Multi-party funding, the accession of Theo Hoeksema as a new board member and the opening of a sales office at Amsterdam's Zuidas. Indeed, Flixit from Zuidbroek is ready to scale up. 'Such a platform local franchisees can't find anywhere else.'
The intense weeks are not on Felix van der Gun's mind. The founder and general manager of Flixit looks fresh and sharp. Recently, the company moved from Veendam to Zuidbroek. Shortly before that, Flixit, a tech company that helps franchisees set up and roll out social media campaigns, had raised an investment from G-Force Capital, the Groninger Growth Fund and the NOM. The resulting publicity immediately brought an influx of new customers.
Forgotten group
Flixit did not have to complain about clients anyway. Hundreds of franchisees of national chains, including big names like HEMA, PLUS, Jumbo and DA Drogisterij, are already using the platform to create, distribute and automate their social media content. The need is great, that much is clear. Why is that?
'Franchisees are local entrepreneurs who also want to present themselves as such online,' Felix says. 'People often mistakenly think that all social media, including at the local level, is handled from the head office. It's a bit of a forgotten group from a marketing point of view. While franchisees, especially in villages and small towns, are locally involved and close to their customers. They also want to show that. However, employees usually lack the time and expertise to manage social media properly. That's where we come in. Flixit makes the connection between the local franchisee and the online consumer. We do this by taking care of the local content of a store on the various channels. We have developed software for this purpose, with which we automate a lot of online processes for stores.'
Scalable
Yet another company doing something on social media? Well, not exactly. Flixit emphatically distinguishes itself from other parties. Theo Hoeksema, who founded and sold Paylogic and Homerr, among others, also saw this after Felix approached him late last year to invest in the company as an angel investor. 'The more I delved into the concept, the more enthusiastic I became,' smiles Theo. 'I found out that there is hardly any competition. Moreover, the concept and the software are very well put together. For example, each franchisee within Flixit gets their own dashboard with relevant data. What is the best time to post and what works and what doesn't? An algorithm is run on that, with which you can, for example, plan for the coming period. The business model is also very scalable.
Driving train
Theo decided to invest in Flixit and become a shareholder. But it didn't stop there: he also joined as full-time commercial director. 'As an investor you are often somewhat on the sidelines,' he clarifies. 'I was open to sitting in the entrepreneur's chair again. Over the years I have founded quite a few companies, but mostly from a beer mat. Then you spend years growing. I was actually looking for a moving train. To a tech company that had proven itself and has a healthy growth ambition. Flixit fit that perfectly. But above all, I immediately had a good click with Felix. I am impressed by his drive and entrepreneurial skills. It is no coincidence that he has built a successful company in a short period of time. I think that together we are a good combination to further grow Flixit.
Brutal email
Flixit was founded by Felix in 2020. Prior to that, he had been promoting events and festivals. Until he was approached by more and more companies, each time with the same question: How you handle social media for events, can't you do that for us? 'I did,' he says. 'One evening I was looking at the social media of a few franchisees. It could be much better, I saw. Then I sent a cheeky email to former HEMA director Tjeerd Jegen. Totally unexpectedly, I was invited for an interview and was eventually even allowed to do pilots with Flixit for HEMA stores. Since then, the company has grown considerably.
Salespower
At one point, demand was so great that the company was running up against the limits of its own growth. So to keep the momentum going, funding was needed. Hence Felix contacted Theo Hoeksema, NOM, G-Force Capital and the Groninger Growth Fund. With, as mentioned, the desired result. 'Flixit clearly solves a problem for franchisees,' says fund manager Niek Huizenga of G-Force Capital. 'The target group is also very large. The Netherlands has many tens of thousands of franchisees. With its scalability and sales power, Flixit should be able to grab a large share of the market. The growth opportunities are enormous, also internationally.'
Factor of interest
For the Groninger Growth Fund, the focus is mainly on strengthening the economy in the northern part of the province of Groningen. And yes, then such a promising company from Zuidbroek is very interesting. 'Local franchisees are a factor of importance in the outlying areas,' emphasizes investment manager Gijs Vermeer. 'Flixit ensures that they also strengthen online interaction with their customers. The beauty of the platform is that the entrepreneur himself is also at the controls. They can schedule messages themselves and customize them to their liking. In a low-threshold way, also in terms of costs.'
At least as enthusiastic is Boudewijn Hulst. The investment manager of NOM particularly praises the company's well thought-out approach. Felix and Theo have a clear vision of where they want to go with Flixit and which steps are necessary to achieve this. They have thought about everything. About the use of AI applications, for example, and other tools to make the platform even more powerful and user-friendly. We would like to keep such a company for the region.
Further development and optimization
Some of the funding will be used to scale up and thus accommodate even more clients. Thus, the number of employees will increase from five to twenty in the coming period. Flixit is also opening a sales office on Amsterdam's Zuidas business district. 'In different regions we will hire sales people who know the market well there,' Felix explains. 'Periodically they will meet in Amsterdam to spar and sharpen the strategy. '
Another part of the investment will be used to further develop and optimize the software, including smartly integrating AI. 'If we are going to be posting hundreds of thousands of posts a year soon, you have to be able to manage that,' says Felix. 'A technology like AI can help us and our customers do that on many fronts. And so we will develop even more to slowly conquer the whole of the Netherlands and perhaps one day even take steps across the border. After all, many chains in our country also operate internationally.'