In Poland during COVID-19, a simple garage was the place where three friends decided to set up their e-commerce startup. In 2021, they started the whole project by selling personalized mugs and then expanded their catalog to include T-shirts, pillows, and bags. They say they don’t consider themselves multimillionaires, but the business has been successful and they have expanded to Germany. They have now expanded their business to the Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary. Read on to find out more.
A great decision: a flourishing business
In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, three Polish friends found themselves with nothing to do due to the fact that it was almost not possible to do anything. There they were, sat in a garage at one of their sister-in-law’s home, by the time they made the decision to give shape to what is currently a prosperous business.
Begining in April 2021, they determined to make some money by selling personalised mugs. Given the situation, demand for home goods was increasing during that time: as they all had anterior knowledge in online selling, the group were able to set up production nearly immediately in that garage and steadily create their catalog beyond mugs to include T-shirts, pillows, bags, and more items.
The way Tortli was born
That’s the way Tortli was created, an e-commerce company whose main work is based on the customization of mugs. As Piotr Szyska stated to the Polish media outlet Onet:
“We started with the mugs themselves. For about 2-3 months, we created products in their garage. Eventually, we moved to our production room, where we still work today. Nowadays, it generates millions in revenue and its assortment includes not only customized mugs, but also t-shirts, pillows, and bags”.
Sales were promising
From day one, sales were positive. Within a few months, they were pulling in the equivalent of about $25,000 in just a single day. However, their growth didn’t come without difficulties: investments were required in equipment, facilities, staff, and logistics. The story goes that even as the money flowed in, as earnings were always being plowed back into growth, the friends resisted seeing themselves as “millionaires”.
TIn addition, they never considered themselves millionaires, as the trio has been explaining.
“Because even though that money appeared and was in the account, it had to be reinvested. Since sales were growing very quickly, it was necessary to buy more machines, invest in production, the team, expand the warehouse, and so on.”
They had to face some difficulties
Their success continued within Poland, but at the time they tried to replicate it out of the country, things got more hard. Expansion into Germany, as an example, exposed them to several consumer preferences, regulatory complexity, and logistical friction. Nevertheless, spite of the missteps and the initial walls to scale, they currently have operations in neighbouring markets like the Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary.
What must be underlined is the way a modest garage startup during lockdown turned into a multimillion-euro enterprise in just a few years, largely by sticking not away from their competencies, moving fast in a quickly-changing market, reinvesting profits, and steadily expanding geographically.
Poland’s e-commerme boom
Polish e-commerce grew 9.6% last year, and marketplaces now handle 50-60% of all online sales. That’s a huge chunk – bigger than most European countries manage. Poland entered e-commerce later than Western Europe. This gave local platforms time to establish themselves before Amazon showed up – unlike Germany or France, where Amazon dominated early.
The key insight? In Poland, you need a marketplace strategy. With marketplaces controlling up to 60% of e-commerce, selling direct-only means missing most potential customers.
Poland presents a unique opportunity: a substantial, expanding e-commerce market where competitive dynamics remain fluid. Domestic leaders, American giants, Chinese market entrants, and European category specialists are competing for 36 million consumers with rising purchasing power.
