Founded Deporvillage in 2011 after career at Dreams; scaled vertical sports e-commerce to €150M revenue and €14M EBITDA, sold to JD Sports in 2021 for €160M. Now runs family office and launches franchise retail ventures.
Vertical specialist e-commerce in individual sports (cycling, outdoor) built defensible moat through brand curation, operational excellence, and scale that prevented Amazon disruption; achieved €14M EBITDA on €150M revenue with 30% gross margins.
Premium sports brands (Salomon, North Face) refuse to sell on Amazon to avoid brand banalization alongside cheap Chinese products; specialist retailers like Deporvillage and Tradeinn benefit as authorized channels preserving aspirational brand image.
Early-stage VC fund Samaipata led Deporvillage Series A as first investment; demonstrates ability to back capital-efficient vertical e-commerce winners.