Athens entrepreneur Rania Lamprou starts coding during COVID lockdown
- Rania Lamprou started her e-commerce platform, Simpler, during the COVID-19 lockdown in Athens, aiming to improve the checkout process.
- The startup has grown to over 250 merchants and half a million registered shoppers, raising €9 million for expansion in Europe.
- Simpler targets the European market with localized solutions, contrasting with competitors focused on the U.S., and expects significant revenue growth.
During the first COVID-19 lockdown in Athens, Rania Lamprou recognized the surge in online e-commerce driven by social distancing measures. She aimed to create a more efficient checkout process for both merchants and customers, leading to the development of her startup, Simpler. Lamprou partnered with university friends Alex Kyriakopoulos and Spyros Mandekis, successfully raising a $1 million pre-seed round to kickstart their venture. Simpler has since attracted over 250 merchants and more than half a million registered shoppers, with expectations to increase revenue tenfold by 2025. The startup recently secured €9 million (approximately $10 million) in a pre-Series A funding round to expand its operations in the U.K., Italy, and Spain. Lamprou noted that while the U.S. market faces significant challenges, Europe presents different issues that require localized solutions. The European e-commerce landscape has seen a remarkable 66% growth from 2019 to 2021, with projections suggesting it could reach $955 billion by 2028. This growth creates a strong demand for innovative solutions like Simpler, which offers a one-click buying experience across various stores and channels. Unlike competitors such as Bolt, which primarily focus on the U.S. market, Simpler is strategically targeting the European market. Lamprou emphasized that they have developed a comprehensive end-to-end solution with significantly less funding than their U.S. counterparts, positioning Simpler to meet the unique needs of European consumers and businesses.