- Jan 29, 2025
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Meet the Samwer brothers from Germany.
They copied the idea of eBay, launched their own version called Alando and sold it back to eBay for $50 million in just 100 days.
And they didn’t stop there.
They went on to clone Amazon (Lazada), Airbnb (Wimdu), and even Uber (EasyTaxi).
Some of their projects took off, others didn’t but they still made billions.
Today, they run their own “startup factory” Rocket Internet.
Famous Startup Clones by the Samwer Brothers
Each of the Samwer brothers is worth over $1 billion, thanks to their projects and investments through Rocket Internet
Didn’t come up with an idea? No big deal.
The world doesn’t always reward originality but it definitely pays for speed.
They copied the idea of eBay, launched their own version called Alando and sold it back to eBay for $50 million in just 100 days.
And they didn’t stop there.
They went on to clone Amazon (Lazada), Airbnb (Wimdu), and even Uber (EasyTaxi).
Some of their projects took off, others didn’t but they still made billions.
Today, they run their own “startup factory” Rocket Internet.
Famous Startup Clones by the Samwer Brothers
| Original | Clone (Launch Year) | Outcome / Status | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay | Alando (1999) | Sold to eBay for ~$50M in 100 days | A German eBay clone; the brothers' first major success. |
| Groupon | CityDeal (2009) | Sold to Groupon for ~$170M in 2010 | Became a market leader in 16 European countries. |
| Airbnb | Wimdu (2011) | Shut down in 2018 | Raised $90M but failed to compete with Airbnb. |
| Birchbox | Glossybox (2011) | Partially sold; still active in 10+ countries | A beauty box subscription service with over €50M in funding. |
| Amazon | Lazada (2012) | Acquired by Alibaba in 2016 | Southeast Asia’s biggest online retailer. |
Each of the Samwer brothers is worth over $1 billion, thanks to their projects and investments through Rocket Internet
Didn’t come up with an idea? No big deal.
The world doesn’t always reward originality but it definitely pays for speed.
