Giftomatic is changing the landscape of Gift cards

OUR story

It was november 2018 and...

It started with a bright idea

In November 2018, Sander & Erik had a Friday afternoon drink in a bar. Quickly they got to the subject “Gift cards“.

Both just had a terrible experience with expired gift cards. Sander and Erik quickly realized that Gift Cards could be so much more exciting by bringing technology & data to the gift card market. With their experience of building digital products, soon a feasible plan came to the table. One that would generate valuable data and smart monetization strategies, while helping the gift card owner too. A “win-win-win” situation.

Two months later they decided to build a first MVP of the “Giftomatic inspiration service” and Giftomatic was born. In the mean time Coen joined the team. Coen already worked together with Sander at Symbaloo for 10 years, he felt this could be something big.

giftomatic start

Giftomatic in pictures

Some key moments in our short history

The ticket

Of the drinks that Erik & Sander were having in Haarlem, where they got to the idea of Giftomatic.

Giftomatic launched

In October 2019 we launched the first version of Giftomatic: the inspiration service. A tool for consumers to receive inspirational emails for their gift card.

Media coverage for Giftomatic

Some nationwide newspapers, many websites and a radiostation gave Giftomatic attention which led to a first significant growth.

Websummit

The team went to the largest tech conference in Europe: the Websummit

Websummit booth

Showcasing giftomatic to tech-investors and potential business partners

Pitch competition

CEO Sander joined a pitch competition and entered the ring

Logo!?

Some logo Sketches in the early days

Pitch

Out of 936 startups Giftomatic was selected after an intense process, as one of the finalists for the 360-labs accelerator. See the video of the pitch here.

Partnership VVV

Giftomatic starts a partnership with VVV, the nations oldest and leading Gift card.

Elroy joins Giftomatic

Sander visiting Elroy at Curacao, 2 months later he invests in Giftomatic and joins the team.

WebshopGiftcard

The second partner of Giftomatic is Webshopgiftcard, a strong B2B gift card in The Netherlands.

YourGift

In the summer of 2020 Giftomatic also starts the integration process with YourGift, known as a gift card that also supports charity.

FashionCheque

One of the most popular open loop gift cards of The Netherlands is FashionCheque. A partership is established in Q4 of 2020.

Branded waterbottles

Some Giftomatic branded reusable waterbottles for the team

App launched

After months of incredibly hard work, the app was finally live in the app stores

Proud!

The giftomatic app finished just before the holiday season.

Amazing launch

Giftomatic again reaches millions of consumers thanks to its succesful launch with Radio commercials, press release and use of influencers.

GCVA member

Giftomatic becomes member of the GCVA in November '21.

Hall of Fame awards

Giftomatic was nominated for "Best industry service provider" at the GCVA Hall of Fame awards.

Stroopwafels!

Erik & Sander brought some typical Dutch cookies to the IMA event in London '22.

Team events

After some achievements we go for a boat ride!

GCVA Conference

Sander Vessies, Coen Baars and Erik Zeilinga exhibiting (with bow tie) at the GCVA in London.

Giftomatic in USA

As an IMA member, Giftomatic attended (with the famous bow tie) the IMA in Snowbird and Boston, making new connections and friends.

Some core beliefs of Giftomatic

Our core values

Win

1. We want to play Champions league
2. We always win as a team
3. Better an "oops" than a "what if"

Growth

1. Everything we do should be scalable
2. Sharing is having more
3. If everything is under control, we're not going fast enough

Integrity

1. We only do fair business models
2. We embrace freedom & responsibility
3. No secrets about data

We go all in on our expertise

The right use of tech & data increase customer satisfaction

We'd love to meet you and lets

make the impossible, possible

Our story is just beginning. The technology is already integrated in the systems of the leading Dutch gift card companies and a few partners in the UK, Belgium, Germany and France are going to implement Giftomatic soon.

Before 2022 ends Giftomatic will cover all continents, making spending a gift card more enjoyable while Gift card companies get the right tools & insights to deliver a next level experience to their customers.