Spis treści:
Long ago, beyond the mountains and forests, stood the headquarters of Botland store. Wait a second, no, that’s not how it went…
Where did we actually come from? Who are we? What is a photoresistor and why company’s kettles do not work with Arduino?
Sometimes friends know each other long but poorly. Still others know each other briefly but intensely. Every relationship is different. We love our readers, and we love learning something new not only about technology, but also about you.
Today, however, with this article, the roles are reversed. It’s time for us to share our story with you!
How did it all start?
The answer to this question can be summed up in a short slogan – with university’s student passion. However, there is so much hidden under the words “student passion” that there would not be enough time to tell everything until tomorrow. This is known to anyone who remembers their college days well. How much was going on back then!
Let’s put it this way: if someone in the 1990s in Poland, crossing an intersection in a large city, saw so-called Western cars coming from the four inlets, he stood as if in a daze and had a complete freak-out. Just like in an action movie. Unfortunately, opportunities were very scarce at the time, and few could afford to own such a car.
In 2008 two students from Wroclaw University of Technology had… both a vision and a tough nut to crack. In fact, they faced the same problems as every electronics and robotics engineer of the time. In the era of ubiquitous information, presentations of amazing constructions, fruits of amateur and professional projects that awaken the appetite for one’s own experimentation had long been reaching Poland.
On the other hand, however, there was a lack of components. They wanted to create, they had the passion, but they had no way. At the time, the Wroclaw University of Technology’s Scientific Circle was an invaluable support, but still incomplete – the need to make their own steps quickly arose. It was time to take matters into their own hands and start acting.
Full of talent, no equipment
When was Botland born? We know the exact date and celebrate it like a birthday.
On October 8, 2010, Bartosz and Szymon, the protagonists of today’s article, sent their first email to an American electronics supplier with a maker spirit, the company Pololu. It’s easy to spot the similarities—this company was founded in 2000 by three students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 2001, it was still operating from an MIT dormitory, and in 2002 it moved to the warmer climate and lower taxes of Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the funding and support in universities across the ocean are quite different from those in Poland and many European countries, the challenges always have a common element. They understood.
We have been happily collaborating with Pololu to this day—for 14 years now. And here is our first line follower robot:
Winning starts now. Botland robots
Along with building robots, the time for championships arrived. The young roboticists participated in their first competition in 2008—an event held at the Wrocław University of Technology. The challenging beginnings quickly gave way to successive achievements. Over time, many competitors vying for the title of the best robot builder began to react with apprehension at the mere presence of the BOTLAND TEAM among the participants—it was simply impossible to win anything, as Bartosz and Szymon were unbeatable.
Meanwhile, more competitions emerged, and the experience from Vienna, Austria, demonstrated that the BOTLAND TEAM had much to show on the European stage as well. We secured 1st and 2nd place in 2012 and 1st and 3rd place in 2013 at RobotChallenge.
And this: We hope that the comprehensive and instructional nature of our blog articles is now clear to you. At Botland, we understand the challenges faced by everyone who loves mechanics, electronics, and robotics.
Student vibes
Your first orders were packed by hand in your student apartment. Along the hallway, from behind the boxes set up, you couldn’t see anything else. We had to be careful, and watch out, and not trip over anything…. The living space quickly turned into a warehouse and studio – the set’s “umbrellas” blocked the way in our first little Holywood studio in Wroclaw.
First warehouse. What did the spring bring?
Even sooner, it became apparent that customers’ interest had exceeded our wildest expectations. There was a need for both capacity and floor space. On April 15, 2013 we made our first big trip – it was a move from academic Wrocław to our home town of Kępno.
You have to start somewhere, right?
At the same time, online sales via the forum and data migration to the new system started. These were the first steps in increasing brand awareness. We emerged, very modestly for the time being, as an online electronics store where every electronics and robotics enthusiast could find the necessary parts, tools and accessories. Our first store index, 00010, included micro gearmotor HP 30:1 with extended motor shaft Pololu 2212. Interestingly, this item is still available. Today we’re approaching an index of 25000… but more on that later.
For those who think that Botland is a one-room company run with a laptop – you are right, but it was. It used to be that way. The road to automated sales is long and arduous. Anyone who has started a new company knows that anything can go south at every possible stage. We moved forward slowly and gradually expanding the product range. We did not avoid mistakes, too, but we learned from them and optimized every aspect of HR, logistics and office work to strive for efficiency in a good atmosphere of mutual understanding.
Botland in block of flats
The beginning of May 2014 saw a major increase in space – we finally had somewhere to squeeze in. The new place had an impressive 300 m² of floor space for that time. We stayed at the Odrodzenia housing estate in Kępno until 2017. Cyclically, we struggled with the problem of a new place, because the company was constantly growing, there was a lack of shelves and we needed a real logistics center. Orders were coming in and out.
It became clear that we needed a really big base of operations, where everything would work like clockwork. Automated solutions were to become the basis for satisfying our growing community of customers and readers. Our ambitions grew with time and we started to be associated as a place where every electronics enthusiast can find something for themselves, get design support for their ideas and share it with others.
And what is it like today?
The culmination, though not the end of the hike for us is some important place. Do you remember the photo from the beginning of the article? We finally reached Gola pod Bralin. It is a small town near Kepno and the section of the S8 Warsaw-Wrocław route. This is where our head office was established.
We welcomed it on March 1, 2017.
At the end of 2020, our logistics center covers an area of 1,000 square meters. We plan to expand it to 4,000 square meters.
We operate four language versions of our store (Polish, English, Czech, and German). We use modern, automated solutions for warehouse management, such as PTL (Put To Light) systems and WMS (Warehouse Management System). Our assortment includes over 25,000 diverse products. Our official Botland Blog features content that not only includes product publications but also compendiums, advice, project tutorials, reviews, curiosities, and the latest news from the world of technology.
We are an official distributor of Raspberry Pi Foundation products with the Approved Reseller badge. In addition, we distribute brands such as Arduino, Pololu Robotics & Electronics, SparkFun Electronics, BBC Micro, Adafruit, GoodRam, HiFiBerry, Waveshare, Seeedstudio, DFRobot, ArduCam, Dobot, Kradex, NanoPi, Pimoroni, Odroid, Bambu Lab, Creality, Snapmaker, and many others.
Our beloved minicomputers and development platforms, the British Raspberry Pi and the Italian Arduino, are just the beginning. We travel around the world in search of new partnerships that stay with us for a long time and bring mutual benefits.
What would we like to improve? Everything. And what would we like to change?
90% of our customers are men, so we definitely want to encourage more women to visit Botland more often. After all, we have a whole team of amazing women working with us!
Today, the Botland team is a cohesive crew ensuring the smooth operation of the entire system. The company now includes three branches located in different places. We are well aware of the challenges ahead of us. We are a group where all departments are equally important. We continue to expand our assortment to keep our customers up to date with the latest industry trends. Our warehouse, technical, and sales staff form a truly coordinated team. And now, after such a long and enlightening journey, it’s time to move on to the summary.
Botland store in a nutshell
- Nationwide reach
- 2.7 million page views on botland.com.pl per month
- High rating on Opineo.pl, average rating of 4.9/5 with over 20,600 reviews
- High rating on Allegro.pl, average rating of 5/5
- Collaboration and support for scientific circles across the country
- Warehouse error rate in packages below 0.2%
- Low number of complaints
- Over 25,000 products
- Active on social media—Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
- Publishing tutorials and guides on our YouTube channel
- Collaboration with influencers and YouTubers
- Regular newsletter distribution and publication of the “News at Botland” article series
- Over 1,000,000 orders fulfilled
- 15,000 to 20,000 packages shipped monthly
Some of our prizes and awards
- OPINEO.PL Distinction: Awarded for high consumer ratings in the Medium-Sized Stores category in the Online Store Ranking
- E-GAZELE BIZNESU: Recognitions in 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023; participation in the 2018 and 2019 editions
- Allegro.pl Award: For the highest quality of service and year-round qualification in the prestigious Super Seller program – 2018, 2019
- Distinction in the “Entrepreneurship Leader of Kępno County” competition – 2019
- Forbes Diamonds – 2023
- E-commerce Leaders – 2023 (9th place in the ranking of domain visibility in Google search results in the “Electronics, RTV, and Household Appliances” category)
- Senuto & Elephate: Botland Blog ranked in the top ten e-commerce blogs in the “Electronics and Technology” category
- Polish Customer’s Choice Awards 2024: 1st place in the “Electronics” category
- Forbes Diamonds – 2024
We continue to expand our base of suppliers and customers. We’re waiting for you at Botland – be sure to visit us and see for yourself that it’s worth coming back!
