Introduced by a mutual friend in 2010, Bjorn Behrendt and Mark Rowland have together created one of the most formidable online footwear empires in Australia.
Despite small beginnings, StyleTread, launched in November 2010, is to date the only shoe etailer in the country to have introduced free three hour delivery in Sydney, and is on the fast track for growth, having also recently expanded via free next day delivery to New Zealand.
At the helm, co-founders Behrendt and Rowland run a tight ship, but while both view StyleTread as their baby, for Behernt it also signifies a life choice.
Following a first meet with Rowland and a whirlwind planning session, German-born Behrendt resigned from his former post as CEO of tech company Hiogi GmbH, consulted with his partner and began planning his move to Australia to begin the fledgling venture.
“It was really lucky that Mark and I met through a mutual friend of ours who introduced us around the middle of 2010. This mutual friend at the time was already operating a retail start-up in Australia and he said it was a fascinating country to do retail online, and he then also introduced us to the investors that were working with him,” Behrendt recalls.
“After that, Mark and I started looking at the market and scouted out different options and business models, analysed the retail market in Australia, and then came up with a business plan and presented it to the investors. They loved it and actually committed to the initial round of funding after the first lunch we had together, and asked us to launch it as soon as we could. So I handed over my little start-up [Hiogi GmbH] in Germany and asked my fiancee if she was willing to move to Australia – and we boarded the plane a couple of weeks later!”
However, while the initial steps towards starting up StyleTread fell into place in quick succession, Behrendt says the arduous research behind the business and narrowing down a niche market has been the key to the company's success in the long run.
As Behrendt explains, the initial business plan process also involved modelling the StyleTread structure off an existing business operating in a much larger market – and tailoring StyleTread to deliver the same unique service on a local level.
“We decided to go down the path of [US etailer] Zappos as we really loved everything we found out about it during our initial research, starting from the company culture to the delivering happiness concept and obviously the retail model – which went through the roof in Germany, where I am originally from,” he says.
Following what seems to be the StyleTread ethos of delivering quality quickly, Behrendt says there was no slowing down once he landed in Australia.
Just weeks after his arrival, StyleTread had launched – ready to begin a six month trial period, following which co-founders Behrendt and Rowland planned to assess whether they could successfully deliver the concept they had dreamed up mere months ago on the initial funding they had received.
“It all started really quickly as we were keen to get it off the ground quickly. But it really worked out well and we were up and running with StyleTread on November 9, 2010. All in all, I think I had about two weeks to get the technology side of it all configured. I didn't sleep for one week straight due to the excitement and how busy we were, but the mix of adrenalin and caffeine kept me awake,” he jokes.
Interestingly, it's this laid-back attitude displayed by both Behrendt and his business partner Rowland which has permeated through to the heart of the company and, according to Behrendt, is also a huge part of what sets StyleTread apart from the competition.
“One of the reasons why we chose Zappos to model our business on, was because we had read the book by [Zappos CEO] Tony Hsieh, on delivering happiness and we looked at what Zappos did in terms of changing their service levels and especially their internal business culture and Mark and I did not only want to create a profitable retail business, but for both of us our goal was, and is, to ultimately become one of the best employers in Australia – similar to what Zappos is, by far, in the US,” he says.
“The customer service level is key to the business, but in order to achieve that extraordinary service and to transport some of that positive energy from the inside to the outside we actually put the employees first, and try to make them really feel good about what they do and about the family spirit within the company, and then that can transform and be transported over to the customers.”
However, while Behrendt and Rowland share a synced corporate vision and hold to the same core company values, their individual roles at StyleTread are significantly different.
“Mark and I split the company and our responsibilities into the physical stuff – which Mark looks after – and the digital stuff, which I look after. So, Mark looks after logistics, finance, and human resources and my responsibilities include the IT department, the marketing department and the design and content department. My past experience makes this role for me a very good fit because I have dealt in the online internet sector before, including online systems content integration and online marketing, and during my studies also [economic and computer sciences],” he says.
Despite their different responsibilities within the company, Behrendt says he and Rowland keep each other in the loop via daily catch-ups, but, with the business growing at a “phenomenal” rate, he admits that both co-founders have had to begin shifting the StyleTread management structure.
“It's changed massively and it's probably been my biggest challenge and reward to work for a start-up company like StyleTread and to see it grow and accelerate so quickly within 18 months from nothing [five people] to 78 people and a multi-million dollar revenue stream,” he says.
“And it's interesting, that we see now that we are at a level where the company is also changing in size from a medium to large sized enterprise and is no longer a start-up anymore. We are hitting this inflection point where we realise that we need new processes, new structures and new KPI's on a department and individual level to tackle the complexity of the business.”
In response, StyleTread has recently engaged in a number of initiatives to smooth the company's transition from staggering toddler to young adult – now confidently capable of taking market hurdles in its stride.
About six months ago, Rowland and Behrendt supervised the placement of a new hierarchy within the company, which saw the recruitment of some department heads, C-level managers – including a CFO and a CTO – and some senior team leaders in the buying area and the “customer happiness team”.
In addition, StyleTread is now in the midst of a hefty induction process, which has seen one new staff member joining the team per week, every week.
“At the moment we probably hire one new person every week, which means we have to train one new person every week to integrate them into our team. The interview and induction process at StyleTread is also quite lengthy and usually comprises of about three or four rounds, team meetings etc. So we do a lot to get that part of our business right and hire the right people, but with that kind of growth, it's definitely a challenge,” Behrendt admits.
This intensive period of recruitment is almost over though, Behrendt says, but in its place come new challenges – which, this time, fall perhaps more heavily in his court than Rowland's.
“We probably won't keep hiring at this speed – since we actually hire in advance, so now it's just those hires coming in and going through training. But once we have our team where we need it to be, the next challenge will be to put in the right IT and systems to then support that future growth and make it sustainable with the existing team. So, soon, we will slow down in hiring and increase IT investments,” he says.
This may provide yet another opportunity for Behrendt to shine, and – although he makes it crystal clear that StyleTread is a team effort – there's no denying that in the digital space, his IT talents provide the all important backbone for a business that is hurtling down the path to success.