How Tradler started
In the summer of 2016 my dad went into retirement. He had been working for 40 years as a mailman. Every day he was delivering mail for the same region. In Belgium there is usually a small celebration for the person that goes into retirement. This was no different for my dad.
I had just finished university and recently moved to Barcelona. What my dad was celebrating was something I was just about to start. My career. My background is in social sciences which is quite different from the career of my dad. However, objectively seeing I was going to spend more or less the same amount of time as my dad in “my job”. I was curious to understand what I needed to look forward to, what is it I needed to expect of these 40 years? What were the highlights I was going to encounter?
So, I asked my dad
“Dad, what do I need to look forward to in my career?”
…. (Long and quite awkward silence)
“Nothing”
Knowing my dad I could have expected this kind of “motivational” answer. Yet I was not satisfied with “nothing”...
“What do you mean, “NOTHING”, there is no way that there is no highlight in the past 40 years. Maybe there were special moments during your career, when your company celebrated you for something? Maybe your colleagues or well the people that you deliver the mail to. Come on, there must be something.”
“Wait, let me show you.” and he disappeared for about 15 minutes.
I remember thinking “Ah here we go, I touched a sensitive string”. I did not know what he was going to bring.
He handed me a small box, the size of a nokia 3210, which was wrapped in plastic. “Open it”. I was confused, inside was a small medal, the kind of medal you would see in the military. “What is this?”, “This is the medal I received for my 25 years of service, you asked me for a highlight from the company right? Well this is what we all received.”
”This shocked me and made me angry at the same time. How is it possible that this was the only token of recognition for his 40 years of working, this tiny box with a “golden medal” .
That was the day when I, Jasper Deprez, decided to make it my personal mission to make sure that people - such as my dad whose work often is taken for granted - get thanked and appreciated for the work that they do, every day. And so Tradler was born.
Logo design story
At Tradler, we're inspired by the triangle's strength. This idea reflects our commitment to building strong relationships. Just like the three sides of a triangle fit together perfectly, we connect everyone involved, like employees and partner companies, to support each other. Together, we create a solid foundation that helps us overcome obstacles and grow.
