These 3 men emailed eBay 200 times begging for jobs.
eBay ignored every single one.
So they stole eBay's entire business model and sold it back to them for $43 million.
Then they did it again. And again. And again.
Here's how they became the most hated billionaires: https://t.co/xXPFPOVt7U
Marc, Oliver, and Alexander Samwer noticed eBay's explosive growth in America.
They saw the same opportunity in Germany.
So they reached out to eBay repeatedly with partnership proposals.
200 emails later, still no response.
That's when they decided to do it themselves: https://t.co/G0FLXruzxo
In February 1999, they launched Alando.
An almost identical copy of eBay, but tailored for German users.
Aggressive marketing. Flawless execution.
Within months, Alando became Germany's biggest online auction site.
But that's not the crazy part... https://t.co/irjIyNq48T
eBay suddenly realized what was happening.
A German clone was eating their potential market share.
Goldman Sachs called the brothers on May 17th.
By May 30th, eBay bought Alando for $43 million.
The brothers had forced their own acquisition.
But it wasn't luck: https://t.co/dxuhHsRP5y
It was a calculated strategy that would make them billions.
The Samwers had discovered the ultimate business model:
Clone successful American companies for European markets.
Then sell to the originals or dominate locally. https://t.co/dp5m44AVmP
They called it "execution over innovation."
Why waste time inventing when you could perfect?
Through their company Rocket Internet, they systematically identified hot US trends.
Then brought them to other markets at lightning speed.
Here's where it gets wild: https://t.co/NMZ9BJktsf
Over the next two decades, they produced over 200 companies.
Jamba (mobile content), sold for $273 million.
Zalando (Zappos clone), now worth billions.
They cloned everything: Airbnb, Groupon, Amazon.
Each time the same playbook: copy, improve, sell.
But wait there's more: https://t.co/VsvNfP8P8F
The brothers didn't just steal ideas.
They improved execution and understood local markets better than the originals.
Many of their clones actually outperformed the American versions in their regions.
This is what changed everything: https://t.co/s1gnyjEKqw
Critics called them "copycat entrepreneurs" and worse.
But the Samwers argued that brilliant execution beats innovation.
They pointed to tech giants like Google and Apple, who also built on existing ideas.
Their legacy sparked debates that continue today. https://t.co/1RL2TEcrTD
The most controversial part?
Their systematic approach to competitive advantage.
They showed that being first means educating an unwilling market.
Being second means learning from others' mistakes.
Sometimes imitation with better execution wins. https://t.co/dy4AHpC85N
Today, the Samwer Brothers are worth billions.
They changed how people view innovation versus execution in tech.
Sometimes the best business strategy isn't creating something new.
It's doing something existing, but better.
But there's ONE important element: https://t.co/7MoaRUnIDz
Execution only gets you so far without visibility.
If no one sees and knows you, you don't make sales.
In the old days, you had to spend thousands on ads that nobody wanted to see.
Today's founders have a different advantage: https://t.co/F5Hy3a8Dkh
Personal Branding.
Elon Musk and Richard Branson perfected this.
With a strong personal brand, you don't need to copy and conquer.
You attract investors and customers directly to you completely organically without annoying people with ads.
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I am Zyan.
The man behind many brands you probably know here on X.
Trusted by 8-9 figure founders across various niches.
Follow me @ZyanBizBoost for more stories like this.
