Flink
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Flink is a Berlin-based quick-commerce grocery delivery startup founded in late 2020 by Oliver Merkel, Christoph Cordes and Julian Dames. It delivers groceries from local dark stores in about ten minutes, and raised about $1.3 billion at a peak valuation near $3 billion in 2021. German grocer REWE is a strategic co-owner. Unlike most quick-commerce rivals, Flink is still operating in Germany and the Netherlands.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Flink is founded in Berlin in December 2020 as a quick-commerce rival to Gorillas and Getir, delivering groceries from dark stores.
- Operations scaled back
After a funding round that marked its valuation down to about €1 billion, Flink exits Austria and its French operation files for insolvency, retreating to Germany and the Netherlands.
- Funding round
Flink raises about €100 million in fresh capital, recalibrates toward operational efficiency, and reports a path to EBITDA break-even in its core markets.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
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Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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