Our company history

Our history from 2001 to today

My colleague at the time was called Andi and he was a fantastic graphic and web designer.

I am Susanne Müller (link to linkedin), born in 1978, married and mother of a son.

From 2003-2007 I studied business administration, with a focus on business informatics, and graduated with a diploma.
Today, as then, I am the owner and managing director of Twist4.

At that time, our company focus was on programming and designing websites.

We were initially given shelter in a friend's office (TSE AG) and took our PC to work with us every day - laptops were still unaffordable at the time. After 8 months, we bought our first work computer and set up permanent workstations.

Until 2004 we were busy programming and designing numerous websites.

In November 2004, the band “Engerling” contacted us and asked if we could offer lanyards and produce them for them. We looked for a reliable supplier, found one and produced our first lanyards. It quickly became clear to us that there seemed to be a market for lanyards.

We quickly programmed a website for our first core product: lanyards.

In December 2004, the label “Datepunk” approached us and asked for slipmats. Here, too, we looked for a supplier, found one in California and continue to work closely with them to this day.

We quickly programmed a website for our second core product: slipmats. This is how we made a name for ourselves as a supplier and manufacturer in Germany.

From 2001 to 2006 we had our office in Invalidenstraße in Berlin Mitte and were very happy and content there. During that time there were still just two of us and we were happy and grateful for how the company was developing in the area of ​​key chains and slipmats.

2007 – 2009

In 2007, the company moved to Bergiusstrasse in Neuköln. The company's web design and programming division was becoming increasingly weaker. Companies like 1&1 and Strato stormed the market with the first "homepage construction kit systems" and offered web design with the simplest backend systems for very little money. Finding customers who still wanted to have websites programmed by hand was almost impossible.

However, the lanyard market picked up quite well, we expanded our product range considerably and offered accessories such as ID card holders, yo-yos and card holders. The slipmats sector also developed well.

We bought a cutting plotter and a heat press so that we could also offer very small runs. It worked out - we now produced slipmats ourselves, in-house so to speak, and were extremely proud of ourselves. Our machines now also allowed us to print on clothing, so we got a taste of the textile market. No sooner said than done. We quickly programmed a website for that too.

Our company grew slowly but steadily. We also employ one employee in the customer service area. In mid-2007, I completed my degree in business administration with a focus on business information technology, which I did part-time, and received my training certificate from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in the same year. At the end of 2007, the first trainee, in the area of ​​media design, joined our company.

From 2007 to 2009 we continued to diligently produce key chains, slipmats and textiles. In 2008 we even bought an embroidery machine so that we could produce small runs ourselves. Everything was actually going well, but then the big bang came.

In the summer of 2009, Andi, co-founder and partner, decided to emigrate to America for love. It was immediately clear to me that I couldn't continue to run a partnership on my own. What now?

I was 31 years old at the time and was thinking hard about what I should do. Quit, close the company and look for another job in an employment relationship? That was out of the question for me - I love my job and my customers!

The game was: off to the notary, get the GmbH founded… and Twist4 Medienlabor GmbH was born in December 2009.

2010-2012

In January 2010, I came into the office and asked myself - what now? Andi not only disappeared from Germany, he also took a lot of knowledge in the field of design, his manpower and infrastructure with him. On top of that, my sweet husband and I were expecting our first child.

I decided to keep the company running on a low flame for the time being. Hannes, my employee who I hired in 2007, and my trainee kept the company running while I looked after our children. Over the next two years I tried to juggle being a mother and working life, more or less.

The years 2010 to 2012 were really hard, the strain on everyone was enormous. I decided to downsize further, to reduce the size of the company even further so that I could pay more attention to my family. My trainee had finished his training and wanted to "rest" first and not have a permanent position, and my employee Hannes was also becoming increasingly dissatisfied. I sold all the machines and almost all the inventory and was ready for a fresh start.

From August 2012, I was alone, as managing director & owner, without employees.

2013-2015

In 2013, we moved our private residence from Berlin to Bestensee , a beautiful community south of Berlin. I decided to close my company in Berlin as well. With a small detour via Mittenwalde, Twist4 Medienlabor GmbH came to Bestensee in the summer of 2013.

I rented a cute shop and continued to produce lanyards, slipmats and textiles for my existing customers. I deliberately didn't advertise at the time. First of all, I had to get to Bestensee, both personally and professionally.

From 2014 onwards, I received an increasing number of requests for the production of entry wristbands. I contacted my previous suppliers and decided to include the entry wristband product in my portfolio. Then I quickly created a suitable website and off I went. Everything stayed the same until mid-2015. I served my regular customers, gradually gained new customers and still tried to find a healthy balance between family and work.

Then I met Jenni, she sold windows and doors in the shop next door, was unexpectedly laid off and asked me for a job. I agreed and so Jenni started working at Twist4 in September 2015. We turned up the online advertising (Adwords advertising) again, ventured onto the eBay and Amazon platform with our stock items (lanyards, entry wristbands) and were able to secure her salary. What a change, but also a joy to be able to work in a team again after 3 years of being "alone".

Sales developed well and the collaboration was truly enriching.

At the end of 2015, we came up with the idea of ​​adding balloons to our range. Customers kept coming to us and asking for not only lanyards for their trade fair appearance or entry wristbands for their event, but also balloon decorations and promotional items. We looked for a German balloon manufacturer and offered various color combinations on eBay and Amazon. We said goodbye to eBay after a few months, but sales figures exploded on the Amazon platform.

2016

I decided to rent the office that was still free next to mine. It felt good and I restructured my company. I was now concerned with scalability, both in terms of work processes and from an infrastructure perspective. Working "alone" and being involved in all the processes is something completely different than working in a growing team.

In April 2016, my cute office became our warehouse. With packing tables and storage space for blank slipmats, unprinted lanyards and hundreds of thousands of balloons. The volume of orders was so enormous that I was able to create 2 small jobs on a 450.00 EUR basis and gave them to friends from my circle. Our core products lanyards, entry wristbands, slipmats, textile printing & embroidery and balloons became increasingly established online and we were able to significantly increase our customer base during this time.

In the fall of 2016, Jenni went on maternity leave. This was a huge challenge for a company as small as we were at the time.

2017

In February 2017, I entered into a cooperation with a large online printing company.

Since then, we have been producing lanyards, entry wristbands and silicone bracelets for this online printing company. The demands on our internal processes and the logistics surrounding them have increased.

In spring 2017, I hired Nicole to help with project and customer support. Nicole comes from Königs Wusterhausen, is a mother and married. Since then and to this day, she has enriched our team with an incredible number of positive qualities. She is hardworking, conscientious, sensitive, attentive and a kind-hearted soul and, fortunately for me, our customers also sense this in every email and every phone call.

In the summer of 2017, I hired Steffi, also to help with project and customer support. Steffi moved away from Bestensee shortly after we met in 2013 through our children in kindergarten and came back in May 2017. Steffi is one of my closest confidants, my best friend and also a mother. She is a former competitive athlete and brings with her an indescribable amount of passion and team spirit. She is sensitive, helpful and so lovable. Her spirit is incomparable and she enriches our team every day.

The time for getting used to the job began. Processes and procedures were optimized so that we could now work in a structured and effective manner, even as an ever-growing team. As the company grew, my area of ​​responsibility shifted away from daily business and towards “classic” entrepreneurial activities.

2018

In 2017/2018, sales of our products on the Amazon platform were so incredibly high that the two mini-jobs in the warehouse were no longer enough. In spring 2018, I decided to be brave again. I took the risk and created another full-time position.

I brought Monique into my company. She comes from Bestensee and is the mother of a son. Monique worked in a hardware store in Zeesen and is more and more enthusiastic about her field every day. She is the boss in our warehouse. Monique packs and assembles the finished goods for our customers and she does this with great care and love. She packs more than 5,000 shipments a month for our Amazon customers, with the most beautiful balloon color combinations, and she does this with unparalleled calm and conscientiousness.

In October 2018, I felt that the season was coming to an end and that my team and I were losing our strength. I decided to be brave again and took the chance to rent a vacant office next door. I applied and was awarded the contract. What was my plan? On the one hand, I wanted to create a space for relaxation - away from always eating at my desk and holding meetings. On the other hand, I needed my own office - my tasks as owner and managing director were becoming increasingly sensitive and were no longer intended for everyone to hear - and to be honest, I had nothing against a little more peace and quiet when working.

In November we renovated our lovingly named “quiet room” and made it look nice. With a dining and meeting area and a sofa corner that can also accommodate children who are ill at short notice.

2019

The last two years have been so turbulent and so many important things have been left behind, including our websites. For 8-10 years, our websites have been almost untouched, apart from small changes to the content - technically outdated and in urgent need of an overhaul.

By April 2019, I had finished revising almost all of the websites and the topic of “social media” was becoming increasingly important.

I decided to create an Instagram account to present Twist4 on this platform as well.

Since the beginning of the year, the market for lanyards, entry wristbands and silicone wristbands has been more competitive than ever. Cheap suppliers from our eastern neighbours are torpedoing the price structure on the German market and the large online printing companies now offer the most common models of lanyards, entry wristbands and silicone wristbands. The result - Twist4 is pushed to the back of the search engine results. Acquiring new customers is costly and difficult. This makes it all the more important that I finally take the step forward with my company and that we differentiate ourselves and position ourselves even more clearly on the market.

We have positive feedback from our customers, some of whom have been loyal to us for over 15 years. That gives me the confidence we need to take the next step forward. And to be honest, writing this story of Twist4/my story is the biggest step I have ever taken as an entrepreneur.

And here it is – our story and I personally think it is worth telling.

We are not a start-up, we are not a large corporation, we are not an online printing company that operates across Europe. We are not a shop system with algorithms that check the received print data and forward it and produce it blindly. We are not a hotline that insists on the German Civil Code and only gives approximate delivery dates when things get tight.

We are Twist4 – a company with real people.