Friendship as a unifying ambition at Alleeninkt.nl

Friends Nick van Klinken and Daniël Keute discovered a market gap with Alleeninkt.nl. When it became a serious business, a consultant from de Jong & Laan was quickly found: Anne from their own circle of friends!

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Friendship as the overarching ambition at Alleeninkt.nl

Salarisadministratie Hardenberg Accountancy Belastingadvies Personeel

"We live in a rapidly changing world" is a statement everyone hears at some point. For some generations, this change was in the transition from typewriter to computer and printer, while a new generation increasingly works 'paperless'. Nonetheless, the demand for printers has dramatically increased due to the rising number of people working from home.

Friends Nick van Klinken and Daniël Keute stepped into the ongoing development of printers and the associated cartridges. Alleeninkt.nl turned out to be a market gap. What started on a whim became a serious business.

Young entrepreneurs

The young entrepreneurs have known each other since the 2nd grade of primary school. In the same class was also SME advisor Anne Kampjes, who now guides Alleeninkt.nl from the financial perspective. But how did it come to be that these school friends went into business together?

The boys were familiar with entrepreneurship from home. Alongside their studies (retail and business administration), Nick and Daniël once started buying and selling concrete tables. A high-margin product that earned them a nice bit of money. However, the product was laborious, took up a lot of storage space, and was heavy to handle.

Anne Kampjes Senior adviseur mkb

The entrepreneurial spirit began to stir

In 2013, when Nick's father remarked about looking into cartridges and toners due to the significant price differences in that area, the entrepreneurial spirit began to stir:

a consumable product with regular turnover;
a good margin;
easy to ship;
much less storage space.

Nick (Alleeninkt.nl): Daniël and I have known each other since grade 2 of primary school. In that same class was also consultant Anne from de Jong & Laan.

Via YouTube, they watched videos about setting up a webshop, and soon the first online order was a fact. The boys decided to both invest €300 of their own money to buy new stock. They saw opportunities and advantages in online sales. The webshop provided a high return and made the business scalable.

And that proved to be true. Alleeninkt.nl is now growing into a top 3 player in the segment, and international business is becoming increasingly closer. Belgium has already become a serious market.

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Mature organization

Initially, they managed on their own. However, as growth increased, more friends were recruited to process orders. At first, it was on a friendly basis, ‘just rolling up our sleeves together,’ but eventually, the friends were employed.

Among the group of friends – who still regularly take a mountain bike ride together through the beautiful surroundings of Hardenberg – was also former classmate Anne Kampjes. He started as an intern at de Jong & Laan and now works as an SME consultant.

Where Anne initially only peeked into the financial administration in the evenings, Alleeninkt.nl grew over the years into a mature organization. So much so that in 2016, the company also needed a real accountant. Anne now advises in an official accountancy role and, with a multidisciplinary team, takes care of, among other things:

handling the payroll processing;
discussing quarterly figures;
preparing the annual accounts;
and handling tax returns.

Where necessary – for example, in advising on international business, investments, or other strategic matters – he involves specialist colleagues.

Switching

Anne: “We go way back and encounter each other regularly through the circle of friends. That contributes to our communication style being quite informal, but that also suits de Jong & Laan. In our collaboration, we are very accessible and personal, but as soon as the conversation shifts to business topics, we speak from expertise and always with the right level of integrity. In short; tough on content, soft on the relationship. Within Alleeninkt.nl, the culture is no different. The company feels like a group of friends but one that seriously pursues goals together and critically examines the numbers and operations.”

Great conversation partners

Daniël confirms: "Besides the factual matters that we are legally required to have in order, de Jong & Laan is also a good discussion partner. There is a lot of knowledge, and because of the open contact and short lines of communication, we can coordinate quickly. Being able to brainstorm about an investment idea gives confidence. By the way, there is no investor behind our organization. It's really just the two of us and our staff. The latter especially brings responsibility with it, which makes us want to arrange things well. We are a serious company with big ambitions."

And serious they are, for their ambitions are significant. For example:

de Jong & Laan supported them in 2016 during the transition from a VOF to a BV.
They are growing into a top 3 player.
They hope to double their current turnover of 4 to 5 million euros in 2 to 3 years.

But the ultimate goal is for Alleeninkt.nl to continue independently and successfully, with friendship taking precedence above all else.

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Looking ahead

Nick: "de Jong & Laan guides us on that path and helps us arrange things well for the future. Because no matter how young (29) we are, we still want to keep working without pressure and with a lot of pleasure in a few years' time."

Anne (de Jong & Laan): It's truly great to see how they started and have now grown into such a mature organization.

"Besides the business aspect, de Jong & Laan ensures that we can continue our private lives as we do now, without a second thought. Together, we continuously look forward, for both the organization and ourselves. Who knows what the future will bring. We might have been somewhat under the radar before, but now that we are also focusing more on marketing around Alleeninkt.nl, we are increasingly becoming visible, and we notice that many more parties are keeping an eye on us. Opportunities for serious collaboration, tapping further into the international market, or making an even bigger leap are becoming more realistic."

Anne nods in agreement and says: "It’s truly great to see how they started and have now grown into such a mature organization! I have gone through all facets of that development with them and can contribute from my profession along with my colleagues." Both men burst into laughter. "Whether the term 'mature' entirely fits us..."

One thing is clear. No matter how well the men are doing, they remain down-to-earth entrepreneurs who stay grounded and keep looking forward: Stofzakkie.nl has been launched and is also in full development.

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