In 2021 my company Veeqo was acquired by Amazon. Just over a year later, we teamed up to announce the opening of Amazon’s first corporate office in Wales. Our new premises, home to the Veeqo team and some of our colleagues from Amazon, is based in Swansea city centre. There was never a question that it would be based anywhere else.
It was a very proud moment for the team – it felt incredible that one of the biggest companies in the world wanted the team and software we had built. This was the first time one of the global tech companies had acquired a Welsh company.
Over a decade ago, I was living in London and felt the hiraeth for home. Hiraeth does not have a translation into English, but the closest would be a combination of longing, nostalgia and homesickness for home, for Wales.
From a lifestyle perspective, moving my young family back to Wales turned out well. We take the kids down to the beach after school and escape to the mountains at weekends. When we first came home to Wales, there wasn’t much of a tech ecosystem or industry here. However, I really believed that tech companies could help fill the gap left by the steel and coal industries of the past and create high paying, high quality jobs which would help Wales retain the young talent that often flocks to London.
It was at this point that I decided to start my own company. That company, Veeqo, began creating software to help online sellers to be successful, and while helping small businesses to grow was a key aim in founding the business, my main driver was more local than that: I wanted to build a tech company that would create high quality jobs and play a small part in creating a tech ecosystem in Wales.
While it’s fantastic to grow our customer base globally, it’s imperative to me that we also support businesses in our community. Thankfully, we work with some fantastic businesses across Wales, including two South Wales success stories.
In the early days, Veeqo grew fast. We raised over £5 million in funding from investors and grew our client base locally and internationally to more than 1,000 customers.
This success led to Amazon acquiring the company in 2021. It was a very proud moment for the team – it felt incredible that one of the biggest companies in the world wanted the team and software we had built. This was the first time one of the global tech companies had acquired a Welsh company.
Since then, and with investment from Amazon, we have hired 50 more people. Today, our team is more than 120 strong. Most of our new hires are local, but in September, we relaunched Veeqo at Amazon’s annual Seller conference in Seattle in front of 25,000 people. At this event, we announced that our business seller software would be completely free for SMEs, and we have had thousands of sellers sign up with us since.
While it’s fantastic to grow our customer base globally, it’s imperative to me that we also support businesses in our community. Thankfully, we work with some fantastic businesses across Wales, including two South Wales success stories.
Naissance, a skincare retailer based in Neath, specialises in naturally produced oils and natural ingredients, as well as bath bombs and salts and kits. Jem Skelding started the business in 2005, inspired by a combination of years of travelling the world and his childhood in Zambia.
From its base in South Wales, the company now sells to customers all over the world, thanks to partnerships with Veeqo and Amazon. Naissance uses Amazon’s different seller platforms, including Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) alongside our technology, to reach customers globally.
We also work with Walrus Apparel, an online golf apparel retailer based here in Swansea. The brand’s founder, Huw Morgan, was an early adopter of ours in 2014 and is currently using Amazon and Veeqo’s discounted postal service rates to expand its operation in the US and fulfil a growing number of customer orders.
With the opening of our new office in Swansea, we have the capacity to expand the team and to invest further into building the best software for online sellers. This year, Veeqo will be 10 years old and three of my first hires are still here today. Three once wet behind the ear graduates are now senior members of the team. Thank you for your support and your service, Jade, Matthew and Anton.
With a new home, new team members and an expanding customer base, the future has never looked brighter for Veeqo.
If you’re reading this and you experience your own hiraeth for home, then pack your bags and come back to Wales. The possibilities here are endless.
Read more about the opening of Amazon’s development centre in Swansea and our investment in Wales.
