New investor for BitterLiebe: The incredible success of Judith's start-up
BUSINESS | January 14, 2021
NEW INVESTOR FOR BITTERLOVE: THE INCREDIBLE SUCCESS OF JUDITH'S START-UP
FROM EDITOR
Passionate founders, an ingenious product and Judith's sales strength: BitterLiebe ignited the turbo after “The Lion's Den”. The young founders make almost ten million euros in sales with the forgotten bitter substances. In an interview, founder Andre explains what the new milestone is all about.
THERE'S A LOT GOING ON AT BITTERLIEBE. TELL US WHAT HAS CHANGED!
Yes, we have had a new investor on board since December. Arcus Capital, an owner-managed investment company, has taken over the majority. Our two early investors, Good Brands and Grenion Capital, are out but both Jan and I as well as Judith still have a significant stake.
THE EXACT SALES PRICE HAS BEEN ARISING IN SILENCE. BUT IT'S A DOUBLE-DIGIT MILLION AMOUNT, YOU CAN SAY THAT MUCH. WHAT A DEAL FOR ME AND JUDITH! HOW DID THIS COME TO THIS?
I could now say that we have written a business plan for the next three years and it has become clear that we need an additional, strategic partner for the desired growth. But actually I would have to go a little further to answer the question. Because without our participation in “The Lions’ Den” and Judith’s investment, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today.
THE SHOW TURBO STARTED YOU! BEFORE THE SHOW, YOU SOLD A FEW THOUSAND PRODUCTS, AFTER THAT YOUR START-UP WENT THROUGH THE CEILING. TODAY YOU MAKE ALMOST TEN MILLION EURO IN SALES A YEAR!
It's totally crazy. We would 100 percent do it again! The show – and of course Judith as well – catapulted us forward by about five years.
JUDITH DESCRIBES THE COLLABORATION WITH YOU AS A “PERFECT MATCH”. HOW DO YOU SEE THAT? WHAT HAS IT PARTICULARLY HELPED YOU WITH?
She taught us to learn to walk on all channels!
YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS.
Before the shipment, we only sold our products in our own online shop. Together with Judith, we then developed a so-called omnichannel strategy and are now not only available online, but also in drugstores in stationary stores and even on television on HSE24. Without Judith's contacts we wouldn't have been able to do it so quickly! We are in contact with one of their team almost every day, so the collaboration is really close. And Judith also looks at all our new products and says what she thinks about them. Fortunately, she has always been enthusiastic about it (laughs).
WHERE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT HSE24: YOUR PRODUCTS ARE EXTREMELY WELL RECEIVED THERE AND YOU REGULARLY BREAK SALES RECORDS. DID YOU THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE?
We totally underestimated selling on television. We thought we might make a few thousand euros there. A large part of our sales now come from HSE24.
YOUR STORY IS REALLY IMPRESSIVE. YOU COULD HAVE LET EVERYTHING GO LIKE THIS. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SELL PART OF YOUR COMPANY?
With the money we can simply grow faster and no growth would mean standing still for us. It would feel completely wrong to rest on our first successes. We want to make BitterLiebe even better known as a brand. We have big plans, want to expand abroad, introduce new products and so on. Otherwise it would be boring too. (laughs)
TAKE US BEHIND THE SCENES A LITTLE: HOW DOES A START-UP FIND A NEW INVESTOR?
We had support from a company that specializes in mergers and acquisitions, in banking terms Merger and Acquisitions. Together we created a business plan for the next three years and a list of potential partners. We talked to eight to ten. In the end it became Arcus Capital. Everything was just right here!
HAND ON HEART: DO YOU STILL HAVE TO WORK AFTER THIS MILLION DEAL?
The deal has definitely allowed us to stop worrying about money for the time being.
WHAT WAS THE MOMENT FOR YOU WHEN YOU SIGNED THE CONTRACTS?
That was totally emotional and it wasn't until a few days later that we realized what had happened. Someone is willing to pay so much money for what you have built over the last few years. That totally amazed us! We were never the founders who paid ourselves a fat salary or had a company car. On the contrary: we earned below average and invested every cent in the company.
JUDITH IS STILL ON BOARD, WHICH PROBABLY MAKES YOU SUPER HAPPY, RIGHT?
Total! This commitment from her to say: I believe in you and want to continue the journey with you. This is a great confirmation.