The IDAN System: Revolutionizing E-commerce in the DACH Region and Beyond

KeyOne IDAN System: Revolutionizing E-commerce in the DACH Region

Management Summary:

In an exclusive interview, StartupRad.io delves into the groundbreaking work of Julian Pfeiffer and his company, KeyOne, which is transforming the e-commerce landscape with its innovative IDAN (International Delivery Address Number) system. This blog post explores how IDAN simplifies the online checkout process, enhances data security, and solves persistent delivery challenges, offering invaluable insights for entrepreneurs, tech founders, and investors, particularly in the DACH region. We'll also uncover Julian's entrepreneurial journey, the lessons he learned from his father, and his vision for the future of e-commerce.

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The Entrepreneurial Leap: From Football to Founding KeyOne

Julian Pfeiffer's journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur is anything but typical. His story took a transformative turn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many students, Julian found himself navigating the challenges of homeschooling. However, his response was far from ordinary.

"After some time, the tasks in school were a bit too boring," Julian recalls, which led him to independently study business informatics. This self-driven pursuit, combined with a series of internships across diverse industries, ignited his entrepreneurial spark.

It was during one of these internships that the concept for KeyOne emerged, culminating in its founding just before Julian's 16th birthday. This highlights Julian's extraordinary drive and talent, making him a standout figure in the startup world.

Julian's background as a youth footballer for Eintracht Frankfurt, a top-tier Bundesliga team, also profoundly shaped his approach to business. He credits his sporting experience with instilling key traits like fearlessness, a winning mentality, and the importance of enjoying the journey.

"To maybe make a few examples, I think what I learned from my past sport experience is maybe to always be fearless, just do whatever comes and try it out," Julian explains.

This blend of academic rigor, real-world experience, and athletic discipline forms the bedrock of Julian's entrepreneurial success.

The Power of Positive Influence: Lessons from an Entrepreneurial Father

Julian's entrepreneurial journey was significantly influenced by his upbringing in a family of entrepreneurs. He emphasizes the positive work ethic he observed from his parents and the invaluable opportunity to learn firsthand about the intricacies of running a business.

"I think for sure it definitely influenced my decision to start my own business," Julian acknowledges.

His father's guidance has been particularly instrumental, providing him with a "coach at the dinner table" and shaping his mindset with invaluable lessons.

"Maybe a few key insights might be that every problem can be solved with the right mindset and also that the challenges are not roadblocks, but rather steps on the leather to personal growth," Julian shares.

This mentorship has not only provided practical business acumen but also instilled a resilient and solution-oriented approach to challenges, a crucial trait for any entrepreneur.

Conquering the "Chicken or Egg" Dilemma: KeyOne's Early Challenges

Like many startups, KeyOne faced the classic "chicken or egg" problem in its early days. The platform's success hinged on attracting both online shops and users, creating a challenge in acquiring the first customers.

To overcome this obstacle, Julian and his team adopted a hands-on approach, directly engaging with local businesses in the Frankfurt area.

"We just literally walked through the streets here near Frankfurt and were trying to convince local shops that also had an online store," Julian explains.

This direct and persistent strategy proved effective in securing initial adopters and laying the foundation for KeyOne's subsequent growth.

Introducing the IDAN System: Simplifying E-commerce for the DACH Region

KeyOne's core innovation lies in its IDAN system, designed to streamline the complexities of online delivery and payments.

What is the IDAN System?

The IDAN system, which stands for International Delivery Address Number, simplifies the online checkout process by allowing users to save their essential data—including delivery addresses, invoice addresses, and payment information—behind a unique, seven-digit alphanumeric identifier.

“Users are able to save the data which they need for an online checkout behind their IDAN,” says Julian.

This eliminates the need for repetitive manual entry of information and the creation of numerous online shop accounts.

Key Benefits of the IDAN System

Enhanced Data Security: By consolidating user data in one secure location, IDAN reduces the risk associated with multiple online registrations.
Streamlined Checkout Process: The system simplifies online shopping by requiring only the IDAN for checkout, saving users time and effort.
Reduced Delivery Errors: IDAN helps ensure accurate delivery by providing correct address information to online shops, minimizing costly errors and returns.
Increased Customer Acquisition: Online shops partnering with KeyOne gain access to a broader customer base, driving new customer acquisition and fostering long-term loyalty.
Cost Reduction for Shops: By minimizing address-related errors, IDAN helps online shops reduce shipping costs and improve operational efficiency.
Discounts and Vouchers: Users benefit from exclusive discounts and vouchers at partner shops, adding further value to the IDAN system.

Solving Delivery Challenges: Beyond Standard Addresses

The IDAN system goes beyond simplifying standard deliveries; it also addresses the complexities of non-standard addresses, a common issue in regions like the DACH area.

"When you've been talking about simplifying delivery addresses, what came to mind, for example, is like all the farms that are located somewhere outside of towns or the former mills who are very much hidden close to a river or a creek somewhere," host Joern Menninger points out.

KeyOne has integrated features to handle these challenges, including compatibility with "What3Words" addresses and the ability for users to provide precise location details.

What3Words Integration

KeyOne incorporates "What3Words," a global addressing system that divides the world into three-meter squares, each identified by a unique three-word address. This enables precise location identification, particularly useful for deliveries to remote or poorly addressed locations.

Geodata Input

Users can also input their addresses with specific geodata, pinpointing exact locations for deliveries to block houses or other non-standard residences. This feature allows for detailed delivery instructions, such as specifying the correct entrance or package drop-off location.

The Future of KeyOne: Innovation and Growth

Julian Pfeiffer has ambitious plans for the future of KeyOne, with a focus on continuous innovation and expansion.

“What's next for Q1? There are many products and features we will launch in the near future,” Julian reveals.

KeyOne’s Future Plans

Integration of Loyalty Programs: KeyOne aims to integrate existing loyalty programs, such as Payback, allowing users to conveniently collect points while shopping online.
Development of an Own Payment Method: KeyOne plans to introduce its own payment solution, further streamlining the checkout process and enhancing user convenience.
Artificial Intelligence Integration: KeyOne is exploring the potential of artificial intelligence to further optimize its platform and provide innovative solutions for e-commerce.
Expansion of User Engagement: KeyOne intends to launch its own loyalty program, rewarding users for their engagement on social media and their interactions with the platform.
International Growth: KeyOne envisions significant international expansion in the next five to ten years, aiming to become a market leader beyond the DACH region.

The Video Podcast Will Go Live on Thursday, April 8th, 2025

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Julian Pfeiffer, founder of KeyOne, discussing the IDAN system

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Automated Transcript

Narrator Dorsey Jackson [00:00:05]:

Welcome to startuprad.io. Your podcast and YouTube blog covering the German startup scene with news, interviews, and live events.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:00:20]:

Hello and welcome everybody. This is Joe from startuprate.io, your startup podcast and YouTube blog from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Today we have a very special guest with us, Julian Pfeiffer, a very young entrepreneur who's already making waves in the startup world with his company KeyOne. But before he was an entrepreneur, Julian was a promising footballer even playing for the youth team of Eintracht Frankfurt. Growing up in a family of successful entrepreneurs, he learned early on the importance of innovation, leadership, and perseverance. Now with KeyOne, he's taking on the world of digital payments and identity validation. Julian, thank you for being here with us today. We're excited to dive into your journey and learn from your experiences.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:01:07]:

Yeah. Thank you for having me, Joe.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:01:09]:

Totally my pleasure. Let me tell you a few words about our enabler, HDII, and the Enterprise Europe network, Hessen, made this recording possible. Thank you very much for them. You can learn more down here in the show notes. Julian, could you start by telling us a bit about your entrepreneurial journey and how you transitioned from being a youth footballer with with Eintracht Frankfurt, for everybody who doesn't know it, they're senior their top team, so they do have more teams in this association. Their top team plays pretty good in the number one Bundesliga here in Germany to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:01:51]:

Yeah. So for me, much changed during the COVID nineteen pandemic. Since I decided that time to to stop playing for Frankfurt and due to regular many regulations, I also did homeschooling. And in in that time, after after doing these these tasks from home, I kind of liked it and stayed in the homeschooling process and did not went back to the normal educational way. And, after some time, the task in school were a bit too boring. Now no matter if it's the the normal educational way or from homeschooling, that's why I decided to start, studying business informatics, by my own. And meanwhile doing that or doing during that time, I then had many internships at at different companies. For example, I was at health portal, at an online shop, at a law firm, at a software firm, at a telecommunications company, at a IT service firm, and and and many more.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:02:45]:

And, yeah, doing one of these internships, the idea for q one came, and, I founded it shortly before my sixteenth birthday. So still with 15, and, yeah, two weeks ago now, I turned 17.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:03:00]:

That is pretty young, to be an entrepreneur, but I think there's a lot of promise in you. Talking a little bit about growing up with an entrepreneurial father must have had an significant impact on your own journey. How did your father's work influence your decision to start your own business?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:03:21]:

I think for sure, it definitely influenced my my decision to start my own business. At the end of the day, it was still my own will to do something, and I just had a lot of positive examples, from home because, my father and also my mother, my parents, they all always have a have a positive work attitude. Also, I joined my father from time to time in the office. Maybe I was not doing the things that I do right now, but just to to to get the first impressions in the in the early days. And, I will also have my my parents had discussions about the business and the companies, at home at dinner. I also tried to to to get some informations and just to to hear what's what's up. And, since I had the opportunity to get as many informations, I think it was it was really good for for my start. And, also, nowadays, I'm able to ask my dad any question at at at any time.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:04:15]:

So it so it definitely influenced my decision to to start here. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:04:19]:

So basically, at dinner table, you do have your own coach, which is pretty neat. Going a little bit into your personal entrepreneurial journey. You just told us you effectively started your company when you were 15. I'm sure that comes along with with its own set of challenges.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:04:42]:

Mhmm.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:04:43]:

What were biggest obstacles you face, and how did you overcome them?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:04:49]:

I think the the biggest problem we had at the beginning was, kind of the hen and egg problem. What what comes first, the hen or the egg? For us, it was, since our business model is like that, that we have on one side, shops that use the online shops that use our solution and also, users that use our solution. And if you do not have any shops that do not have any users that that use key one, it may be not too easy to to get the first customers. What did we do to overcome it? We we just literally walked through the streets here near Frankfurt, and we're trying to convince, local shops that also had an online store. So at the beginning, we were doing pretty good with that and, convinced many online shops at the beginning. And, for sure, now, this is going automatically, and we do not need to go manually on the streets anymore. But, at the beginning, that was the way we we overcome that these obstacles. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:05:48]:

Mhmm. You already went a little bit into key one. It's an innovative approach to simplify addresses, delivery, and payment methods. Can you walk us through the idea for how KeeOne came about and what sets you apart from other solutions? We we may also add that in Germany, mail delivery is usually pretty easy. You have even and uneven, numbers on one side of the road, but the trouble starts when this is not the case. For example, even in uneven numbers, you have only numbers on one side of the road. Or, for example, I do have friends who live in one street, but do have the street address from from the back entrance or stuff like that. Mhmm.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:06:39]:

That's when it starts to get really confusing. Right?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:06:42]:

Yeah. Yeah. There are a few things, where where mistakes could happen. So so the idea, for Kiwanen, I then came, when I was doing one of my internships at an online shop, because people were typing, in some some crazy stuff into the in the checkout process, because there are the normal fields like the postal code, the street, the house number, the city, the street name, and, some people were typing then in their postal code into the, house number field, and the next one was typing in his street name at the city field. And because of that, sometimes we had to change it manually, at this online shop, or we even had, also address validation systems. And sometimes they were not working properly. And and because of that, we I I thought then, okay. We need to change something about it because it there were many custom, for this online shop because the package needs to get sent out once.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:07:42]:

Yeah? Then the the, the package will not be delivered because there's something wrong in the address. It will come back again. We have to pay the fees for the transport again. Then someone in the in the customer support needs to maybe write an email or even call the customer and, then send it out again so the costs were too high, where I thought, okay. We need to have a platform where we have centralized user data, which is really correct. And and then the idea of how key one came to just save all your data behind this one behind one key, behind your ADAN. And, yeah, over the time, the benefits added up. Yeah.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:08:21]:

At the beginning, the key benefit we saw was the the deliverability. But, over time, we have now many many more benefits than not only the delivery, but maybe I wish to say some a bit more about that later, here in our podcast. But, yeah, the the the unique selling point of, q, q one has a unique selling point, since we are the only solution like that on the market, with these with these functionalities.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:08:50]:

When you've been talking about simplifying delivery addresses, what came to mind, for example, is, like, all the farms that are located somewhere outside of towns or the the the former mills were very much hidden close to a river or a creek somewhere. I vividly remember working for the Red Cross and looking for address that literally said outside Number 17. And you just wish her that that was outside of the town. So how how can you help, with better delivery there?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:09:28]:

On on that point, we have added some features. I don't know if you if you know it right now. It's it's called what's your words address, for example. Exactly. It's a company from the from The US, and they have, nine, square meter squares all over the world. So it's a three word address. For example, it's called Now Tree, green and floor. I don't know.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:09:50]:

And then we know roughly where the address is as well as we have the, geodata where users can type in their address on the square meter exact. For example, also with block houses or or anything similar, sometimes the the delivery man, he does not know maybe where the entrance is now, so people can really point where the door is now for for ringing or, yeah, parking the packages if someone is not at home. Mhmm.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:10:17]:

When you talked about this, what came to mind is a hunting cabin.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:10:20]:

Mhmm. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:10:25]:

As someone with background in sports, do you think your experience as a former football player has shaped your leadership style or your approach to team building in your start up?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:10:36]:

Yeah. I think, in general, my my whole mindset and my personality is influenced by my by my past respectively by my by my sport experience. To maybe make a few examples, I think, what I learned from from my past sport experience is maybe to to always be fearless. Yeah. Just do whatever comes and try it out. But also, a thing which comes from sport is to always want to win and, to have have fun and enjoy what you are doing. I think if someone wants to to build up a big company and hasn't does not have fun in his daily activities, it wouldn't he wouldn't be able to to get it successful. So just enjoy what you're doing and have fun, but, accept of that.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:11:22]:

Always keep going no matter how hard the obstacles are and then maybe learn a bit of every challenge or every problem to to also, yeah, grow personally. Discipline, a big point in my eyes. Yeah. So discipline maybe and and being positive all the time, I think the key the key, I think maybe that that shaped my mindset and personality for my sport experience. Maybe what I can also add here is that no one in my family ever played football before or had any knowledge in this field. So I really I really had to to invest a lot to be successful also in that field. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:11:59]:

For our audience, Julian has faced a lot of challenges early in his entrepreneurial journey. For those listening who may be considering starting their own business, what would you say is the single most important trait to succeed in those early stages? Drop your thoughts in the comments below. We'd love to hear what our audience thinks. Innovation and growth. One of the key one of key ones innovations is the iDEN system. It's it sounds pretty similar like the iDEN system, which simplifies the address and payment process. Can you explain how this system work and what benefits does this bring, especially from the perspective of customer and the merchants? Because I think we already, understand pretty pretty well how we get our, packages delivered to a outside farm, an external mill, or, some other place like a hunting cabin?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:13:01]:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. So so EDAN stands for, international delivery address number. And, like I explained before, users are able to save, the data which they need for an online checkout behind, their items. So they will save their invoice addresses, their delivery addresses, their payment method, and and many more features behind this item and then have the opportunity in this online shop, to just order with their with their seven yeah. Maybe I can add that, it's it's seven digits long and alphanumeric.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:13:33]:

So my item, for example, is now one Julian. And in the checkout process, you would just need to type in your item and then can or directly order from there on and do not need to type in your data manually or create an account now at this on EdgeShop to register. So so only only the item is needed for the checkout. Also, the a big benefit for the for the users is, the the data security. I mean, for sure, if you have, only one website or one platform where you save your data, you don't need to register at 20 online shops. For example, I think the the, no. The, like, the the average registrations that every user has, is, like, 25 registrations in online shops. Also, let's say now someone would move from Frankfurt to Berlin and is registered at 25 online shops.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:14:28]:

He would need to change his address at every online shop where he he's registered. For example, now it's the twenty five whiskey one. He would change his address once. The newest version would get saved in database, and the next time there will be a fetch from the on in the online shop, he will directly have the new address in the in the checkout process. It's also maybe, a nice feature. But, except of that, the users have have the benefit that we have, discounts and vouchers with with, nearly all of our partnerships. That means you are not only able to just save your data after your registration. You are even able to get, let's say, 10% at the bike shop, 5% on toys, and sometimes even up to 80%, that you even that you just get exclusively with KeyOne or or iDEN.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:15:17]:

Yeah. Maybe that was it's for a lot for the user side. Otherwise, I won't talk too much. For the shops, the biggest benefit that we now receive from feedback but also from from case studies is the the new customer acquisition. Yeah. As you can imagine, if you have a big database with user, with user data, you you you you just need to promote, for example, now an online shop on your platform, on your website, or say here, this online shop's offering this deal, for example, and directly users will will try to order there, and, they will get many new customers and can even make them to customers which which which will last long and order more often than only once. And, also, for the online shops, there is kind of let let me say it like this. Maybe why why is everyone ordering it on Amazon? Amazon, everyone is ordering because it's that easy.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:16:10]:

You can check out quickly. You have saved all your data, so you just need to put your product into the cart and can, direct the order. If you now have such a Amazon similarity, I would say, in in many online shops where you just need to type in your key now and can order from there without creating an account or typing in your data manually, this could also be a big benefit for smaller shops to get maybe a a bigger percentage of the market. I do not want to compare here, key one with Amazon and to to to put Amazon as a competitor, but, that that's also a benefit in my eyes and, for sure, like we mentioned already with the with the addresses, with the correct delivery addresses, invoice addresses. Shops won't have any problems with with their with the transport and deliveries. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:17:01]:

I was I was actually smiling here on my side, when you said your, key one address is Julian 1. I was wondering, can you choose, like, any word and number combination there? Because there are a lot of people out there with a wicked sense of humor. And, I do see a lot of, not safe for work names that they'll also come up in this process.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:17:32]:

Nearly nearly every island is possible. It's for example, now it's a zero in the o. So you are not able to have a zero or o in in your island so that we do not have any kind of, issues when when people do not know. Do I have a zero now in my island or a z or an o? That's why this is not possible. But, otherwise, except of some words which are blocked, you are able to choose choose any I then. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:17:57]:

I see. And the other thing which would have been come in for me pretty handy is, I I was smiling again because I'm sure you're not old enough to have ever experienced this, but, credit cards do have a expiration date a few years in the future, which at one point made me and Sunweb Radio very big headache because I got a new card and I did not remember where I had, like, the old card on file, and it gave me, like, two month, two month for two month additional work just because this credit card expired, and I had to make sure, to to put the due, the new data into, like, all the places, which which was also, something I could have avoided with that.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:18:49]:

Yeah. Yeah. For sure. So I did not have this problem yet, like you mentioned. But, that would also be here as we could avoid. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:18:57]:

Yeah. But I was wondering, what role does innovation play in a company's growth strategy, and how do you keep the team motivated to continually innovate in such a competitive market? You just talked about, Amazon. There's now T Mobile. There's now Shine, and a lot of local and European big players as well.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:19:20]:

So we do not only have innovation, like, on the technology part or development part. We have innovation in every part of the company, especially in in marketing, who's made now finding new, platforms for for when you use this, which are maybe not too overloaded yet with with with, other companies doing marketing on it or if it's on content creations now. So there are multiple areas in the company where we are doing innovation. About the team keeping keeping the team motivated, I do not have any difficulties with that, because we have we have such a nice and dynamic young team that everyone is motivated all the time. And then, the general the the the company culture and all this is is very good for us. Why would we not have any any issues with that?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:20:08]:

I see. For our audience, KeyOne's item system is an innovative solution in the digital payment space. I was wondering for our listeners who are also in tech and the startup world, have you come across any similar innovations that are changing the game for an industry? Feel free to share your thoughts and interesting innovations you've come across down here in the comments. You guys at KeyOne are growing rapidly. How do you manage? You you already talked about company culture, the company culture and to maintain a strong team dynamic in in in in with such complex, with when the company expands so quickly. So I think that's a challenge for almost every entrepreneur out there.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:21:04]:

Yeah. Yeah. Like I mentioned before, the the culture, for for us at q one is is it's for me, it's the perfect culture. It's like, friends and family, the team, and we are laughing together. We are eating together. We are cooking together even sometimes in the office. Maybe we are even going out after work together. So so I could not imagine a better team.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:21:29]:

I'm I'm really, really grateful for that. So, also, we do not have any difficulties, with with maintaining a good culture in between because, like I like I mentioned, we are a young team and dynamic, and everyone has ex it's experience in in in in some areas while we are able to to also, yeah, grow grow rapidly.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:21:51]:

Mhmm. I see. We will be back after short break. Welcome back, guys, to our interview with, Julian, the founder of KeyOne that offers a unique delivery IDEN address. I'm talking about market trends and entrepreneurship here. We are seeing a lot of emerging trends in the tech and startup ecosystem, especially with the rise of digital payments and identity validation solutions. How do you see the the market involving over the next three to five years? And where do you think KeyOne fits into that picture?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:22:34]:

I see various development directions in the ecommerce market, and key one is, yeah, profiting nearly of all of them. I I I think AI artificial intelligence, will play will play a transformative role also in the ecommerce market, and we even anticipate their their solutions that go beyond what we can currently imagine. Also for for QAna, maybe we'll we'll say something about that later about, artificial intelligence. But, also now after a few years without the big growth in the ecommerce market, I think that, in the next few years, the ecommerce market, will will will definitely grow. Also, we'll even outperform the the local shops even more now. Since it's also getting easier for people to start their first shop or a new shop, with now the launch of of TikTok shop in Germany and also other social media apps like like Instagram, Meta, Instagram and Facebook, where people are able to have their own shop and get in touch with ecommerce industry and maybe have the first shop. And if it's going quite well for them like that, they would maybe also build up their their first real online shop without a social media app, where I think, the ecommerce will still grow. And, also, I I I saw a study a few days ago that in the next few years, 60% of all purchases in online shops will be done over, digital wallets.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:23:59]:

Yeah. And key one is, the the only solution in Germany with these functionalities, also for for the digital wallet point now. Where do I see q one in the next three to five years? I see q one in the in the next three to five years as the leading company in in that in that k in that case, in in the DACH region. Yeah. Mhmm.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:24:22]:

Being young and active in the start up world, how do you approach balancing short term results with the long term vision of your company?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:24:35]:

I think I think, short term results are not a contradiction to our long term vision. Yeah. They're more like a part of it, like like steps on a staircase. So we are trying to maintain a balance between short and long term results to neither chase quick, wins at the expense of sustainability nor lose, agility by sinking too far ahead. I think also good analogy for this in in sports is, let's say a team wants to win, the champions league. Yeah. It cannot only focus on the final vision. Yeah.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:25:10]:

It must take it one game at a time, ensuring continuous continuous progress by keeping the big picture in mind similarly to q one. We focus on hitting key milestones such as getting more users, getting more shops, securing funding, expanding to new markets, and many more. But that helps us to move step by step forward, to to our ultimate vision, of becoming then the market leader in the DAF region and expanding to even more markets than the ecommerce, market in even more countries. Mhmm.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:25:42]:

Your influences and inspirations. You mentioned your father as a successful entrepreneur. What specific advice or lessons has he shared with you that you're still applying to your own business and journey?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:25:57]:

Wow. That's a good question. I think there are there are countless lessons I've learned from my father, as many of our conversations have shaped my my mindset and does my approach to business. Maybe a few key key insights might be, that every problem can be solved with the right mindset. Yeah. And, also that the challenges are not roadblocks, but rather steps on the ladder to personal growth, what I mentioned earlier, before. Also for me, I had some injuries, in in football. Many others maybe would would have been sad and think, oh, why did it happen to me and not to someone else? But, for me personally, I always try to to figure out why this why did it happen? Why did god gave me why do I receive this challenge? And maybe then to think, okay.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:26:50]:

What can I learn from it and and what's different in that situation that I did not have in my life before maybe? But also, the way the way we approach a problem, yeah, mentally often often determines the the the outcome. And, what lessons out a good a good lesson, I think, that you told me is that that everyone everything, like, becomes materialistic, started as a sword. Yeah? No matter if it's now a a a rocket, record, chair, no matter. Everything started as a sword also with artificial intelligence. That means that also helped me staying confident in turning vision into reality. So so these are some of the some of the insights, lessons he taught me. If I if I would move on, I think I would talk too much now. So

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:27:42]:

also wondering, there's a big inspiration inside your family. Are there any entrepreneurs or leaders you admire or you draw inspiration from outside of your family?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:27:53]:

Mhmm. Mhmm. Yeah. There are there are many, entrepreneurs that I that I admire. I could name a few without wanting to judge their political influence or, or anything. For example now for example now Elon Musk, I think what he achieved in the in the past is absolutely incredible with with PayPal and, and also now now Tesla and SpaceX. The things he's bringing into life are absolutely incredible. He just has a thought, and then directly, it and he brings it to reality.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:28:27]:

So I think Elon Musk, what what he did also was was selling PayPal for, I think it was 1,500,000,000.0. Also, and his shares were were only worth hundred 80 only hundred 80,000,000. But also the founder of Telegram, for example, Pavel Durov, I think what he achieved, they are a team of less than 40 employees, and they, have achieved the milestone of getting more than 1,000,000,000 users. The founders of Instagram, I think it's also a great story. Or or the the the the, WhatsApp story, they sold the company for $119,000,000,000 with less than 60 employees. I think that's also one of the the the best stories in this market in the somewhere brothers maybe, yeah, who also founded Zalando and then many other businesses. But also from my close or personal environment, I admire entrepreneurs like the the father of two friends of mine who build up a company with now nearly, 1,000,000,000 in revenue, and, they also started in roughly my age. So there are definitely a few entrepreneurs that I admire.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:29:37]:

Yes. I think so. Looking at your future plans and vision, what's next for q one?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:29:45]:

What's next for q one? There are there are many products and features we will we will launch in the in the, near future. Some of them, I can maybe tell, from the development we started q one. It's easy to integrate new systems, and our German listeners will know maybe Payback. Yeah. I don't know if if the people from from outside Germany will know it. But for Payback, users can get points if they buy something with their Payback, app or card. And, also, we could integrate or we want to integrate solutions like Payback into the, into q '1 so that users only need to maybe, save their Payback customer ID in their KeyOne account. And if they're on an online shop which supports Payback online, it could automatically fetch the the pay for Payback customer number to even integrate that.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:30:41]:

Also, an an own payment message of key one. At the moment, we are not handling the payment. We are giving the user the opportunity to save his payment, his his favorite payment, solution. But we are not, not we are not handling the payment at no at the moment. Also, the integrated creation of artificial intelligence is is very interesting for q one. There are a few concepts we have planned for that. Nothing that's fine and where I could just say more about it, but also on on loyalty bro program where users get, points for their engagement on social media post now, for example, or videos or in general for the engagement in in or ordering with q one for the engagement in in in in touch with q one. But, yeah, except of of launching new products and features, we we also, constantly optimize the the current solution, platform or the the plugins now, the APIs.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:31:51]:

Yeah. I hope I was able to to answer your question.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:31:56]:

Yes. And where do you see this all emerge, get together in the next five to ten years?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:32:04]:

In five to ten years, I I, for sure, want to look back on a on a big success. But I think in the next, five to yeah. Five, six years, we could, well, we we will see a huge international reach, of KeyOne, maybe also in over a hundred thousand online shops that use KeyOne already. We want to have more than 10,000,000 active users per month, in in that time. But but even more industries and and markets should, should profit from the system that time, not only in the ecommerce market. But yeah. For example, the the standard things also for me personally and my family that everyone is healthy and fit. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:32:51]:

We'll be back after a short ad break after, for the last few questions. Hey, guys. Welcome back to the last part of my interview with Julian, the founder of KeyOne that offers the IDAN number for getting your deliveries and payments in one short word. Football played a huge role in your life, and now you're focused on entrepreneurship. Do you still find time to watch and play football? And how does it help you to unwind and motivate you?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:33:29]:

Yeah. I I still take the time to play football. So two times per week, I I take the time to play with my friends, and get a free mind to to have place maybe also for for new thoughts and ideas. I think that's very important for me not only to keep me motivated, but also just to, like I mentioned, get a free mind and forget everything what's forget all the challenges and then focus afterwards on on on all the the ideas for it again. Watching football is most of the time not possible time wise, but sometimes I I managed to watch a game the evening with my dad and then talk about, a key one habit. But, yeah. So I definitely I definitely take the time for for playing football and get a free mind.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:34:18]:

It it's always good to have a place where you can unwind and get new ideas. Finally, you have been involved in a lot of different aspects of your business. If you were working on key one right now, what's something else you could see doing yourself right now or in the future?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:34:43]:

Frankly speaking, I cannot consider, anything as I'm working with with all my energy for q one. It's a lot of fun and for me and, yeah, I I couldn't imagine a better life than the one I live at the moment. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:34:59]:

Great. Thank you, Julian. It's been such a pleasure having you on the show today and hearing your incredible journey. As we wrap up, we'd love to hear from our audience. What's one piece of advice or insight from today's episode that resonated most with you? Drop your thoughts in the comment below. We are excited to see what you took away from Julien's story and how it might impact your own entrepreneurial journey. Julien, you we usually end our interviews with two questions. Number one, are you looking for new employees? And secondly, are you open to talk to new investors?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:35:40]:

Yes. I can answer both questions with with yes. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:35:45]:

That that that is that is pretty sure. So, everybody who would be interested to work with you, do you have a company website, or should they straight apply via the

Julian Pfeiffer [00:35:56]:

It's it's it's key1.me, like, in the background maybe, like, you can see. I know. Not in the podcast. K.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:36:02]:

We'll link it down here in the show notes. Yeah. And the investors, can they, approach you straight on LinkedIn?

Julian Pfeiffer [00:36:10]:

Exactly. Yeah. We can also link my LinkedIn profile.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:36:13]:

Great. Thank you very much.

Julian Pfeiffer [00:36:15]:

Thank you, Joe. It was a pleasure.

Narrator Dorsey Jackson [00:36:22]:

That's all, folks. Find more news, streams, events, and interviews at www.startuprad.io. Remember, sharing is caring.

STARTUPRAD.IO

The IDAN System: Revolutionizing E-commerce in the DACH Region and Beyond

Management Summary:

Our Sponsor: Meet Vanta

The Entrepreneurial Leap: From Football to Founding KeyOne

The Power of Positive Influence: Lessons from an Entrepreneurial Father

Conquering the "Chicken or Egg" Dilemma: KeyOne's Early Challenges

Introducing the IDAN System: Simplifying E-commerce for the DACH Region

What is the IDAN System?

Key Benefits of the IDAN System

Solving Delivery Challenges: Beyond Standard Addresses

What3Words Integration

Geodata Input

The Future of KeyOne: Innovation and Growth

KeyOne’s Future Plans

People Also Ask (PAA) Questions

How does the IDAN system improve data security for online shoppers?

What are the benefits of the IDAN system for online retailers?

How does KeyOne plan to integrate artificial intelligence into its platform?

What is KeyOne's vision for international expansion?

How did Julian Pfeiffer's experience as a footballer influence his entrepreneurial journey?

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