myposter GmbH from Bergkirchen near Munich is an independent and bootstrapped funded e-commerce B2C company for premium digital printing. The timeline is worth a closer look to learn how, with a tight budget and scarce resources, and without external funding (bootstrapped), the company has grown from buying its first Canon printer in 2008 to employing almost 350 people.
“Success has many founding fathers (and mothers),” they say. But above all, success has the unconditional will to do something. The story of myposter fully confirms the adage. In 2019, the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy named the company one of the 50 fastest-growing medium-sized companies in Bavaria. Other awards underscore the performance of the company, whose Made in Germany flags now fly in many European countries.
We return to the start. A look at it makes it clear that production must follow ideas and not the other way around. René Ruhland, Managing Director of myposter, was determined to become an entrepreneur. In 2006, together with his brother Marc, he began importing oil-on-canvas paintings by great masters from China and selling them out of their parents’ basement. Today, Marc Ruland is the strategist behind the production processes. He studied logistics processes, inventory management systems and warehousing options. Anna Ruhland, wife of René Ruhland, is the operational driver of the trio. She is dedicated to data, numbers and processes and is responsible for production, finance and performance marketing.
Each product is produced in-house in Bergkirchen (Bavaria) or Bitterfeld (Saxony-Anhalt) on a combined area of 11,500 m2 on 171 machines. The focus is on 18 main products, a fact which is interesting to note. The company is proud of the fact that there is no standardization of formats. Customers can choose the formats for posters, canvases and other products individually. Frames with over 60 types of mouldings are produced in the frame factory.
Currently, myposter has taken over 100 percent of JUNIQE.de. JUNIQE.de is an affiliate of Kollwitz Internet GmbH, based in Berlin. This acquisition is intended to strengthen the company’s good position in e-commerce for printing and photo technology. JUNIQE.de specializes in prints and posters by artists and is a creative success story in the e-commerce of art. The founders Lea Lange and Marc Pohl are stepping down from operational management, but will remain closely associated with the company in an advisory capacity. The location in Berlin and the brand will be retained.
“For us, the acquisition of JUNIQE.de is a strategic milestone and the largest acquisition in the history of our company. JUNIQE.de is very successful and excellently positioned in the market with the idea of making art accessible to the masses. We will continue to develop the brand and the business model strategically and innovatively,” says René Ruhland.
