LOOK FOR UNEXPECTED ALLIES

Jeffrey Prins and Minke van Rees, photo by Reineke Ekering

Jeffrey Prins and Minke van Rees from DOEN Foundation are responsible for guiding the Green Challenge winners after the contest is over. When do you get in touch with the contestants?

We meet the contestants at the start of the Green Challenge week. A lot is coming their way that week, so the organisers of the Green Challenge set up a day for introductions to the Postcode Lottery, the Green Challenge team, and also DOEN Foundation. As DOEN has been administrating the prize money since the beginning in 2007, we are introduced to explain that DOEN was set up 20 years ago as the main recipient fund of the Postcode Lottery's money, what we do and why we're involved. We explain that we will get in touch with them after the contest is over.  We also explain that they shouldn't expect the money to be transferred overnight, because we have a whole administrative procedure to follow as well, to make sure the money is allocated correctly.

What happens after a finalist wins the Green Challenge?

After we'e established contact, we start the administrative process. We will look at various things, such as: Let's have a look at your Articles of Association. How are you governed? How are you supervised? Do you have a company bank account? Where are you legally established?  The reason we are being so thorough, is that we hold the winners accountable for their actions. Otherwise, how can we make sure the money is being spent correctly?

Is the prize money distributed all at once or in installments? Within what timeframe?

We won't put the lump sum in your account all at once. We check the administrative side, and then based on the business plan you handed in there are a couple of logical goals and timetables that we adhere to. Basically we say: We need to understand where you're at and what your plans are for the coming time and we want to hold you accountable because we're going to divvy out the money in tranches. It's all about getting the administration right and setting up a timetable so we can transfer the money accordingly.

Most of the time we'll have an initial allocation, and then the second allocation will typically happen after a year or so. We could make the first money transfer within 2 weeks after winning the Green Challenge, if all the credentials and papers are in order.

Are plans discussed? Have you ever advised previous winners against spending the money on something you didn't agree with?

It's not something we've ever encountered. Typically of course the finalist got through to that phase already, and there is enough due diligence involved that you're not going to come across any quirky things. Our role is passive in a sense that we can make a lot of suggestions but of course it also depends on a need from the finalist's side. Some of the winning companies are quite clever and they really take the time to invest in their relationship with DOEN. These are really the star prize winners because they understand that we're not just about allocating the money but we also do a number of other things and we're involved in a lot of interesting projects that could possibly enrich their business plan, and it could be worthwhile for them to invest in us.

DOEN Foundation is always on the look out for interesting projects, so Green Challenge winners and finalists are definitely on our radar. We could for example look at the next stage of financing or connect them to all sorts of initiatives that we're already supporting.

What are the pitfalls for winners?

Some pitfalls can be:

• Lack of focus. Focus on what you want to do specifically, what is your product all about. Ecovative for example won on their technology but said they were going to focus on packaging which was the right thing to do.
• Forgetting about having potential customers lined up. Being so excited as an entrepreneur about developing your product that you forget about your market.
• €500,000 is a lot of money for a start-up, but it's only going to take you so far. I would suggest they start right away getting other investors on board and getting extra financing in place. Most  people forget that it takes a long time to actually get the financing in your account. You don't want to be with your back against the wall, asking for money. You want to be in a stronger position.
• To make things happen you have to share the dream. Start-up companies are always struggling with ownership, because the product is their dream. They also have to realise that to make things happen you have to share the dream. And practically that means giving up ownership in part, if an investor comes along. A lot of starters want to remain at least a majority shareholder. Also they want to do it their way, and only their way, while it really pays off to open up to possibilities.

Do you have any tips for sustainable entrepreneurs?

Look for allies and contacts in unexpected places. I would say the world is no longer just dog-eat-dog or competitive, but more of a sharing, web-based, interconnected kind of world. That makes the world exciting. Not necessarily me against the others, but how can we work together. It's good to hear that each year's finalists are in touch with each other. Which makes sense really because they're all coming across the same kinds of issues.

The first 5 Green Challenge winners: Eben Bayer, Igor Kluin, Nick Christy, Scot Frank and Dean Gregory, photo by Roy Beusker