On 8 June, the Flanders Meeting & Convention Centre at Antwerp Zoo was transformed into BOPE. This large-scale convention brought together various entrepreneurs from the Benelux to discuss the digitisation of the graphics sector and the challenges of tomorrow.
The programme was spectacular: speakers from Germany, the Netherlands, Panama, Denmark and Belgium underlined the international character of the event. Also speaking was our Mr Chief himself, Jesse Marynen, who gave a detailed account of our online platform INKOprint. Here is a brief recap of his – if we may say so ourselves – impressive talk!
Jesse Marynen: ‘Let me take you back to 2017. I had ordered business cards for myself. I never imagined that something so simple would change the course of my career. When the cards arrived at my home, I was blown away. The quality of the packaging almost surpassed that of the product itself. Every detail was just right. It gave me goosebumps!’
I had ordered the cards from Moo.com, which is one of the largest e-commerce printing platforms in the world. It has several production sites in the UK and US and generates more than $100 million in revenue per year. The remarkable thing is that they only use five to seven different types of paper. This gave me an idea…
“I thought about the question: what is the added value of printed matter and how will printing evolve over the next ten years? Online printers have proven their worth in recent years. They have made printed matter more accessible and popular for everyone. Just look at how easy it is to order 25 invitations today. A decade ago, that was not possible.”
“On the other hand, we are all noticing that the market is stabilising. With a wider range of products and more printing options, we need to look for new markets, with a particular focus on B2B.”
‘An online printing platform is indispensable if you want to build a future-proof printing company. So, I stood there on my doorstep, with the cards from Moo.com in my hands, and I thought I had found the answer: I’ll copy Moo.com!’
“I was looking for a business partner with an IT background and started visiting companies that could potentially help us develop the platform. We soon realised that building such a platform would cost €500,000. Money we didn’t have.”
“I started looking for investors. I remember the pitch at Cartamundi as if it were yesterday. I was standing there in a large meeting room, where four managers were looking at me with a scary look full of expectations.
Sweaty palms, shaky knees… I thought: Jesse, you HAVE to do this right. But before I could even finish my pitch, they interrupted me: Cartamundi didn’t see a future in the concept. And I got the same cold “no” for all my subsequent pitches.
I was deeply disappointed, but I believed so strongly in my project that I decided to look for a cheaper solution and finance the project myself. In Eastern Europe, I found a partner who would develop the platform for €88,000. Hallelujah!
Weeks passed. And the more time went by, the clearer it became that things would not go as smoothly as I had imagined. Communication was difficult, expectations did not match. We had to pull the plug. My project had failed and I had lost a lot of money.
“I was convinced that I had to give up on my dream. That maybe it just wasn’t “my thing”. Still, I didn’t want to just throw everything away. I was and still am convinced that e-commerce is the future. I decided to crawl under a figurative rock for a while and let the idea grow, just like a lobster does. A story that Dr Abraham Twerski can explain better than I can.”
Under that rock, I realised that it is not enough to be a copycat. To be successful, you have to stay true to your own values:
“I wanted to rework the concept, keeping my own values in mind. Start small and build step by step.”
“A customer told me: ‘Jesse, if I need special advice about paper and binding techniques, I come to Buroform. But for standard printing, I look online. It’s just easier: you choose your product, upload your file and confirm.’”
“I also regularly welcome students to the printing company for a company visit. And every time, I ask them the same question: ‘Suppose you end up working at a marketing agency, how would you order your printed matter?’ What do you think the answer was?”
‘It became increasingly clear to me: why not simply combine the best of both worlds? Niche products in an e-commerce context. I wanted to develop a version of Buroform that would be accessible to every online customer. My own values served as my compass.’
“Because I value freedom, we decided to write the platform from scratch. We want to remain captain of our own ship.”
“My love for craftsmanship is reflected in the fact that we stay close to our product. We focus on what we are good at and work with local printing partners for products we have less experience with. And, of course, our platform is fast, user-friendly and accessible to everyone.”
The sum of these three values became my new company: INKOprint.be. An online printing company that combines authentic craftsmanship with the digital future of the printing sector. It serves current and future generations who crave accessibility, ease of use and a wide range of premium products.
“And best of all, I see myself reflected in my company because it is built on my authentic values.”
Are you ready for your ‘lobster moment’?
Thanks…
Laat hier je gegevens achter. Doorgaans beantwoorden wij je vraag binnen 24 uur.
Na je aanvraag nemen wij contact op om je aanvraag te bespreken.
