People
In conversation with Demy de Zeeuw
First he reached the top as a footballer, now as an entrepreneur. In 2013, Demy de Zeeuw (Apeldoorn, 1983) founded BALR. What started with selling T-shirts online has turned into a globally available brand. Through 433, he owns a football production house that provides content to all platforms. "We have become so big that even FIFA can no longer ignore us."
First he reached the top as a football player, now as an entrepreneur. In 2013, Demy de Zeeuw (Apeldoorn, 1983) founded BALR. on. What started with selling T-shirts online has turned into a globally available brand. And with 433 he owns a football production house that provides all platforms with content. “We have become so big that even FIFA can no longer ignore us.”
You were a professional football player until 2015, for which you had to train hard. What training have you had to be able to do business?
“Actually no, just start. I started a blog that focused on the lifestyle of football players: music, travel, clothing…”
In 2013 you founded BALR. on. How did that come about?
“That idea came about when I was out with my then club Spartak Moscow and saw my teammates walking with Louis Vuitton bags. I realized that there was no fashion brand that focused on football. For an item on my blog I wanted to interview Ralph de Geus, the founder of VoetbalPrimeur, about this. He was already a partner with Juul Manders, owner of social brand agency Wannahaves. They also saw opportunities. Together we then created BALR. called in life. Months later, Gregory van der Wiel and Eljero Elia also joined as shareholders. We started as a premium fashion/lifestyle brand for professional football players, but we quickly expanded to other top athletes, deejays, young entrepreneurs and others who want to achieve their own success. own. They all share the same lifestyle, meet each other off the pitch. They have worked themselves to the top and can therefore enjoy their success.”
You chased your own success as a football player and now do so as an entrepreneur. What is the difference?
“In entrepreneurship you have much more time to make decisions, in football it's all about one split second. "
Have you made the right choices in your career as a professional footballer?
“Not only: in retrospect I should have skipped Anderlecht. It was the right choice to move from Ajax to Spartak Moscow in 2011, because it made me much better financially and it was also a great experience. In the two years that I lived there, I experienced how people live in Russia and how Putin decides everything. For example, when he went home, all streets were closed off so that Putin could drive in a straight line to his palace. Sometimes you were stuck in traffic for half an hour. He has that much power.”
Entrepreneurship is also a team sport. What system do Ralph, Juul and you play in?
“Ralph no longer has an active role in the company, Juul takes care of the organizational and business side and I am the creative person. We are well attuned to each other and very agile.”
Are the lessons that trainers have taught you useful in entrepreneurship?
"Of course. One of the most important lessons I learned was from Louis van Gaal: as a footballer you are never bigger than the club. You can only perform individually if you have a good team around you. As an entrepreneur, I don't sit in an ivory tower, but stand among people. The company comes first and not my personal will.”
To what extent did you benefit from your network in the football world when publicizing the brand?
“That helped us a lot, especially in the beginning. We sent our stuff to friends and did what is now called influencer marketing. For example, we gave our clothing to the entire Manchester United selection. Six months later, Ángel Di María transferred to Paris Saint-Germain and was photographed wearing a BALR. shirt at Doha airport, where he was for the medical examination. That image went around the world. Another time, Neymar's brother posted a photo of Neymar in a BALR. shirt. And recently a photo went around of Cristiano Ronaldo sitting on a boat in his spare time wearing a BALR. cap. That really gives us a kick: 'Wow, look at this!' Ronaldo is surely the most ultimate baller. Marcello, Fernando Torres, Ivan Rakitic and Willian, among others, have also been spotted in our clothing. If football players wear your clothes, the fans will automatically follow.”
If you see Ronaldo wearing a BALR. cap, will you approach him?
“No, we are not allowed to do that. Very quickly we were rejected by Nike and Adidas, because the players with whom they have contracts were wearing our clothing. They felt that we were in their path and sent lawyers to us. We let them know that we are not a sports brand, but much more of a lifestyle brand. Aren't they allowed to wear clothes from Louis Vuitton or Dior?"
You started with T-shirts, but soon also sold bags, slippers, boxer shorts, shoes... Initially only online. Why did you choose to open stores?
“Because people want to feel and see the items. And for us it was an experience, What can we find out more? The Flagship Store on Kalverstraat was doing well until corona arrived. In the end we closed the shop, partly because it was not a very good building: four floors, very narrow, very small – and the ground floor is where you earn the money. We still have outlets, but we want to focus more on online again. Then you have less hassle and more margin.”
You launched a Rolex and a Porsche from BALR., rented out a Vanquish in Ibiza covered with BALR. stickers and gave the trendy Blue Marlin beach club a makeover so that it looked like a BALR. beach club. What was the idea behind this?
“That's where the football players are – they also buy a Rolex and Porsche, they also belong to Blue Marlin. We even wanted to open a BALR. hotel in Ibiza, but we have on hold put. We now have a model home in Hyde Park in Hoofddorp. Buyers of one of the approximately 3.500 homes that are being built there can give their apartment the BALR. touch by purchasing the package: a PlayStation, all kinds of other gadgets, a real BALR. bed and everything digital.”
You launched an exclusive Clubman S together with MINI Cooper, a clothing collection with (RED) by U2's Bono and a backpack with DJ Hardwell. What other collaborations would you aspire to?
“Eventually also with Nike. But there are so many great brands! We have previously collaborated with, for example, Absolut Vodka and Samsung, and have now teamed up with Club Brugge: we take care of the clothing they wear to the match. What you also see: many brands conclude expensive sponsorships with FIFA or UEFA, but in the end only their logo is stuck on the boarding. Turkish Airways is a good example: it is a sponsor of the Champions League, but has approached us to further activate the sponsorship.”
To BALR. To push it even more, you started channel 433 on Instagram. You started at zero, but now have more than a billion viewers. How did it develop this way?
“It was started by Rogier Deelstra. He had two thousand followers on his football-oriented Twitter account. That was back when Instagram was just emerging. I asked if he wanted to come work for us. He then continued to roll out 433 with our help. Football videos, tricks, blunders, locker room humor... It really didn't grow that fast. We now have 52 million followers. And based on our reach figures – 5 billion impressions per month – we are the largest in the world. Clubs see us as an additional advertising pillar; players send us material so that we tag them again so that they get even more followers; and companies approach us Branded content. An example: Puma comes to us with a certain budget and asks if we can do something with Neymar. Then we make a nice creative concept around Puma and Neymar and post it on 433.”
Do you earn more from 433 than from BALR?
“With 433 we have never focused on making money. In the beginning it was even financed with BALR's revenues. Now we're at the point where we really have to go 433 monetize. That is why we started our own platform, our own app: 433 The Home of Football. We can do much more with this than with Instagram and we will also try to attract subscribers. When you see how many people we reach... If only 1 percent of them are willing to pay about three euros per month, then things are going fast."
What benefits do you get as a paying member of 433 The Home of Football?
“You can play matches and football quizzes, there are all kinds of trivia, videos and more stats Well, everything a football app should have, only more beautiful and better than the rest. We will also offer football on demand in the future. Young people want to decide for themselves when they exercise. That is why the membership of clubs is declining. For example, are you in Barcelona or London and do you want to play a game of football? Then you check the app to see if a competition has been organized in your area by 433 users and join. This way you can easily make new friends and the fields are used better, because they are deserted during the week. What we are currently setting up: measurements by sensors in your football boots. For example, via the app you can see how often you shoot with the right and left, how often with the inside and outside of the foot, you can find out all kinds of things. In addition, last year we acquired JOGO, the platform for talent development in youth football, specifically for the app.”
What is your ultimate goal with the app?
“There are so many different football apps that you no longer know where to look. We build one app that contains everything. My ultimate goal is that if you immediately want to read, watch, search or know something about football, you immediately go to 433.”
Are you going to source content from other parties?
“No, we make everything ourselves and do not scour the internet for news. At 433 we employ 120 people; the ability to create content yourself is there. And we approach it in a positive way, we are not Football Inside. "
Have you ever considered BALR. to sell and focus entirely on 433?
“Most of my time is now spent on 433, which is also a much easier business than clothing. If the right party presents itself, BALR. can grow, then I wouldn't rule out bringing in that party so we can scale up even faster.”
MASTERS MAGAZINE
Would you like to read more about the interview with Demy de Zeeuw? The winter issue of MASTERS was created in collaboration with Jordi van den Bussche. Many will know him as YouTuber Kwebbelkop, but he has been working hard as an entrepreneur for some time, as he explains in the Great Interview. What is new is that his company JVDB Studios offers to do social media marketing and short format content marketing for other companies. “They can also figure it out themselves, but we cracked the code.” Jordi gives a platform to like-minded entrepreneurs such as Jay-Jay Boske, Demy de Zeeuw, Chahid Charrak and Marcella de Bie, and discusses developments surrounding games, crypto and NFT: “Just as bitcoin turned the financial system upside down, will that also happen with gaming.” This extra thick winter issue also focuses on Lengers' first own ship, an interview with Corendon CEO Atilay Uslu, specials about the new BMW 7 Series and Samsung foldables, and - exclusively for MASTERS! – an interview with Max Verstappen.
