Irek Gronert

I founded my first company while still doing my civilian service: a small IT firm that managed computer networks for tax advisors and law firms.

From that point on, entrepreneurship never let go of me. An online marketing agency followed, then my own fulfillment and logistics company, shipping up to 100,000 packages a month for e‑commerce retailers. With a nanotechnology‑based screen protector, I launched my first brand of my own in e‑commerce — and grew the range with additional products. The brand made it onto German television, appearing on ProSieben, RTL, Sat.1 and 1LIVE, among others.

Then I made the boldest move of all: I left everything behind, relocated to Dubai and founded baaboo Europe — my first true e‑commerce company. Today it counts more than two million customers and has generated over 200 million euros in revenue. As Founder and Chairman, I set the strategic direction; as CEO of baaboo Media in Dubai, I drive the global expansion.

My focus is on strategy, technology and investment decisions — across all of my ventures. Whether e‑commerce, social media, entertainment formats or real estate: I combine clear‑eyed market analysis with the willingness to invest early and decisively in new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

I live and work between Dubai and the Philippines — and I’m regularly on the road across Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Looking back on this whole journey, the setbacks are as much a part of it as the successes. Over the years I’ve invested in the wrong people and the wrong brands, and launched products and concepts that flopped completely. Sometimes we were simply too early, sometimes the idea wasn’t ready for the market, sometimes something else entirely was missing. All told, I’ve burned through nearly half a million euros — spread across projects, products and stakes that didn’t work out. And yet that was precisely my most valuable education: every one of those mistakes showed me what really matters and made me a better entrepreneur.

Because to me, building companies is like LEGO Technic: hunting down the right pieces and putting them together is more fun than the finished model. That’s why I keep building — on baaboo, and on everything new still to come.