Start-up Celebrities Invest in Returns Software 8Returns

Online shops are set to manage their returns in future via the software of 8returns. A number of German serial founders – and football professional Mario Götze – believe in the idea

With the boom in e-commerce during the pandemic, one of the industry's key problems came into sharper focus: customers typically return around half of all ordered goods, and some of these items end up in landfill or are resold. Returns often prompt customer enquiries, and retailers are required to issue refunds – a time-consuming process.

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A new Berlin-based founding team is now developing the software 8Returns to simplify the process for online shops. At launch, the offering is aimed at smaller online retailers selling via the shop systems Shopify or Shopware. With 8Returns, the paper returns slip is eliminated; retailers can monitor their returns through the platform and subsequently donate items directly if resale is no longer worthwhile. In addition, the company offsets the CO2 emissions generated by returns.

Right from the outset, a group of 18 prominent business angels is taking a stake in the company, including football professional Mario Götze as well as experienced founders such as Philipp Kreibohm (Home24), Paul Schwarzenholz and Björn Kolbmüller (Flaconi, Zenloop), Johannes Schaback (Ladenzeile), David Khalil and Lukas Brosseder (Edarling, PlusDental), Tamaz Georgadze and Frank Freund (Raisin), Jesper Wahrendorf (Vanguard, formerly Ratepay), Fabiola Hochkirchen (Partner at Auxxo), as well as industry figures Verena Pausder and Philipp Pausder (Thermondo). At launch they are investing around €800,000, although the start-up is likely to be targeting its next funding round within the coming months.

The investors were reportedly won over above all by the founders Nilaxsa Yoganathan and Amin Ben Said. Both have years of experience in the Berlin start-up world: Yoganathan worked during the build-up phase for fintech start-ups such as Weltsparen and Trade Republic, while Ben Said has already built Malindo, a returns management vendor serving retailers such as Hornbach and Conrad. He is now making another attempt with 8Returns, targeting a different customer group and tapping into significant potential.