Post by Daniel Franz

The Journey That Made Me – 15 Years at valantic ✨ "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." – Forrest Gump 🏃‍♀️ In 2010, I walked into sologics (later nexus united, then valantic CEC Germany) office as a trainee, a wide-eyed university graduate full of curiosity, excitement, and a lot of ambition – completely unaware of the adventure ahead. From there, I became a Junior Project Manager, then Senior Project Manager, stepped into Leading Operations in our Location in Siegen alongside Oliver Kraft, and later led the entire Shopware Unit for valantic, transforming it into a multi-award-winning #1 partner 🏆. Every step along the way was a chapter of learning, of challenges, and of growth. Moments that tested me, moments that humbled me, and moments that pushed me further than I thought I could go. There were chapters of doubt, chapters of courage, chapters of sleepless nights, big wins, small victories, and quiet breakthroughs. Through it all, valantic was never just a company – it was a home for growth, a place to dream, a place where passion meets purpose, and where people inspire you to be more than you thought possible. Today, as Director, leading commercial growth, responsible for new customer acquisition at valantic CEC Germany, I feel that same spark I had on day one – only now with 15 years of experience, resilience, scars, lessons, and unshakable energy, fueling every decision. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 🧙‍♂️ Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey – mentors, colleagues, teammates, and friends. Thank you Oliver Kraft, Uwe Tueben, Patrick Ganzmann, Holger von Daniels, Dr. Sebastian Hauptmann, Florian Heidecke, Marco Kahler, Matthias Thelen, Tim Wedler, Sebastian Scheel, Jelmer Spoelstra, Fabian Littau, Tobias Mathar, Dr. Philipp Hoberg, Michael Blum, Nike Steinhausen, René Pricken, Alexander Fetzer, Pascal Menger, Sophie Jaillet, Meike Hasbargen, Johanna Wendel, Cristian Cureliuc, Benjamin Condne, Patrick Gottsacker, Mike Bertram, Romy Beer, Vanessa Ohl, Hartwig Göttlicher, Matthias Vollmer, Haris Icic, Victoria Gallerach, Zoia Funtasova, Daniel Scholtyssek, Sarina Hermann, Simon H., Andrea Sonder, Tina R., Leon Huperz, Anna Fiedler, Odete Baiao and a lot of more outstanding colleagues that I was / am honored to work with in the last 15 years. To our customers — thank you for trusting me with your stories, your challenges, and your ambitions. You’ve shaped this journey as much as anyone. Every one of you has written a line in this story. And the journey continues – I am ready.