Logistics startup Liefergruen plans to expand across Europe

Hello Niklas, first of all, congratulations on your financing round. We have all read the Gründerszene article, and I, at least, am glad to see you looking a little more relaxed. I can imagine that it was an exciting time before the financing round. Please tell us how you feel now that the deal is in the bag.

Hi Mihai, thank you very much! Yes, it was definitely a very exciting time. The financing round was, of course, a great success for us, which we celebrated appropriately with the team. But I always look ahead. We have very clear goals for this financing round in order to set the next steps in motion.

I'm sure the Münsterländer readers already know you, but give us a brief description of what Liefergrün is.

Essentially, Liefergrün aims to revolutionize the “last mile,” i.e., the final leg of a parcel delivery, by making deliveries more sustainable, flexible, and faster for customers. 70% of all emissions in parcel shipping are generated in urban logistics. We want to finally make the last mile carbon neutral and give consumers back the joy of ordering.

To gain a better understanding, who is your typical customer? What type of companies does your solution appeal to, and can you disclose any of them?

We specifically target e-commerce. Our customer base includes retailers from various industries, such as fashion, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and food. For a little insider information: Adidas, Ivy&Oak, Dyson, and Every, among others, already deliver with Liefergrün.

We have always focused on ensuring that our investors and angels can help us advance our mission with their expertise.

Now let's get to the juicy details. At the end of August, you completed a €3 million financing round with Speedinvest? That's very impressive and the largest seed round of the year in the Münsterland region. It's certainly interesting for other start-ups in the region to know why these are the right investors for you and what the key learnings were on the way to financing?

Our €3 million financing round is led by Speedinvest and supported by Norrsken VC. These two VCs have proven in the past with their portfolio that they have invested in exactly the right start-ups and are absolute experts in their field. Norrsken VC is an impact fund initiated by Niklas Adalberth, the founder of Klarna. Today, the fund is one of the four most valuable non-public companies in the world.

We are also very proud to have great business angels on board, from TIER to Schüttflix to Klarna. We are also supported by other angels from the industry and the scene, who support us with their knowledge. We have always focused on ensuring that our investors and angels can help us advance our mission with their expertise.

Hopefully, you'll have a lot of money in your account very soon. What will you do with it? Apart from paying negative interest rates. What are your next goals?

First, we want to use the money to significantly expand our team and thus kick-start our expansion into other major European markets. Among other things, we will expand to Vienna in the next three months and to London by the end of the year.

And in the long term? Where is the journey taking Liefergrün?

European cities are facing similar challenges—they are becoming increasingly crowded, and the continued growth of e-commerce is creating a flood of deliveries. Liefergrün aims to become the leading provider of sustainable deliveries in Europe. In the long term, we will of course need more capital to realize our vision.

I assume you will remain loyal to Münster, right? If so, why?

This is where it all began, and we continue to have close ties to the Digital Hub münsterLAND, REACH, and the university. Our headquarters will remain in Münster. However, we now also have wonderful offices in Hamburg and Berlin. Our experience so far has shown that the University of Münster and Münster University of Applied Sciences offer us great potential for employees. Our longest-serving employees are students from both universities.

The Münsterland region is very well positioned for the initial start-up phase and was the perfect starting point for us. However, for the subsequent scale-up phase, companies need to look beyond the Münsterland region, toward Berlin and also internationally.

How would you assess the conditions for start-ups in Münsterland, particularly for start-ups in such a scale-up phase?

Münsterland is very well positioned for the initial start-up phase and was the perfect starting point for us. For the subsequent scale-up phase, however, companies need to look beyond Münsterland, toward Berlin and also internationally.

The Münsterland region also has some very special hidden champions, but logistics has so far been dominated by one name, and that is FIEGE. Let me ask you a provocative question: Does your product compete with FIEGE?

That's right! However, we are not competing with Fiege's core business, forwarding. However, Fiege has a spin-off called Angel Last Mile. They operate in a similar segment to us and therefore compete with us in the market.

Another topic that always comes up and is also very important to us as a hub is the culture of failure. How have you dealt with failure in the past? What advice would you like to pass on to other start-up founders?

As a founder, you can't avoid mistakes. And you shouldn't want to avoid them in the first place, because they are part of your founding story. It is very important to me to build a team of entrepreneurs. That's why we've removed the word “mistake” from our vocabulary and talk about “learnings” instead. Mistakes are associated with looking back at the past. Learning is something that is forward-looking. If you fall down, you get up and just keep running even faster.

Finally, what is the outlook for Liefergrün and what would you like to say to the Münsterland region and our members?

One thing is very important to me! I would like to encourage the Münsterland region to accompany us on our journey and actively revolutionize the last mile. In plain language: Apply to join us and become part of a great team!

Niklas, thank you very much for taking the time today. I'll let you get back to work now and wish you all the best and every success. We look forward to receiving lots more good news from you.