Fumbling with order forms, waiting in a long queue only to discover that someone else has already come to pick up your order. Ordering a sandwich at school was such a big frustration for 19-year-old Sien De Vriese that she decided to devote her thesis to devising a concrete solution to this time-consuming problem. The result is Sendwich, an app that suddenly makes ordering and picking up lunch easy.

From thesis to start-up

Turning your own frustration into a great idea that could well be a gap in the market, it's a way many entrepreneurs go about it. Yet starting her own business was not immediately what Sien De Vriese had in mind. In the beginning, she saw the problem of ordering sandwiches at school merely as a meaningful topic for her thesis.

"When I got to choose a topic for my final paper in my final year of Social Engineering, I wanted to go for something that was totally different from the rest, something that would actually benefit people," she interjects. "Since I was extremely annoyed by the fact that ordering a simple sandwich almost cost me my entire break, I decided to combine the useful with the pleasant and help my school come up with a ready-made solution."

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That she would also bring this solution to market was totally out of the question at the time. "As my thesis was gradually taking shape, I had it proofread regularly by external people, such as teachers and family members. They were totally on board with the story and thought there was a lot of potential in it. Only then did I decide to take the plunge and really start developing my idea."

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Acclaim from Flemish schools

It is not only the support of those close to her, but also - and perhaps especially - the endorsement of quite a few Flemish schools that made De Vriese click. "During my research phase, I sent out a survey to all Flemish schools. As many as 131 schools filled it out, and it quickly became clear to me that it was not just students who were experiencing difficulties ordering sandwiches at school," she explains. "Although each school had worked out its own system - from putting receipts in mailboxes to queuing to order - they all indicated that they wasted a lot of time on this, on average about five hours a day."

There was also striking unanimity among respondents about a possible solution. "In my questionnaire I reached out a lot of possible solutions, but almost all schools indicated that they would prefer a digitization of the process. A mobile app therefore seemed to me to be the most obvious choice."

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Student, school and supplier on one platform

To offer a better alternative to the current approach of schools, the app had to be especially easy to use. "For me, it was very important that a student could order and pick up a sandwich in as few clicks as possible," explains the 19-year-old initiator. "The idea is for a student to link their account to the right school once by scanning the unique QR code for that particular school. Then they can very easily add money to their digital wallet and place their order with the vendors chosen by the school. Upon pickup, it is the school leader who can scan the student's QR code and that way he or she can see exactly what the student in question has ordered."

For the schools, then, control over the app proved to be an important issue. "Each school can decide which suppliers to add and which products students can choose from. Schools attach great importance to this because they naturally want to meet the guidelines regarding healthy eating. This means that the app can look different for each school, which is what makes Sendwich so unique," the initiator emphasizes.

In addition to the students and the schools, there is a third party using the app, namely the suppliers of the lunch sandwiches. "Like the schools, they make use of the web application, and behind that is immediately the revenue model. For schools and students, the app is completely free, but we take a small commission on the revenue that suppliers turn in thanks to Sendwich."

"Of course, the suppliers get a lot in return. Since they now receive their order in real time and can start buttering early, they can organize their work more efficiently and save on other costs. When the students can efficiently order their sandwich at school, they are also going to see their sales increase. Students are then also no longer going to have to pick up their sandwich in the morning before school and so, consequently, the store may be able to open its doors a little later. If it concerns the school's internal kitchen, that commission is a little lower," Sien De Vriese clarifies. Besides sandwich stores, soup shops or fruit suppliers can also register as external suppliers in the app, by the way.

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Straight from school

Immediately after earning her degree, De Vriese decided to throw herself into her business full-time. "I briefly considered further studies. I had my eye on studying interior design, but since this study requires a lot of time and energy even after school hours, it was not compatible with Sendwich. So I decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship anyway," she says.

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At that time, Sien De Vriese knew little to nothing about entrepreneurship and everything that comes with it. Fortunately, she could count on a lot of help. "During the start-up, my dad in particular helped me a lot. Our whole family also invested in Sendwich, so it's actually a family business," she laughs.

"Also MAD Factory, which built our app, was very actively our sparring partner in working out the technical side, because above all, of course, it had to be professional. It also gave us a lot of confidence that this specialized company really believed in the concept and that they would continue to take care of all the IT modules. In other words, we have built a real partnership, which is indispensable for the success of this project. In addition, I am a member of Unizo, where I also learned a lot. And of course I must not forget to mention YouTube and Google(laughs)."

Despite the tremendous support, De Vriese quickly learned the small edges of entrepreneurship. "I found that you have to be very strong in your shoes, because not everyone is a fan of your product. By the way, there is a big difference between addressing companies and addressing schools. While schools are used to dealing with young people and have a huge favor factor, with companies your age does sometimes play a role," she relates. "Networking was also a big barrier for me in the beginning, because I had to learn to convince adults about my product."

Corona: every disadvantage has its advantage

To top it off, there was also COVID-19. "The coronavirus outbreak was very twofold. The closure of schools suddenly made it much more difficult to give demos and presentations. Moreover, many schools did not have time to deal with that kind of thing, as following up and complying with the strict measures demanded all their attention," explains De Vriese.

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Fortunately, there were many schools that responded very positively just because of the crisis. "Sendwich is a completely coronaproof alternative to ordering sandwiches at school. So some schools thought it was great that this way they could just continue the sandwich system."

As a result, the young businesswoman sees 2021 as a great fit. "I try not to look too far ahead and to focus on what is happening now. I have learned that patience and perseverance are very important, so I will try to focus on that. Hopefully this will result in a lot of demos and presentations at schools, so I can really put Sendwich on the map for good," the Flemish-Brabant native sounds ambitious.

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https://www.bloovi.be/artikels/stories/2021/van-eindwerk-tot-start-up-deze-19-jarige-lanceert-een-app-waarmee-leerlingen-hun-schoollunch-online-kunnen-bestellen