In 2011, Eva Martín, her twin sister María and Jonathan Lembergervan, started Tiendeo out of the Barcelona Activa business incubator. It was a place that quickly became too small for them and so they moved to the Palau de Mar building. Five years later, their idea to digitalise the paper publicity pamphlets that were filling up letter boxes means they now have 120 employees and ended 2016 with a turnover of more than six million euros (70% abroad) with a presence in 35 countries.
Since 2013, when they closed the fourth of the small investment rounds they have completed (for a value of a million euros), they have managed to fuel their growth with their own resources. "We have always had the income statement much in mind," Eva Martín tells VIA Empresa.
None of the three founders come from families with a tradition in business. What is it like diving into this world without knowing the environment first-hand?
The first thing you have to do is sell it at home. They find it strange that you should want to do something they know nothing about. But it was a personal need for all three of us. We wanted to create something, to be independent... In fact, we came up with the idea ourselves. Between the three of us we were thinking about an idea that could actually work, and in the end we took the crazy step of diving in head-first. We were barely over 30 and each of us had spent almost 10 years working in a different multinational company. It was a case of "now or never". Our parents said we were mad, but they gradually got used to the idea. Although my mother still sometimes says I should have become a teacher!
You began in 2011. Is the progress you have made what you imagined then?
I don't think we thought about it too much at that time! Perhaps we never imagined having such a large audience; if we look at the business plan now, we surpassed expectations in that regard. But the turnover is around what we thought then.
Has the initial idea changed much in regard to what you have ended up doing?
It hasn't changed much. We sell publicity, we digitalise the classic paper advertising pamphlets. This continues to be the basis of the business. What is true is that in the past five years the technology has changed a lot. The vast majority of our users are now on mobile, while at the beginning they were on computers. The fact of being on mobile allows us to know a lot more about what the user does and to gather more data. With geo-localisation we can now say if there is an offer in the shop they have entered. In short, we can measure the return on the investment at a level that would have been unthinkable five years ago.
In only five years some 70% of your turnover is international. How important was it for the business to quickly start operating abroad?
Our base business is very scalable because we continue to be a website that needs an audience. It is vital to be the first one in a market: for the brand image and to get users. That is why we have made such an effort. We were the first ones in Spain and that went well for us. It is also why we wanted to be the first in Mexico. In some markets we were not the first, in France we are second or third, but we have our own space and share of the market. Coming fourth in the sector is more complicated.
If the majority of buildings have signs forbidding publicity, why does Tiendeo work?
Because our publicity is tailor-made. It is not so intrusive; I don't send you offers from Carrefour if you are not interested in them. People go to the app to find what they are looking for. In marketing terms, there is not so much push. In fact, most users do not see it as publicity, but rather information. We sometimes invite users to the office so that they can show us how they use it and we see that they look for supermarket offers in order to plan their shopping.
Your clients are retailers. What reception did you get from them?
The difficulties we have encountered have been more about mentality. Spain, which was our first country and the one we have had the most success in, is the place where it was hardest to get clients. It has been difficult due to the resistance to change. They are used to doing things like they always have and changing, adapting to new technology, has been difficult for them. It is also true that we started during the worst moment of the crisis, especially in media...
Is there a different mentality in other countries you operate in?
This summer I was in Mexico visiting clients and it is very different; they are more open. The Italians and the Spanish are more conservative, but there are American companies there like Wal-Mart, which are more willing to try new technology. This feeling is something others share whenever I talk to them about it. Wal-Mart rang us themselves saying they wanted to add their publicity! In Spain no one has ever called me, and even less so a firm the size of Wal-Mart! I have to say, though, that people are starting show more interest.
Is the mentality changing?
It's changing a lot. In the end it is a matter of time and everyone opening their minds.
Tiendeo and HolaLuz were the first ones to move to what is now Pier 01. What is it like working alongside so many startups?
It's really good! Before, in Palau de Mar, it was a little like a ghost house... Now, the advantage of being the first is having the terrace... But the fact that there are so many firms makes it very interesting. Sometimes you have to wait to get the lift, which didn't happen before (she laughs), but it creates a really good atmosphere. There are a lot of young people and it is nice working there. It was a stroke of luck that Barcelona Tech City came to the building.
Have synergies between the different companies begun to appear?
We talk to everyone, and some already advertise with us. We can do things together, but there is so much programming work that the biggest fear is finding enough people to do it and of them moving to another company...
Have you established some sort of non-aggression pact in that sense?
It hasn't happened so far (she laughs), but there is a great need for more programmers! A great need!
We have seen the first successes among Catalan startups, such as with Privalia, Trip4real, Nubelo or Social Point. Will we see the same with Tiendeo soon?
We think we still have some way to go and, above all, we still want to do what we are doing. But we don't rule out anything; we are open to teaming up and accelerating the growth. However, for the moment we are able to continue growing with our own resources. Everything we make we reinvest in the company and for the moment it is enough for the pace of growth we have set ourselves. We are very comfortable where we are.
Have you received any interest in this sense?
There are always people who ask, but we have not seriously sat down to talk. And nor are we at that stage of wanting to do so.