When e-commerce started to grow and more and more carriers started delivering parcels, Gregory thought something could be done about missed deliveries. He founded ParcelHome together with a strong team consisting of experts in the fields of logistics, IT & electronics and outdoor furniture. After very positive feedback from e-tailers, postal networks and carriers, he started raising capital in May 2013.
A panel of judges composed of experienced VCs from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, each investing in the high growth sectors of areas of Internet, IT, Cleantech, MedTech and Life Sciences voted Greg Mackin and, his team and their company ParcelHome the Winner of the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition for Europe and Israel. This crowned a year of hard work and gave everyone a well-deserved energy boost.
With the support of the international carriers DHL Parcel, DPD, GLS, Bpost and PostNL ParcelHome’s ‘smart box’ was launched in Belgium with a pilot project in Mechelen. 100 people participated in the project and used the ParcelHome for one year. The project was a success. The ParcelHome team used participants to improve the new generation of ParcelHome units over the coming year. The success of the project brought with it a great deal of press coverage. It boosted the general awareness of the company in Belgium and consumer interest.
A new generation of the smart box. The ParcelHome 2, was launched based on the insights of the pilot test. The product’s size, design and user experience were all improved. A select group of early adoptors in Belgium and France had the opportunity to buy it. The first parcel boxes became visible on the streets.
ParcelHome partners with a major box manufacturer, which enables the company to scale up. At the same time, the company invests in its branding and a user-friendly e-commerce platform. Through which, we launched the ParcelHome 3 across various European markets. Besides Belgium, the ParcelHome 3 becomes available in France, The Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom.
Based on customer demand, our product range expanded to include a new colour: black. The ParcelHome team also continued to expand to serve the different markets as best as possible. Motivated employees with multilingual skills in areas such as marketing, sales, logistics, and customer support are joining the company.
Greg is a finance and project management expert; he drives the international expansion of ParcelHome and new commercial offerings. Greg will not rest until he gets bakery delivered by drone in his ParcelHome on Sunday mornings – a noble cause.
Jean-Michel is an IT & Technology specialist and is in charge of coordinating electronics developments and IT developments at ParcelHome. Having built is own house, Jean-Michel is an expert in home automation systems – smart homes rule!!
Margot is a marketing expert focusing on getting as many ParcelHomes in the streets of Belgium and the Netherlands as possible. Her dream is to have all the shoes of the London Fashion Week directly delivered in her ParcelHome.
Emmanuel takes care of the finance, logistic and production issues at ParcelHome. Emmanuel is convinced that ParcelHome can radically change the local delivery ecosystem; he can’t wait for all the houses in his street having one.
Pierrette is in charge of Parcelhome's customer support and communication throughout the Benelux. Her dream is to make all of the customers happy and to promote ParcelHome all over the world. Pierrette likes to get her 'Valentino' bags delivered in her ParcelHome.
