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What exactly does Deliverect do?

Jan Hollez: Deliverect simplifies the home delivery process for food-related businesses of all kinds. From their head office in Ghent, Deliverect links third party delivery platforms directly to companies’ payment processing and ERP systems. This enables centralised management of all online orders, increasing the operational efficiency and improving customer satisfaction. Deliverect aims to bring restaurants and food-related businesses closer to their customers and improve their relationship. The software company has been making inroads worldwide, with a client base that has moved beyond just restaurants to also feature international chains and other food-related businesses.

How ambitious are you?

Jan Hollez: Towards our employees, our ambition from Day 1 has been to take the first burger to the moon. Deliverect doesn’t just aim to conquer the world, we’re more ambitious than that; we want the whole universe! By setting ourselves such far-reaching goals, we ensure the greatest talent, the right product and an inexhaustible drive to get there. That’s why we go for a high standard and encourage our team to ‘think big’. In the end, the only limits are the ones we set ourselves. Externally, our ambition is to lead in our category. A Shopify for online

You need capital to grow, it’s that simple. What were your options to start with?

Jan Hollez: Our four founders have all contributed from the beginning. We could have chosen to grow more slowly, but we wanted to really push ahead. This is a ‘grow or die’ market. We now have three successive years of funding rounds behind us during which we worked hard to expand and capture new markets. We are shifting our focus to efficiency and profitability this year.

Has the banking sector lost its feeling for the business sector? Are banks no longer attractive as potential sources of funding? Or is it simply that their relevance has shrunk?

Jan Hollez: Dat is moeilijk te vergelijken aangezien de bankwereld zich richt op andere vormen van investering dan de VC (venture capital)-wereld. Het besluit om op de banken beroep te doen, hangt nu eenmaal af van het soort bedrijf en de groeiambities. Als een bedrijf een tragere groei ambieert, kan het overwegen om naar de bankwereld te stappen. Aan de andere kant, als een bedrijf al voldoende annually recurring revenue (ARR) heeft, kan het overwegen om deels te investeren via debt. Het is belangrijk om je te realiseren dat deze twee werelden verschillende uitdagingen en kansen bieden en het is aan elk bedrijf om de juiste keuze te maken die het best bij het kader en de ambities past.

Pros AND conS

What are the advantages of private equity? Are there any disadvantages? It is said that private equity partners are mainly interested in financial returns and are already headed for the exit as soon as they come in the door. Is there any truth in this?

Jan Hollez: Private equity (PE) can be useful to companies that are looking for an exit strategy and less focused on growth. However, PE will often involve a change in company culture as well. That’s what happens when you bring in new owners who are most interested in profit and efficiency and less concerned about long-term growth and innovation. Although this can be a disadvantage, PE can also help companies optimise their operations through investments and the expertise of the investors. Taken together, these factors can benefit the continuity once a company has started to outgrow its founders.

You’ve now been through three funding rounds, in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Why was that and what has each new step taught you?

Jan Hollez: We’d already managed a successful exit as founders, providing us with a track record that made funding a bit easier to obtain. That said, we only raised the money if we knew this would help us grow faster, but still sustainably. This gave us a safe runway each time, so that we could spend more time concentrating on the business instead of on raising funds.

Is a public offering a possible next step?

Jan Hollez: A public offering is definitely an option at some point and we will be looking into the implications for sure. However, it is not a priority for us at this time..

GroWTH AND GROWING PAINS

Is it hard to get four managers to all agree on PE decisions?

Jan Hollez: Our four managers are actually Deliverect’s greatest strength. We each have our own knowledge and experience to contribute, improving our collaboration and making us a strong, complementary team. Thanks to this range of expertise, we can excel in multiple areas and offer each other support as needed..

In conclusion. The term ‘fast-growing company’ definitely applies to Deliverect. Must a company also take care not to go too fast and overreach? Have you suffered any growing pains?

Jan Hollez: As noted, this is a ‘grow or die’ market. It was essential for us to grow as fast as we could, so we did. We had a few growing pains, yes. If there had been none, that would have meant we weren’t moving fast enough. For example, in 2022 our team expanded enormously over a short span of time. We added a many new people. When you have that many new employees, it can take a while to get everyone fully on board. One good thing about the current crisis is that it has given us time to re-evaluate and make things more efficient.

Photo: Zhong Xu, Jelte Vrijhoef, Jan Hollez and Jerome Laredo (the four original founders)

Website Deliverect: www.deliverect.com

Private Equity/BVA
Author: Karel Cambien