Meet Thom van den Ende | Found Dutch Flower House

We had the good fortune of connecting with Thom van den Ende and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Thom, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When starting my company, I took every step in product development based on a consumer’s way of thinking, so that the products fit well with the consumer’s needs. This was initially difficult because we launched a relatively new product on the American market and not many people were aware of it yet. In addition to thinking from the consumer’s perspective, it is also important to properly set up the organization. We are a rapidly growing company and I am still working on expanding and stabilizing the organization every week. Every week I look back on the goals we achieve as a team in order to improve.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Business wise, I think creative entrepreneurship has been running through my blood from an early age. starting with a webshop during my student period. after which I started my first company, Colorful Seasons, in 2017, we sold completely biodegradable packaging for flowers and plants in Europe. After selling this company in 2019, I started Dutch Flower House as an online shop. Here we saw sales of dried flowers grow, and I started putting together our own collection together with a few designers. We started selling our own collection to retailers in Europe.

Because as an entrepreneur I am always looking for challenges, I decided to investigate the American market in 2022 and started from Miami. Miami is the flower capital of the United States. after many meetings with wholesalers in Miami, the first orders started to come. This gave me so much confidence in our products that I moved to Miami myself. It has now been 2 years and we now have an entire organization with a team in Miami and a team in Michigan.

Looking at the initial phase Entrepreneurship itself often involves trial and error, especially in the beginning. but as an entrepreneur you still keep going, it is a drive that only entrepreneurs understand, I think. it is similar to a roller coaster. on Monday you’re looking forward to it, on Wednesday you think I’ll stop, and on Friday you look back on a week with satisfaction.
The biggest lesson I have learned from this adventure so far is to keep faith in yourself and stay positive, even if things don’t go well sometimes.

The highlight of this year so far was that we won the best new vendor award in the lawn & garden section during the ACE hardware supplier show in Dallas. in which we defeated gigantic companies such as big green egg. that gives a huge kick.

Regarding the brand Dutch Flower House, there are 3 important things for me. Sustainability, Quality, and customer experience,

At Dutch Flower House, sustainability isn’t just a goal; it’s a mindset. We believe that making sustainable choices should be second nature, and our products reflect this ethos. As leaders in the field of dried flower concepts, we are committed to ecological and social sustainability. Constantly monitoring and measuring our product performance, we take proactive measures to conserve energy and implement environmentally friendly policies. Our long-lasting, sustainably produced, and fully biodegradable products exemplify our dedication to a better, more responsible future.

I always say
“We don’t sell happiness, but dried flowers come pretty close.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First of all, that will be a busy week for the people visiting me, because Miami has so much to offer! I really love this city and feel at home here! So if my friend would come over, we would start the monday morning with a run besides the inter coastel and claughton island, in brickell where i live. and get some breakfast and skinny toast. and off course then get back to work and i always chill on monday evening. then one of my favorite days! Taco Tuesday! i always make sure i quit work on time, to go to Socal in brickell, the best bar by far in brickell with amazing tacos and margheritas. there Taco Tuesday is awesome, and I have met so many inspiring people there. Wednesdays and Thursdays I would definitely tour my friend around Wynwood and design district, I love the creative vibe over there. also we would go to Happy wine in West miami, they got great spanish food there. Friday i would definitely start at Bayshore club and Regatta in Coconut grove, and later go to Baracuda’s i love the vibe there. i love to be on the water so saturday i will rent a small boat and drive it myself, go for some bloody marys at monthlys on south beach. Sundays I love to spend on the beach, most likely crandon park area

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
If you have asked me this question 4 weeks ago I would refer it to a Dutch book, called the ladder, it is about learning to know yourself better and work on yourself to achieve your goals. but unfortunately 3 weeks ago my best friend suddenly passed away, a very inspiring entrepreneur, with whom I always discussed business decisions and private situations. He has been my role model from an early age, and especially during the start-up of my company. So I definitely would like to dedicated this to my Mentor and best friend Maarten.

Website: www.dutchflowerhouse.com

Instagram: @thomvdende

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thom-van-den-ende-49a4a391/

Facebook: Thom van den ende