Alan Frei, an inspiring entrepreneur and an exciting personality, honored our first Pancakes & Muesli event as a special guest. As founder of Nachhilfeportal.de and the e-commerce shop Amorana, he has a rich experience in the field of start-up companies. During homemade pancakes and fresh muesli, he was speaking about his findings from the last four years since the founding of his most successful project, the adult toy shop Amorana.
Key Learnings as Startup Founder
On his way from a startup founder to an entrepreneur with currently 26 employees, Alan Frei faced two great challenges that have shaped his future.
- As a young entrepreneur, you are confronted daily with new opportunities that could be potentially useful but are also costly to pursue. It is important not to lose focus on the core business and to concentrate on the essential. This also includes “saying no to 9 out of 10 ways but going all-in with the few selected”.
- As a startup, you are more dependent than ever on your own employees, because they have a massive influence on the success of the company. They must therefore be selected extremely carefully, not only in terms of their abilities but also in terms of their fit into the team structure. In doing so, care should also be taken to ensure that new employees bring new knowledge and expertise that could be useful to the company in an expansion phase.
E-Commerce - Many Opportunities, Some Dangers
Online shops offer many opportunities but also some dangers, which must be considered especially as a startup company. Even if the sales process takes place on the internet, each individual customer should be treated personally in order to establish the basis for a long-term relationship. Customer friendliness and focus are central components to which every e-commerce shop should assign the highest priority.
- Short delivery times
- Straightforward return options
- Courteous customer service
- No delivery costs
These are factors that can make the difference between buying and not buying with the large number of online shops.
As a link between e-commerce and retail business, small stores are another way to stand out from the competition. They offer customers a physical shopping experience in an inspiring location where they can enjoy individual advice and get the chance to try out various products.
Marketing Channels - Experience Pays Off
Alan Frei, CMO at Amorana, is convinced that “every marketing tool can work, it’s only a question of price”. For example, his company spends a significant portion of its marketing budget on Google to ensure a high advertising position through paid and organic ads. With all the experiences made in the past years, Amorana is able to outperform his competitors.
With Alan Frei, the Pancakes & Muesli event series got off to a successful start. We are looking forward to November 13th, when Samy Liechti, CEO and co-founder of Blacksocks, will provide the next inspiring breakfast experience - learn more.
Westhive AG,