{"id":64782,"date":"2016-07-27T06:30:45","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T04:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e52.nl\/?p=64782"},"modified":"2016-07-27T06:30:45","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T04:30:45","slug":"gerard-anton-awards-sendcloud-and-the-curse-of-the-manual-mailing-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/gerard-anton-awards-sendcloud-and-the-curse-of-the-manual-mailing-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerard & Anton Awards: Sendcloud and the curse of the manual mailing list"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten\u00a0startups from Eindhoven have been honoured with\u00a0the Gerard and Anton Award 2016. The jury of the awards\u00a0thinks these ten have all it takes to follow\u00a0the footsteps of Gerard and Anton Philips who, 125 years ago, formed the first truly successful startup in the region. Every day we highlight one of those startups. Today:\u00a0Sendcloud<\/em><\/p>\n

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Here are all ten\u00a0winners<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything on the Gerard & Anton Awards<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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The new office still looks a bit empty. There’s noting more than some desks, computers and a screen with a direct connection to Munich. “Ok, it’s not finished yet, but then again it is very cool.”<\/p>\n

Sendcloud reached the startup to watch top-10 and E52 is visiting its\u00a0team.<\/p>\n

The jury about Sendcloud: <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Quiet but powerful. Born out of frustration, like so many other startups . SendCloud gives small webshops the opportunity to offer the same\u00a0service as large companies.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks to their plugins, Sendcloud makes sending packages quick and easy for webshops. Sabi Tolou – one of the three founders – leads us around. Since last May Sendcloud is housed in a new building, covering two complete floors of a building at the Insulindelaan in Eindhoven. The old office on the top floor of BounceSpace had become\u00a0too small. The company operates in Germany with offices in Munich, Belgium is served from the Netherlands. Later this year, the startup expands to France. The objective is to be active\u00a0in all large European e-commerce countries within two years. “And then we’ll head to the United States!”<\/p>\n

The start?<\/strong><\/em>
\nIt all started about 4 years ago. Sabi Tolou, Bas Smeulders and Rob van den Heuvel are working for a major telecom provider. There they notice\u00a0the huge market for phone accessories. “It was like gold.” The three start their own shop for which they\u00a0import everything as cheap as possible from China. “It was great to combine\u00a0with our studies,” says Sabi Tolou. The shop is a success and the three get busier. “All three of us had our education, our job at the phone store as well as\u00a0the webshop. Not any free time was left, you can imagine. Especially the logistics process was hell. Continuously moving mailing lists from\u00a0our system into the system of the carrier, a terrible job.” Tolou rubs his hands through his hair and rocks\u00a0in his chair, he is full of energy. “One day we were drinking beers on a terrace and started wondering how we could improve that process. It was just so frustrating because of all the time we spent on this. That’s when the idea of Sendcloud was born.”<\/p>\n

How does it work?<\/strong><\/em>
\n“Internet shops that use our plugins get rid of the endless retyping of mailing lists. They have all their shipping labels in one click, which saves an incredible amount of time. And they don’t need to sign contracts with a carrier because we have already done that for them.” Tolou starts laughing. “You know, there are still companies that have hired\u00a0people to do this full time. Come on, you\u00a0would know ways to spend\u00a0your time a lot\u00a0more useful, wouldn’t you?”<\/p>\n

But that’s not all, Tolou says.\u00a0“In our first webshop, we missed feedback, we didn’t exactly know where our packages were about. We also received many inquiries from customers. They mailed or called where their orders were located, we couldn’t tell them. The plugins have\u00a0an automatic feedback so that everyone knows exactly where the package is and when it will be\u00a0delivered. Which is mutually convenient.”<\/p>\n

\"Sendcloud<\/a>
Sendcloud bij de uitreiking van de Gerard & Anton Awards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Biggest challenge?<\/strong>
\nThe startup is growing fast, in 2015 the founders decide to\u00a0expand the business to Germany. “This was too soon, we learned afterwards. But it was incredibly educational. In Germany you have to deal with a different business culture and the laws are different. We knew too little about the German transport market. Moreover, our German employees\u00a0did not know how we wanted to work as a company. The solution is for them to get here to Eindhoven, so everyone in the team has the same goals in mind. In the mean time, we learned\u00a0how the German market and legislation are\u00a0regulated. This is the way we will also enter the\u00a0other foreign markets.” Tolou gets up and walks to another room where a TV is hanging on the wall. “Look here, we have a constantly active live connection to Munich, we do not need to call in or anything. If something is going on and we need to discuss something then there is contact.”<\/p>\n

“But the most important thing we have learned is that you should always act, even if you do not succeed. Yes, you fail, but you gained a new experience. Sure, it sounds\u00a0so clich\u00e9 but it’s really true. People sometimes have\u00a0great ideas and are full of energy. But then they keep on lingering in the idea. To those people I keep saying: stop complaining, just go do it!”<\/p>\n

Sendcloud will remain in Eindhoven?<\/strong>
\nTolou starts laughing: “Of course we will settle all over\u00a0the world, but our HQ will always be\u00a0in Eindhoven.”<\/p>\n