Match for Impact

Designer Rik Maarsen and his company Rik Makes manufacture compostable panels made from plant fibres. The application has several benefits, says Rik. “On the one hand, this type of panel reduces the pressure on forests. After all, that’s where a lot of the wood for panels comes from. And we need that badly enough already for construction in the sustainable revolution,” says the designer who was in attendance at Match for Impact in Utrecht. “Besides, it’s just a waste to simply throw away plant fibres that are very useful for this purpose. Because that’s what often happens.”

Progress towards scaling up

Rik is struggling with a dilemma that many startups face – the product is fine. However, progress towards scaling up is proving tricky. “A previous prototype of my product was sixty by sixty centimetres and cost 200 euros. In the meantime, I manufacture material that costs 100 euros per square metre. That’s still much more expensive than plasterboard, which you can buy for about 3 euros per square metre.” 

So the questions Rik came to the Match for Impact event with were obvious: does Rabobank know of any parties that would like to buy the panels? How can he scale up? And might there be companies in Rabobank’s network that work with, the way Rik sees it, sought-after commodities like pepper plants?

Designer courage

Justin Janssen, Business Development Manager, Kring Gelderland Zuid at Rabobank, sees the Match for Impact event as a timely moment to share insights on these types of questions. “Many designers more or less face the same types of questions: what are my three biggest challenges? What are my three biggest opportunities? Where is my business going? Who can help me? And what is my role as my company grows? At Rabobank, I see it as our role, as a motivator of sorts, to point out opportunities in this regard.”

The way Justin sees it, it is sometimes a matter of finding the right tone.” “It certainly isn’t our intention to act as some kind of know-it-all on the sidelines telling you how things should be different or better. At the same time, quite confrontational insights can, at times, emerge. Many designers put their heart and soul into a particular concept or product. It takes enormous courage to actually want to take the step towards impact too.”

Creative vs. banking mind

The opportunities that a bank sees in different cases are often highlighted differently than the way in which designers themselves consider the issue, as was also evident during Match for Impact.  

The event zoomed in on the fact that the creative mind thinks and acts differently than the structure a banker requires or needs. Although it did come up that one doesn’t necessarily prevail over the other, it is useful to be aware of and understand what drives and motivates the other. And when these practices clash. After all, someone looking to make rapid progress, and who can easily change their own rules and direction, will be unable to go about their business hassle-free in environments that have been rendered safe and stable by a host of clear-cut rules and procedures.

Doors opened

One of the questions that designer Lotte Douwes asked during Match for Impact was also procedural in nature. She sought advice on whether and how best to apply for patents on an invention she had come up with in the process of making sustainable ceramic material. “I was wondering whether it made sense to apply for a patent at all,” says Lotte. “During the event, I was advised to do this, because it would be better for me to be at the negotiating table when upscaling my company.”

Like several other designers, Lotte also had questions about her own role as her company continues to grow. “Many designers I talk to have similar questions. I was delighted to be able to talk directly to a number of people from Rabobank about this during Match for Impact. Quite a few doors have been opened for me. I feel that I can also approach them directly in the future. Which feels a lot better than calling a generic number and seeing who you comes on the line. For me, it is essential to acquire as many insights as possible from people who have expertise in funding, upscaling, startups and business management.”

From idea to business

Nanouk Grootendorst, Rabo Foundation programme manager, speaks of a “fruitful event”. “I am currently in talks with five of the designers who attended to see if we can help them with funding, for example,” Nanouk explains. The role of the Rabo Foundation differs from that of Rabobank, says the impact manager. “We are a foundation with ANBI (a church, religious, charitable, cultural, scientific or other institution that serves the general interest of society) status. So we don’t have to make a profit. However, we can operate with part of Rabobank’s profits. This year, the amount for the Social Entrepreneurship programme in the Netherlands is approximately 8 million euros, and we use this to assist impact entrepreneurs who work sustainably, socially, greenly and regeneratively in the Netherlands.” 

For many designers, she points out, it is difficult to turn a good idea into good business. Nor is it easy to figure out how to finance such ideas in their early stages. “Many funds and subsidies only finance within a certain scope. This sometimes makes it difficult to find your way around them.”

Need for designers

In addition, this financial quest is frequently related to the entrepreneur’s character, Nanouk observes. “They are usually people who work along the lines of impact first. For them, profit is a means and not an end in itself. I think the economy will move towards this in the future. The designers who came to Match for Impact are the entrepreneurs working towards a sustainable economy,” she argues. “In creating this type of new economy, we desperately need designers. After all, they come up with new ideas, business models and products with which we can solve social problems in a sustainable way.”