Berlin Start-up Scene: Hidden Champion ´KPglobal` starts across Europe

In their living room and as students Robin Behlau and Mario Kohle started the website Käuferportal.de - today they connect online customers to thousands of local businesses and facilitate products for one billion euros per year. After their great success in Germany the young founders now want to build up their company as a global player. As 'KPglobal' Käuferportal will expand to ten countries by 2016 - beginning with the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.

Berlin, Germany – The idea is quite simple: KPglobal helps consumers to compare various offers for an upscale purchase. The results are impressive: Facilitated products for one billion euros, 300 employees and more than two million incoming customer inquiries: The online service is one of the success stories of the fast growing Berlin start-up scene. "Currently, 100,000 people visit our website every day to find a new kitchen or windows. This is quite a big deal for us, especially because nobody knows our brand", says co-founder Mario Kohle. On www.kaeuferportal.de consumers enter their product request and receive a call from Käuferportal to specify their needs. Local businesses can make an offer and compete for the prospective customer. The special feature: KPglobal does not charge any fees to the consumer - the companies are local businesses and were pre-screened. "Some people thought we were crazy, but today in Germany, almost every second stairlift and one in ten solar systems is facilitated by our website", says co-founder Robin Behlau. After the successful launch in Germany Käuferportal now wants to offer its services abroad. "It took us seven years of hard work to find the recipe for success. Now we want to shake up the markets in Europe and around the globe“. As ´KPglobal`(www.kp-global.com) the young founders will start their services in ten countries by the end of 2015 – beginning with the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.

“In five years time, everyone facing an upscale purchase will go to KPglobal”

As young students Behlau and Kohle started the website www.käuferportal.de on the couch of their living room – without any money or business contacts, just before the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008. Only three million euros were invested in the young start-up – little capital compared to international standards. Nevertheless Käuferportal is profitable and is still growing strong, even seven years after its launch. "In the beginning nobody wanted to give us money", says Mario Kohle. “We are quite proud that the situation now has changed”. The internationalization comes at a time when the industry is gathering momentum. In March Amazon started a local services business for the US – according to the New York Times Google is pushing into the market as well. For the next five years, the young founders have a clear vision. Behlau: "Everyone who searches the internet goes to Google. Everyone who shops on the internet goes to Amazon. And in five years time, everyone facing an upscale purchase will go to KPglobal."

On the brink of the financial crisis in 2008, two young students Robin Behlau and Mario Kohle founded the online service KPglobal. Today, KPglobal is Europe's market leader in connecting prospective online customers with specifically selected and verified companies. The two founders are leading a company with 300 employees, selling products with their partner companies worth one billion euro a year.

Beko Käuferportal GmbH
Friedrichsstraße 79
10117 Berlin, Germany

Press contact:
Maximilian Ziche
maximilian.ziche@kaeuferportal.de

This release was published on openPR.