families with higher disposable incomes but less leisure time, where families want hassle-free service providers at their beck and call. The accelerated digitization process that has migrated from goods to services, also impacted Myla.in to cater to the shifting preferences of customers.

What is the USP of your startup?

Myla.in is dubbed as the services supermarket, where every kind of service can be bought. It offers a wide range of services. Myla.in is actively capturing the market in tier-2 or tier 3 cities much unlike its competitors who are concentrated in Tier 1 cities. 

Can you describe your typical workday?

My day begins with waking up at 5 am in the morning and doing some yoga and meditation. Typically, my entire day is hectic with meetings with different stakeholders, clients, and team members. I prefer to work aggressively during the day and perform light tasks in the evening.

Where do you see yourself and your startup Myla.in in five years?

I see myself leading Myla.in as a well-established listed global company that is known and loved for providing quality one-stop solutions for all services needs of the society through its well-established technological super app platform.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

As a startup founder, I would like to state that the journey will not be an easy path. It will have a lot of challenges. My first tip is to never lose hope. Even if the problems don’t have an immediate solution, it is important to stick around and be positive.

The second tip I would like to state is don’t burn out. It is important to create a balance and restore energy for the long-term survival of the firm.

My final tip is to be consistent and motivate yourself to achieve your goals.

Thank you Sidharth Kulbhaskar for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Transferwise founder invests in the upcoming Insurtech company Feather

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StartupValley
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Feather raises €3.8m from several unicorn founders

Transferwise’s founder Taavet Hinrikus invested €3.8m into Feather alongside founders or C-level from Monzo, N26, Go-cardless as well as insurance experts involved in the building of Clark and Element. Feather is an insurtech company in Germany that has helped +30,000 customers from over 150 countries with insurance to date.

The company was founded in 2018 by Rob Schumacher, a former McKinsey consultant with a PhD in actuarial science (insurance mathematics) and Vincent Audoire, one of the first software engineers at N26, one of the biggest digital banking companies in Europe.

One thing that makes Feather stand out is that they were already profitable and had not raised a seed round despite working with a team of 20. After meeting at Entrepreneur First, Rob and Vincent took this unusual route because they thought that “money wouldn’t help them go any faster”, and launching 9 insurance products over the last four years has proved them right.

Rob Schumacher said, “Through bootstrapping, we built a really healthy business and were actually not looking for funding. We liked that we were forced to build products that customers value – fast. Taavet and Sten were immediately excited by our vision, and in the very first meeting we had we already developed some great ideas to grow the business together. We are excited to have their functional expertise in B2C fintech but also their company building experience on board” 

Taavet Hinrikus said, “I was really impressed with how far the team has come without funding, and am excited to see another industry be made transparent and digital. There are many parallels to wise, and the potential is there to build an even bigger company.”

About Feather. Feather was founded in 2018 by Rob Schumacher and Vincent Audoire after both of them struggled to navigate the insurance system in Germany. That’s why Feather builds insurance to make all interactions easier and more transparent: from signing up and filing a claim to canceling. The goal is to give honest, unbiased advice, with all the information needed to make the right decision. And, because of how complicated insurance is, Feather offers tools, articles, and support where people can reach out to a human about problems or questions they have. Currently, Feather has helped people from over 150 countries get insurance digitally and is expanding quickly

Source Popsure Deutschland GmbH

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