Bootstrap First in Europe, Raise Money Later and Go Global in the US: Martin Verwijmeren, CEO of MP Objects (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: By the time you reached $4 million in 2015, was this still all in the Netherlands? What is the geographical footprint of your customer base?

Martin Verwijmeren: Although we had various offices around the globe, we acknowledged that we were EMEA-centered. Since we were providing our services to big international companies, the software was also used across multiple countries. Then we decided that there is global potential.

We are the selected vendor for corporations who do $10 million in revenue. They choose MPO despite us being a company with limited size. We had to professionalize our marketing and sales, and we wanted to do this from a global perspective. >>>

Bootstrap First in Europe, Raise Money Later and Go Global in the US: Martin Verwijmeren, CEO of MP Objects (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: You provide this to e-commerce companies?

Martin Verwijmeren: Yes. We have two markets. On one hand, we have brand owners including manufacturers, wholesalers, or retailers. They want to orchestrate their supply chains better. They make use of MPO. Within that market, we focus on consumer products. We also focus on industrial markets. Think about machines and capital products. We focus on high technology and healthcare.

Sramana Mitra: I see. They’re wholesalers or they’re retailers. These are the two broad configurations within those different industry sectors. >>>

Bootstrap First in Europe, Raise Money Later and Go Global in the US: Martin Verwijmeren, CEO of MP Objects (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Can you give us an example? Maybe work through a customer use case so that we understand exactly what you are talking about.

Martin Verwijmeren: I’ll also explain how we go to market. MP Objects is a platform to support companies in their supply chain orchestration so that they can, through their customers, create an e-commerce experience. For example, these days we have e-commerce players who would not only like to sell in their traditional territory but also go international. MPO helps to propel global e-commerce across countries and even across continents. >>>

Bootstrap First in Europe, Raise Money Later and Go Global in the US: Martin Verwijmeren, CEO of MP Objects (Part 1)

We’re seeing some excellent European companies make successful transitions into becoming global software companies. This is an excellent and inspiring story for European startups to emulate.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Martin Verwijmeren: I’m from the Netherlands but living in Boston these days. Before moving to Boston, I lived in Amsterdam. I was working for our European headquarters in Rotterdam. Nowadays, I’m working from our US headquarters in Boston. >>>

Bootstrapping to $13 Million from the UK: David Lloyd, CEO of The Intern Group (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: I have a few questions. In terms of university strategies, at what point did the universities start coming on board? At what point did you start closing university deals?

David Lloyd: We closed our first university deal in 2013 with Europe’s largest private university in Milan. They remain one of our best university partners. They send us between 60 to 100 students every year. It’s been a very gradual thing. Universities move slowly but between 2014 and 2018 where we are now, our partnerships with universities have grown from one to more than six. Now, it includes even Ivy League universities like the University of Pennsylvania.

Universities are gradually realizing that their students want these internships overseas. Many of them are still working out how to >>>

Bootstrapping to $13 Million from the UK: David Lloyd, CEO of The Intern Group (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: What were you doing revenue-wise? You started in 2011. What revenue level did you finish 2011 at? How long did it take you to hit the $1 million revenue run rate?

David Lloyd: In 2011, our revenue was $20,000. We hit $1 million in early 2013.

Sramana Mitra: In 2013, you’re still self-funded?

David Lloyd: Yes. We’ve always been entirely self-funded. >>>

Bootstrapping to $13 Million from the UK: David Lloyd, CEO of The Intern Group (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: The under-21 World Cup became a client of yours and they were offering internships on your platform. You started finding those interns through your platform.

David Lloyd: Exactly.

Sramana Mitra: How did you find these guys as clients?

David Lloyd: That was due to the hustle and determination of my co-founder Joanna Molina. We were all thinking what would be a good pilot. Hosting this event was very big. While it’s not a huge event by the standards in England, this was a really >>>

Bootstrapping to $13 Million from the UK: David Lloyd, CEO of The Intern Group (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: 2011 was when you started?

David Lloyd: January 2011.

Sramana Mitra: What were the circumstances? What was going on in the industry? What was going on in your own personal life? What was the idea that came out of both factors?

David Lloyd: I was working on the trading floor in Merrill Lynch in London. I recognized quickly that I did not particularly like the product. I was essentially selling hedge fund products to mitigate changes in interest rates. It wasn’t exactly aligned with a >>>