When Ali Shaverdi moved to Canada in March 2024, he brought with him an idea he’d been carrying for years. Now, just over a year later, his global delivery startup Flomaru is building what could be the world’s first online marketplace that lets people send gifts to loved ones anywhere, in any language or currency.

“We started building six months ago,” said Shaverdi, founder and CEO of Flomaru. “We have around 12 people, between co-founders, fractional team members and interns, and this is all with no funding. These are just people who are excited about working on the idea.”

In just half a year, Flomaru completed its branding, built the platform, and launched a fully functioning website.

“I started the MBET program at the University of Waterloo in September,” said Shaverdi. “It was thanks to the knowledge I gained and the advice of faculty, especially David Rose, that my approach to building and launching was revised to be much faster.” 

Flomaru is now preparing for a pilot launch focused on gift delivery to Egypt and Jordan this summer, with the goal of adding India and other countries before the end of the year.

An idea sparked by frustration and family

The inspiration for Flomaru started with a frustrating personal experience. Shaverdi previously worked at a gifting startup in Kuwait that operated across six countries. 

“I grew their revenue and grew their sales and wondered why they were not growing faster,” he said. “One day, I got curious. I saw that flower gifting online alone was worth $60 billion last year, and the number one in this market was 1-800-Flowers. Their revenue was 1.83 billion, which is just three per cent of the total market.”

That’s when the idea clicked.

“I have what it takes to build a startup,” said Shaverdi. “I don't want to just be limited to jobs anymore. Because again, I lived in a place where I didn't have that option of building a startup.”

More than a business opportunity, the product addresses an emotional gap.

“Thirty years in Kuwait, I was never able to send flowers to my family in Iran on any occasion and nor were they able to send stuff to me,” he said. “You have no idea how much of a barrier language and currency are.”

Why Flomaru is starting with flowers

Flomaru ultimately wants to support a range of cross-border gifting, from print-on-demand to corporate onboarding packages. For now, it’s starting with flowers.

“When you start talking to customers, if you start trying to educate them on too many things at once, you lose them,” said Shaverdi. “It's a much better story when I say flowers than me saying, ‘Oh, all kinds of gifts.’”

The corporate use case is already showing promise. 

“Corporate gifting needs us badly,” he said. “You have no idea how many companies and founders came up to me after a pitch competition to tell me, I spent two and a half hours sending flowers to someone in Bali because they were on vacation on their birthday. If you can help us localize that, we will happily pay double for it.”

Built for culture, currency and connection

Shaverdi says Flomaru’s focus on cultural nuance is what sets it apart.

“In North America, white flowers are sent to funerals. In the Middle East you don't send flowers when someone passes away,” said Shaverdi. “So it's important to take these things into consideration.”

To do this, Flomaru will use a franchise-style model, working with local partners in each country to handle cultural relevancy, product selection and marketing. The platform will also use artificial intelligence (AI) to personalize product offerings and occasion types based on a user’s destination and language preferences.

“You choose the language you want to shop in. You choose where you want to send the gift, and you'll see products that will be delivered there the next day,” said Shaverdi. “You can pay with any currency and your local payment cards, so no more struggling with payment and language.”

From Waterloo to the world

Flomaru is based in Waterloo, and Shaverdi says he received a great deal of support from the local tech ecosystem during his entrepreneurial journey.

“The first event I went to was at Communitech and I was pretty wowed by the conversations there,” said Shaverdi. “Everyone’s just so supportive. The more you hear it, the more it really drives you.”

Shaverdi has participated in pitch competitions at Web Summit, Startup Weekend at Communitech, and the University of New Brunswick. He’s had conversations with investors at MaRS, RBCx, and BDC, and received legal support from Gowling WLG. 

Flomaru is also part of the Google Cloud for Startups program and Azure for Startups community, both of which have supported its infrastructure and growth.

Launching soon, and looking for input

Flomaru’s pilot is expected to launch in July. 

“We're already set with the local payment for several countries,” said Shaverdi. “We'll start populating the products for Egypt and Jordan, and start promoting those to the communities here.”

In the future, Shaverdi hopes Flomaru becomes the go-to platform for sending gifts across borders.

 “We want everyone to be able to gift each other seamlessly on their occasions and on the events that matter to them,” he said.

The team is inviting feedback to help shape their next markets. 

“I want people to tell me where their loved ones are,” said Shaverdi. “The more people we can help, the better.”