Toine Rodenburg: E-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, and Exploring the Earth

Toine Rodenburg is an e-commerce maven, entrepreneur, and international investor. Originally from the Netherlands, Toine Rodenburg became heavily involved in the emergent business trend of e-commerce, which led to his co-founding MyMalls, a leading e-commerce shipping company serving Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Beyond his professional life, Toine is an avid traveler. Now a resident of Lisbon, Portugal, he enjoys sailing, hiking, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and fixing up his antique Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Q: What led you to enter the realm of e-commerce at such an early stage? 

Toine Rodenburg: As I often say, I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time when the internet was just starting to take off. A colleague of mine approached me with an investment opportunity for an online company, and I thought it was a great idea. I put in some money, and it worked out far better than I’d ever hoped. That experience made me explore the field further. The ability to reach a global audience and streamline business operations was a game-changer, and I was excited to be part of that revolution.

Q: How did your early career experiences shape your approach to business? 

Toine Rodenburg: My early career was filled with a mix of successes and failures. Organizing youth tennis camps taught me leadership and management skills, while my time as a Logistics and Marketing Manager in Paris helped me to understand the dynamics of the business world. Before I discovered e-commerce, I also made an attempt to start a TV production company. In the end, that didn’t work out, but even that made me learn about entrepreneurship and the value of resilience and adaptability. All these experiences taught me lessons that I still use to this day.

Q: Can you share your experience founding your latest venture, MyMalls? 

Toine Rodenburg: MyMalls was born out of a desire to solve a common problem in the e-commerce world, which was that of reliable and efficient shipping to underserved regions. We saw a significant demand for a premium shipping service in Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and we aimed to fill that gap. The other co-founders and I thought that by using cutting-edge technology and building strong logistics networks, we could offer a superior service that would enhance the online shopping experience for customers in these regions. Thanks to a lot of planning and hard work, our plan worked.

Q: You’ve had a lot of success as an investor over the years. What do you believe are the key qualities of a successful investor? 

Toine Rodenburg: A successful investor needs to be an astute observer of market trends, and have the ability to discern genuine opportunities from fleeting fads. Patience and the ability to perform due diligence are very important, as well. Obviously, the more you know about what you’re investing in, the better equipped you are to make an informed decision. These are things any veteran investor might say, but personally, I also think being adaptable and open to learning from both successes and failures is essential, too. One thing I’ve learned in my career is that the business landscape is always changing, so continuous learning and flexibility are key.

Q: As a self-described globetrotter, how do you balance your professional pursuits with your passion for travel and adventure? 

Toine Rodenburg: I’m very lucky, in that the nature of my work allows me to set my own schedule, with some exceptions here and there, of course. But many of my business meetings happen virtually over teleconferencing software, so if I get the urge to take off for a week or two, I can usually do so pretty easily as long as I can connect to wifi when I need to. On the other hand, if I want to travel somewhere secluded without all the conveniences and trappings of modern technology, I have to plan that out a bit more.

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