Welcome to our spotlight series. This week we feature Thomas Gros, CEO and Co-Founder of circulee, a startup that extends the lifetime of IT devices in professional environments.
Thomas Gros
CEO & Co-Founder, circulee
Hi Thomas! What does circulee do?
circulee is a B2B provider of the highest quality, pre-owned IT hardware, with the mission of making Green IT simple for businesses. Through our sustainable hardware solution, we enable companies to save CO2 emissions, e-waste, costs, and time.
Why is it going to change the world?
The production of IT hardware has significant negative impact on the environment, given high CO2 emissions (over 300kg per device) and the growing volume of e-waste (the fastest growing waste stream on earth). Through a circular model, we enable the extension of IT devices lifetimes in professional environments. We help businesses deploy sustainable IT, allowing our customers to effectively contribute to resource efficiency, while saving up to 80% in CO2 emissions and up to 50% in business costs. Because we deliver large volumes of devices quickly, we also save our customers time. By delivering Green IT that works for businesses, circulee has the potential to make a significant contribution to a more sustainable planet.
What led you to start the company?
Sustainability is a topic I’ve always deeply cared about and wanted to link to my passion for entrepreneurship. While working with one of my clients, the idea of circulee came up and I knew immediately, this is it! The idea is simple and compelling, i.e., reducing CO2 emissions and preventing e-waste generation.
The use of pre-owned IT is not new, but it was historically a mostly B2C topic, where many SMEs didn’t consider buying the pre-owned devices or were unable to find the professional B2B offerings that work for them. This felt wrong as IT hardware accounts for a large chunk of the environmental impact of businesses, while businesses are increasingly looking for ways to become “more sustainable.”
With circulee, we saw the opportunity to provide a hassle-free Green IT solution, which enables businesses to save up to 80% in CO2 emissions and up to 50% in costs. We focus entirely on pre-owned IT for SMEs, combining highest quality of pre-owned devices with a digital product and enterprise-grade service.
Where do you go when you need advice?
I will typically seek multiple perspectives when facing a tough problem or decision. Of course, I will first discuss with my leadership team and our board. But in some cases, I will seek outside advice and will call people I trust. These are people who know me, that I can trust, and who I believe have valuable perspectives.
What do you wish you could tell yourself at the beginning of the journey?
I think if we had known more about the challenges around impact measurement, we would have taken more time upfront to find partners who could help us find the right methodology. Furthermore, we could have done more research around the requirements of our target customers. It took us more time than anticipated to fine-tune our product, services, and GTM model to serve small- to mid-sized companies. More research upfront could have been beneficial in that respect. Lastly, focusing early on building a diverse leadership team is key; I wish we could have brought a woman into our initial founding team.
What keeps you going through tough times?
The following three factors keep me going through tough times:
Our purpose and impact at circulee: Climate change and resource constraints are among the most pressing problems that mankind is facing. With circulee, we have a developed a very effective solution to alleviate these issues. Thinking about our impact potential is a true motivator in difficult moments.
Working with right people, who challenge the status quo and share the passion for our sustainability impact while not forgetting laughs, gives me a lot of energy.
Sport and physical activity are a critical source of energy and drive for me.
How has the pandemic impacted your business?
circulee was founded post-pandemic and therefore it is difficult to compare before and after. But it is clear that the supply chain challenges and chip-shortage that COVID has produced are both fueling the pre-owned IT market.
What’s the most exciting thing you’re working on right now?
circulee is the single most exciting and important project I am currently working on. As I am passionate about sustainability, I believe that everyone should contribute to it. Through circulee, we enable businesses effectively to prevent CO2 emissions and reduce e-waste, while also saving costs.
What’s been your most memorable moment since founding the company?
It was fascinating for me to look at the impact we generated in 2022, where in less than a year since launch, we managed to achieve the following outcomes:
+ 285,000 Kg of CO2 was saved by our customers.
+ 1000 IT devices were given a new life.
+ 300 customers equipped with pre-owned IT.
NPS of over 60
How do you celebrate your wins?
At circulee, we have a team of 23 people, working passionately together to make pre-owned IT simple for businesses in Germany. Celebrating wins and our impact is a key part of our company culture. We all celebrate our wins together at our office (e.g., in all-hands meetings) or at offsite events. We also take the time to honor and celebrate individual performance and contributions.
How can readers support you on your journey?
Our mission at circulee is to contribute to the sustainability world by making it simple for organizations to purchase and deploy pre-owned IT Hardware.
Readers can support us by spreading the word about our mission and offering. Of course anyone reading this and running / working for a business is invited to explore how simple it is to adopt Green IT with circulee. Get in touch with us and let us advise you on your journey towards sustainable IT.
Anything else you want to tell us?
You can find more information about circulee below:
Listen to a podcast here about the importance of sustainability and how companies can leverage pre-owned IT Hardware.
Learn more about the impact of pre-owned IT devices in our Whitepaper.
Check-out how we helped Made of Air & Vytal in their sustainability journey.
Follow us on social media: