Every company has a starting point. Ours is a night out in Alkmaar, an iPhone 4 and a paving stone.

A broken screen and a repair that cost too much

I was eighteen and a student when my iPhone 4 slipped out of my hands. Only the next morning did I see it properly: the screen completely shattered. I did find a repair shop, but it didn't feel trustworthy. And the price at Apple was so high that I thought: then I'll try it myself.

On a tip from a friend from uni, I ordered parts online. It worked. What's more, I immediately gave my iPhone a new front in green. That stood out. Fellow students wanted the same, and before I knew it I was repairing phones for other people.

Customers at the door of my student room

What started as a side income grew fast. A simple website, some promotion on Facebook, and the first customers got in touch. The real breakthrough came through a Groupon deal. While I was celebrating carnival, my phone kept buzzing with notifications and people were standing at the door of my student room. That's when I knew for sure: there is huge demand for phone repairs you can trust.

In 2015 I opened the first ThePhoneLab store in Amsterdam. With an open workspace, so that as a customer you see exactly what happens to your device. Nothing behind a curtain.

Why we are who we are today

That openness is still the basis of everything we do. What started with one broken screen has grown into stores across the Netherlands, where specialists help people get their device working again every day. And yes, I'm still the fastest repairer of all. On the iPhone 4, that is.

What I've learned after thousands of screens

When you see this many broken screens, you start to see patterns. A phone rarely lands flat. It lands on a corner. The camera sticks out and gets scratched on the table. A cheap cable ruins a battery within a year. Most of the repairs we do could have been prevented with a few good accessories.

That's why we sell them. Not because we wanted a shop, but because we see every day what works and what doesn't. Our specialists choose what goes into the shop, and they write down why. Feel free to read their tips: Koen on cases, Job on screen protectors, Zohra on chargers.

And do you want to get it right in one go? Then there's the Protection Kit: case, screen protector and camera protector for your device, with 3 for 2. Exactly the three things I wish I could have given my eighteen-year-old self, that morning in Alkmaar.

ThePhoneLab. Like new for life.