When most of us think of budding start-ups, it would be fair to say that most run along the lines of technology and other areas which often grab the headlines.
In other words, very few of us would ever imagine that flowers could be so lucrative. Sure, there are always one or two big players, but overall most of us regard this as quite a small industry.
How wrong could we be. The internet is littered with success stories when it comes to flowers and through today’s piece, we have collated some of our favorites.
Matt Neuenhaus – Avas Flowers
The first member of our list comes in the form of Matt Neuenhaus, who was recently featured in a prominent newspaper due to the success of his Avas Flowers brand. Firstly, if you were wondering, Ava happens to be his daughter’s name – which perhaps reveals the branding conception.
Since starting out in 2008, Avas Flowers has become huge. The company is now doing thousands of orders per day, and one only has to check out the Avas Flowers Pinterest page to see the sheer scale of their operation.
Patrick Hurenkamp, Bart Troost and Koen Thijssen – Bloomon
When a company is billed as the “Netflix of flowers”, one has to sit up and take notice. This is exactly what happened when TheNextWeb.com featured Bloomon after noticing the staggering growth the company had experienced since their conception in the Netherlands.
All in all, this is a company that has brought in tens of millions of euros from hungry investors who are desperate for a slice of the action. They have 100 employees and started their business on the premise of reducing the number of steps in the supply chain. While it can take up to nine days for a lot of companies to bring flowers through this chain, Bloomon tries to do it in 48 hours. It’s a considerable difference, and coupled with their unique styling, makes them a favorite amongst consumers as well as investors.
Kally Ellis – McQueens
Over the last couple of years Kally Ellis has become a big name on the flower circuit in the UK. She is known for her florist agency, McQueens, who are based in London.
It would be fair to say that Ellis’ business is built on much different principles than the other businesses we have touched upon. She has an agency, meaning that she rarely deals with consumers.
Instead, it’s hotels or at the other end of the spectrum, the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
Rubeena Tabassum – United Floritech
This final story is even more different to the previous three we have looked at. It follows an Indian housewife who, almost out of nothing, became a hugely successful entrepreneur in the country.
Her journey began at the radio, of all places. It was here where she heard about a 10-day Entrepreneurship Development Institute, which would ultimately teach her the fundamentals about business.
From here, there was no turning back. With help from her family, she acquired the land necessary to cultivate flowers. Since then, she hasn’t looked back, and has won numerous awards including the J&K Bank’s Woman Entrepreneur accolade.
