27. May 2025
When Eugen Falkenstein, co-founder of sneaker search engine Everysize, approached us a few years ago, his company faced a classic problem that many growing startups encounter: exploding AWS cloud costs and diminishing flexibility. What followed was one of the most successful cloud migrations we've facilitated at We Manage – with 80% cost savings and significantly improved performance.
Everysize is the only search engine in the German web that finds sneakers at the best prices in the desired shoe size. Like many others, the seven-person team had chosen what seemed like the straightforward path: "We were with Amazon AWS from the start because that's what everyone does," recalls Eugen Falkenstein.
However, what initially seemed like a pragmatic decision increasingly became a problem. "Increasingly complicated pricing models followed. Eventually, we were paying AWS a five-figure amount per month, twice as much as in the beginning – with almost constant resource requirements," reports Falkenstein. Monthly AWS costs had risen to over €4,000, while agility simultaneously decreased due to complex dependencies.
When we first met Eugen – incidentally through a private connection, "Our wives knew each other" – it quickly became clear that more was needed than just another service provider. Falkenstein was looking for a genuine partner: "For that, you need someone who really understands your business model and contributes their own ideas to implement that on a technical infrastructure, without vendor lock-in."
His requirements were clearly defined: 24/7 service, technical competence, and the balance between professional service and partnership at eye level. "I don't see myself just as a customer, but also as a partner and colleague. I like to spontaneously throw ideas across the table. That only works with teammates who maintain the balance between service and being on equal footing."
When analyzing the existing infrastructure, it quickly became apparent why costs had exploded. Everysize used only a fraction of AWS functions but needed predictable backend routines for 80% of their computing capacity: product data management, feed import, BI data preparation. "Compute-intensive, but everything well calculable," as Falkenstein puts it.
For this type of workload, the hyperscaler's flexibility advantages were simply overdimensioned and disproportionately expensive.
After a successful trial project, we gradually took over the operation and optimization of Everysize's Elasticsearch installation. The migration to Hetzner Cloud extended over eighteen months – deliberately cautious and without risk to ongoing operations.
"The migration from hyperscaler to classic hoster doesn't always go one-to-one," Falkenstein admits. This is exactly where we could apply our expertise: We developed tailored solutions for a powerful MySQL cluster on the new infrastructure and migrated complex components like the URL shortener for social media marketing.
It was important to us not just to migrate, but to optimize. We automated most IT processes to guarantee 24/7 availability and implemented proactive monitoring and alerting.
Particularly successful was the close integration with development agency Intradesys, which is simultaneously rewriting the complete search engine code. "Thomas and I develop the prototypes, for which Andy then designs and builds the optimal IT infrastructure," describes Falkenstein's working method.
This agile, asynchronous collaboration via Slack and email made it possible to respond quickly to new requirements without getting lost in lengthy coordination processes. "Through asynchronicity, we get more focus, calm, and consideration," says Falkenstein.
The numbers speak for themselves: annual server costs dropped from €50,000 to just under €10,000 – a savings of 80%. But the qualitative improvements were at least equally important:
Higher Reliability: "In emergencies, I no longer have to activate my service providers. Today Andy proactively notifies me and has usually already solved the problem, even at night or on weekends," reports Falkenstein.
Regained Agility: "We implement new ideas within a few weeks today. We've regained our nimbleness and can fully leverage our strengths as a small digital company in the market again."
Everysize is already using their newly gained technical sovereignty for ambitious future projects. We're supporting them in modernizing their content management system and building their own marketplace for sneakers. "We might want to internationalize our business in the next step," considers Falkenstein.
All these initiatives are only possible because the IT infrastructure functions again as a strategic enabler rather than a cost factor.
The Everysize case exemplifies that a cloud exit can be more than pure cost reduction. It's about regaining technical sovereignty and entrepreneurial flexibility.
"As an online entrepreneur, we don't print a finished book. We spell out our business strategy in technology. For that, you must constantly optimize and develop your IT processes," Falkenstein summarizes the philosophy.
For us at We Manage, this project was particularly satisfying because it shows what becomes possible when technical expertise meets genuine partnership. As Falkenstein puts it: We are "the professional sysadmin I would need in-house, but who would have too little to do with me" – just externally and with the full flexibility of a partnership.
Our collaboration with Everysize proves that with the right analysis, tailored solutions, and genuine partnership, even complex cloud dependencies can be successfully resolved. The result is not only drastically reduced costs but, above all, the recovery of technical flexibility that is vital for innovative companies.
Interested in similar optimizations for your company? We'd be happy to discuss how we can help you achieve greater technical sovereignty and optimized costs as well.
