Business Talks with AIESEC #9: Interview zur Kooperation von eSagu mit AIESEC Deutschland

This new episode of Business Talks with aiesec takes us to Cologne, where we meet with Katerina Gjorgjieva - Head of Sales for both marketplaces in Germany and in the United Kingdom at eSagu GmbH. eSagu is a RePricing software company for Amazon and Ebay. Katerina Gjorgjieva accepted to respond to some of our questions about AIESEC, her role at eSagu, and what her company does.  

Since 2016, we have been collaborating with eSagu and until now we have had five interns from different countries working there, not to mention another one this year. 

Mourad from our B2B Marketing Team of AIESEC in Germany had the pleasure of conducting the interview.  

Mourad: Can you tell us what eSagu does and what your mission is?

Katerina: eSagu is a RePricing software company for Amazon and eBay sellers both in Germany and the UK. We are providing fast price reactions on the marketplaces and increasing visibility and most important margin on their products. We stand for transparency and make a difference for the business of Amazon and eBay sellers through our team of dedicated professionals who value our customers.

Mourad: How was this year for you and for eSagu?

Katerina: This year has been so far the most challenging for all of us in terms of adjusting to the new ‘’normal’’ everyday life. Luckily we have the opportunity within our business to work from home and enjoy the benefits of working online. This way we keep ourselves and those around us safe and healthy. On the other hand, the growth of online business had a positive influence on eSagu current and future customers, so we are very confident with the changes imposed by the pandemic.

Mourad: What can you tell us about "leading in the middle of a pandemic"?

Katerina: It’s very important to quickly adjust to the whole situation which is unknown and unpredictable. We are always there to support our employees in any way we can, but same as for our customers who unfortunately lost some parts of their businesses because of the pandemic. Therefore, during this pandemic we have been able to adjust to their needs and still continue to maintain successful business and relationships.

Mourad: How did the cooperation with AIESEC start and how is it going right now?

Katerina: Our founders already knew AIESEC from the company where they had previously worked themselves. After the foundation of eSagu in 2015, it was clear that they would like to continue the good cooperation with their own company. So the work with AIESEC started in 2016. Since then we have had five interns from different countries working at eSagu, and one coming this year. We are very happy that three of them got full working contracts after their internships and got a chance to pursue their career goals. For example, I started as an AIESEC intern at eSagu in 2017 and since then, based on my performances I have been promoted a few times, and from 2019 I am the Head of Sales for both marketplaces DE and UK. This tells a lot about how much the company values the effort of the interns to grow professionally and at the same time helps them to achieve it.

Mourad: Can you tell us more about the process of getting international interns via AIESEC and how it works in general with the Cologne location?

Katerina: The process is very easy and straightforward, since the AIESEC members from Cologne are always there to support it. We normally contact them when we need a new intern and write down what we are looking for and for when. After that AIESEC starts the process of searching for interns and forwards us a short list of carefully selected candidates. Then we do interviews with them and decide for the best one.

From here, AIESEC takes charge of all the documentation and transition process which is of great support for us. 

Mourad: What do you appreciate about having international interns in the company?

Katerina: Having international interns in our company has become part of our culture, and therefore English is the main spoken language at eSagu, even though we are a German company. We are always looking forward to the new interns and to what kind of knowledge and experience they will bring to eSagu.

Mourad: In which areas do they support your company?

Katerina: eSagu mainly operates on two marketplaces, both in the UK and Germany. All of the AIESEC interns have been supporting us to the growth of the UK market by generating more new customers and maintaining the existing ones.

Mourad: What is the future of your company and do you plan to work with AIESEC in the future?

Katerina: Even though the situation for many may be unpredictable right now, we are happy to say that our future looks much brighter because of the need of the online sellers to expand on Amazon and eBay, as the biggest online marketplaces at the moment. We are slowly but surely expanding our products and soon releasing a new HelpDesk system for all online sellers. Also, developing a new RePricing software for the C-Discount marketplace in France has opened the possibility to search for new French speaking AIESEC interns. Additionally, we are considering searching for Chinese speaking interns in the future since that market is exponentially growing in terms of online sellers on Amazon.

Mourad: What else would you like to add about AIESEC, the cooperation or your company?

Katerina: We are very happy with our work with AIESEC so far. The only thing that they might improve is finding a better and faster way of providing the new interns with accommodations in Cologne.

Besides that, eSagu is looking forward to continuing the work with AIESEC in the future and hopefully to have many new interns coming in the next years!

Mourad: Thank you very much Katerina for your time!