How a Corporate Crisis Became a Multi-Million-Euro Start-up

“At 1pm that day, I left BSH in Istanbul. At 2pm, I sold my car. I came home to say goodbye to my family, and by that evening, I was in Germany, staying in a hotel. The next morning, I started my new job at DHL, alone in a new country, in a different language. In one day, everything changed.”

For most of his career, Ali Ozyigit has taken calculated risks. Growing up in Turkey, he had a background in mechanical engineering and quickly worked his way up at Bosch Siemens Home Appliances Group (BSH) in Istanbul until a chance phone call from a headhunter in Germany. 

It was there with logistics giant DHL in Bonn that his life changed drastically. During this time, he joined the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA, keen to break out of his engineering bubble and into the executive ranks. “After the EMBA, my role changed maybe two or three times in as many years. It fast-tracked my career path. But I eventually became an entrepreneur because I saw that I was capable of doing it,” explains Ali. 

“Before, I always thought entrepreneurship was too risky. During the EMBA, I realized that it was more than just starting a company; it was about finding the right mindset to look for opportunities and act on them. It (the program) was the best investment I have ever made in myself. It is a mindset changer because as executives, we are mostly working in a very homogenous environment in one company, and it shows us what’s beyond that, by giving us a broader picture”

It was during the program that Ali was called back from working abroad in Singapore, due to an emergency revenue issue. Private postal service providers receive a bonus for every letter delivered, often up to 44% of the postage. The more delivered, the higher the bonus. Fraudsters were found to be billing Deutsche Post for hundreds of millions of letters that never existed.

To analyze the true scope of the problem, they would need to identify how many letters, and what types of letters, arrived at the main delivery hub. Each would need to be counted and given a unique ID. With 105 different types of postage options, it was almost impossible to figure out how this would be achieved. Ali found a solution.

He discovered that every envelope or sheet of paper has a unique set of surface features. Like a fingerprint, these features can identify an individual piece of post without an added label or identification code. The technology uses AI-powered computer vision algorithms to analyze an item’s surface and recognize its unique fingerprint.

“I patented the technology worldwide,” says Ali. “We deployed it in Bonn to identify counterfeit postage stamps. Then we realized it could work not only with envelopes but also with parcels. Even an Amazon box, for example, has its own fingerprint. You can close the box, take a photo with your smartphone, and hand it to a postal operator without attaching a label. The operator can then identify your parcel by matching its surface fingerprint to the one captured in your photo.”

At this point, Ali was a senior director at DHL, leading automation innovation across 28 countries and reporting to the board. His idea was entered into DHL’s internal venture competition and won out of more than 1,000 entrants. It ended up being the springboard he used to create his own company, PixoAnalytics, with DHL staying on not just as his former employer, but as an investor and customer. Leaving a corporate leadership role after the EMBA and building his own company wasn’t just a risk—it was the right decision.

“I remember one professor during the EMBA said, ‘From today, you probably have another 20 years of working life. Whatever company or role you are in, you will likely stay there. But don’t spend one single day more if you don’t have hope of enjoying it. Your time is valuable. Challenge a path, then another and another, until you find the right one for you.’ That really struck a chord for me.”

His original goal was to broaden his knowledge and find international exposure, connecting him to other industries and people from other walks of life. With his promotions behind him, Ali now attributes much of his life as a founder today to his time in the Kellogg-WHU EMBA.

“Everyone in class is experienced and communicates openly. They all want to learn from each other and network, so it helps a lot when your motivation to be there is aligned. The professors also surprised me, with so many of them serving as board members or advisors to Fortune 100 companies. We were learning how theory is used in the real world. What stood out the most was the entrepreneurial insights. I was convinced I would stay and retire in each of my previous roles, but that changed.”

Now, with his company PixoAnalytics and customers spanning Europe, the next step is to apply the technology to airports and to look to the American & Asia-Pacific markets. “It also works for identifying lost luggage. We have already deployed our technology with Iberia & Pegasus Airlines and are beginning to partner with others.” Beyond aviation, PixoAnalytics enables label-free product tracking throughout the supply chain, with applications in industries including wood-based panels, explosives, and manufacturing.

What once seemed like the biggest gamble of all—leaving a corporate leadership role he had worked so hard for to build his own company—turned out to be the best decision he ever made. With PixoAnalytics now valued at millions by investors, it seems there is some truth in the saying “no risk, no reward.”