From scratch, but with great acceleration, Jan Bednar started his business in the United States, where he went to Florida mainly with the vision of playing hockey. Instead, he became a billionaire. So far only crown. According to a press release issued today, Summit Partners investment funds will buy a minority stake in his company ShipMonk for $ 290 million (approximately 6.3 billion crowns). It provides logistics for e-shops throughout the United States and employs more than a thousand people in Florida, Pennsylvania, California and the Czech Republic.
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According to information from Forbes, which was the first to draw attention to the report in the Czech Republic, the valuation of the entire company is thus exceeding $ 700 million, ie over 15 billion crowns. And Jan Bednář still holds the largest share in it.
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“The partnership will also help accelerate ShipMonk’s growth, research and development, recruitment, wholesale solutions development and international expansion, in which the company plans to open its flagship European fulfillment center in Europe,” the company said. Summit Partners CEO Christopher Dean and Vice President Chelsea Jurman will also join ShipMork’s Executive Board. Summit Partner funds once also invested in Avast.
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Providers of so-called fulfillment for e-shops store, ship and deliver their goods to customers. Orders that ShipMonk works on are processed in automated warehouses located around the United States, which speeds up and simplifies the delivery of packages to customers. The online store service reduces operating costs. According to Bednář, e-shops can focus on the customer and marketing, instead of taking care of warehousing and logistics.
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“Did I celebrate after signing? I had a shot with the team and returned to work, “said Jan Bednář for Forbes, which should rank him among the hundred richest Czechs next year. As a talented businessman, he was also in the selection of the magazine 30 under 30, which is looking for promising entrepreneurs under the age of thirty.
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Bednář founded ShipMonk in 2014, originally as a service of sending packages with cheaper or scarce goods to the Czech Republic for friends. This year, the company expects revenues in excess of $ 140 million, or three billion crowns. The number of e-shops served has doubled to more than a thousand stores in the last year. “In addition, ShipMonk is expanding its global carrier network, providing additional transportation cost savings,” the company said. So the next step is to go back to Europe. With my own business.
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