Valeriana goes B2B with the unicorns of Unchained Commerce

We can still remember our very first busy enquiry for Valeriana as if it was yesterday. Vedran Rudelj, managing partner at Unchained Commerce, was our first business partner in crime (and partner in doing good). So, what does Unchained Commerce do? According to their website, they provide e-commerce services for unicorns . Over coffee, Vedran tells us what these unicorns are all about, his company’s corporate philosophy and why he and his team chose Valeriana as a partner.

How it all began

Vedran had known our co-founders Salomé and Bora for several years when he noticed what they had created with Valeriana. Last year, the Unchained team moved into a new office in Seefeld, where they took over the previous cleaning service. “However, we weren’t entirely satisfied with the quality of the cleaning service. That is why we decided to switch to Valeriana, because we really liked the project and wanted to support it”, says Vedran. Since last year, our employee Fikadu has been an integral part of the new office.

Unchained Commerce launched almost two years ago. They have developed their own open-source e-commerce software, which allows them to offer tailor-made solutions for Swiss SMEs. For Vedran, it’s really important that their software is open-source. “That’s part of our core principles. We do not want to make money with software licenses”, Vedran says.

Corporate social responsibility

While we were on the subject of values, we asked Vedran about his company’s corporate philosophy and how important social responsibility is to him as an entrepreneur. Apart from the success of his main business, he also feels that it’s very important to partner up with companies with similar values and with similar engagement with social and sustainability causes. Next to open-source, Vedra also values transparency with his employees and emphasises regionality. This means that they primarily use software from Switzerland, especially for privacy seasons. They also take a clear stand against racism and sexism and like seeing a more balanced gender ratio in the IT industry. They’ve also been working with a team from Ethiopia for some time now, where they also pay fair wages.

Valeriana complements the corporate social responsibility approach with a focus on social engagement and creating an inclusive society. Vedran has a migration background himself and appreciates that the Valeriana women receive a fair wage and a real chance even though they may not be able to speak German that well yet. “The price was not a deciding factor for us. Especially considering that Valeriana charges the same amount as the previous provider. Now, however, everything is much cleaner, communication runs The smoother, and we get to support a social impact start-up that supports women with a migration background. What’s not to like?

The big reveal: why e-commerce for unicorns ?
In the end, Vedran tells us the story about the unicorn. Their former marketing assistant had a soft spot for unicorns and wanted this image to speak for Unchained. It means, “No matter how big or small your company is, if one day you become a unicorn, you can still stay with us and our software will grow with you”, Vedran explains. A nice metaphor, right?

About us Valeriana goes B2B with the unicorns of Unchained Commerce

More to read

Hello, we are the Valeriana team.