Orderlion: On a really Good Run, Building Europe's Leading Food Supply Platform

Stefan, you and Patrick originally just wanted to apply your university knowledge in practice. That turned into Orderlion. How did that happen?

Right after university, we founded our first company—a consulting agency that developed specialized software for other businesses. Over time, we gained more and more clients in the food industry, including international restaurant chains like Vapiano and Burger King, major supermarket chains like REWE as well as wholesalers.
We implemented projects in production, procurement, sales, and ultimately across the entire supply chain. What we realized was that companies—whether producers, wholesalers, or restaurateurs—managed their internal processes well. But challenges always arose when dealing with suppliers and partners. No one had a solution for that. So, we started researching.

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What did you find out?

The food supply chain is one of the largest industries worldwide. There are millions of restaurants in Europe and half a million wholesalers, overall we are looking at an astounding €2 trillion annual purchasing volume.

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That sounds promising.

Yes, but when you dive into the details, it’s not so easy. We spoke with several vegetable wholesalers, for example, and asked how they run their businesses. The answer was always the same: pen and paper, phone calls, voicemail, fax machines. The average restaurateur orders from 5 to 20 different suppliers. And then you have all sorts of suppliers in each country for beverages, meat, vegetables, packaging, cleaning products—you name it. That’s when we realized it’s not just a huge market; it’s also incredibly complex.

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Yet, you took the leap. What was your "Aha!" moment?

Our customers had already told us that if we managed to develop a good product, they would be willing to pay for it. We spent the first year building the initial prototype in our free time and tested it with our existing customers. It worked. That was the defining moment when we said, "Okay, this has massive potential. It won’t be easy, but it’s doable." That’s when we officially founded Orderlion.

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Even before development, we had commitments from customers willing to pay for a supply chain platform.

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You say you have the most comprehensive product on the market and, at the same time, a ‘super simple ordering app.’ How do these two things go together? More features usually mean more complexity.

Our approach is product discovery. The customer doesn’t need to see or understand the entire product right away. They discover more features over time. It’s like an iPhone—you don’t see everything at once.

In principle, we have two levels of detail. The first level is very simple and user-friendly. The second level provides access to more advanced features, which are only needed occasionally or at a later stage.

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A great product hides features from you until you actually need them.

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You’re active in ten countries. What were the biggest challenges?

In Europe, you face different languages and cultural differences. In Germany, customers expect data and facts, while in England, they prefer a story with polite introductions. It’s not just about translation but also about adapting communication styles. That means you need people who truly understand the language and culture. And you won’t find all of them in Vienna. You need local teams, which is why many startups with traditional office models struggle to expand across Europe early on.

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How do you manage your Europe-wide team from Vienna?

We built our team remotely from day one. That makes it easier compared to companies trying to introduce remote work later. What works well for us is that each team meets in person once per quarter, and the entire company gathers physically twice a year.
Another key aspect is that I’m obsessively focused on focus.

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Obsessively focused on focus?

That means minimizing meetings, Slack messages, and emails so that everyone can concentrate on their core tasks and be productive. In many companies, people get to Friday and wonder where their time went. Often, it’s a matter of company culture.

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How do you ensure focus within your team?

You have to distinguish between creative workers and managers. You may know Paul Graham’s famous 2009 essay from Y Combinator about the “Maker vs. Manager Schedule.”
As a maker, you just want to program and stay in your flow without interruptions. As a manager, it’s fine to work in smaller time blocks and attend multiple meetings.
The mistake is forcing someone with a maker schedule—like a developer—into a manager schedule, such as product planning. Keeping these two work styles separate is crucial for maintaining focus. Distinguishing between maker and manager schedules is essential for maintaining focus.

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You say you are having a good run. Looking back, what’s your biggest learning?

In hindsight, I should have been more impatient at times—setting shorter deadlines and pushing for faster execution. If you say, "I want to accomplish this in three months," ask yourself if it can be done in four weeks. In my experience, it usually can.

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Achieve more in less time? The trick is to give yourself less time and ask, "Can we do this in half the time?"

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Do you have a final tip for other SaaS startups?

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As a SaaS company, never customize for individual clients. The moment you start tailoring features for specific customers, you’re in trouble. You have to resist that temptation.

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Fascinating insights—thank you, Stefan! Wishing you continued success on your run!

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