The seed of the idea was planted during an early assignment on BlaBlaCar, a leading community-based travel network founded by fellow INSEAD alumni, Frédéric Mazzella MBA’07D. The task: explore potential business opportunities inspired by BlaBlaCar’s model. David and his teammates proposed a simple concept: use unused space in vehicles to move parcels. What began with private cars soon shifted to buses, and eventually trucks, opening the door to the vast, fragmented world of European road freight.
By the time graduation came, the idea had taken on a life of its own. David and a classmate committed to launching the venture in Berlin. Backed by insights gained at INSEAD and bolstered by the school’s global network, sennder was born in 2015. But building a business from scratch was never going to be easy.
In the early days, despite securing a partnership with FlixBus and opening offices in Berlin and Hamburg, sennder struggled. Customers were scarce, revenues limited, and with half a dozen people on the team at that time, the company faced the very real threat of insolvency. Rather than fold, David leaned on the mindset INSEAD had instilled: resilience, adaptability, and the courage to ask for help.
That persistence paid off. Following advice from his entrepreneur father, David met with an angel investor, a conversation that led not only to a €500,000 investment but also to the arrival of two new co-founders, Nicolaus Schfenacker in September 2016 and Julius Koehler in January 2017.
From there, sennder began to gain traction. In 2017, the company made a critical strategic pivot: evolving from its original parcel sharing idea into a digital freight forwarder, coordinating shipments on behalf of shippers. By building technology that connected major clients like AbInBev with thousands of small, often family-run trucking businesses, sennder brought efficiency to a traditional industry. Automation of processes such as load matching, tracking, and payments streamlined operations and cut costs, positioning sennder as a trusted partner in supply chain logistics.
Growth followed quickly. Acquisitions of Uber Freight Europe and CH Robinson’s European operations, along with a landmark joint venture with Poste Italiane, expanded sennder’s footprint cross the continent. At the same time, the company took bold steps in sustainability, offering green freight solutions from HVO to electric trucks, helping decarbonise one of the world’s most carbon-heavy sectors.
The values David absorbed at INSEAD continue to shape sennder’s culture today. Its three-year vision includes becoming an employer of choice, with a strong focus on diversity, entrepreneurship, and continuous learning. Every year, more than 1,300 employees gather for a summer camp, an embodiment of the same spirit of connection and shared experience that defined David’s time at INSEAD.
To those just beginning their careers or contemplating the leap into entrepreneurship, David is candid: “If you want to make the most of your life, become an entrepreneur. But know that it’s harder, and takes longer, than you think.” INSEAD, he says, offers far more than tools and frameworks, it builds the resilience and community that turn ideas into impact.
