For this month’s newsletter, we sat down with Mariska van der Hoek, CEO at modAlgae. modAlgae aims to sustainably produce and commercialize Galderia glycogen. Galdieria microalgae turn biodiesel glycerol or milk sugars into large amounts of glycogen. Initially, the startup will focus on the cosmetics industry as the characteristics of the glycogen point to added value in skin care formulations. We were eager to hear all about modAlgae and the idea behind the startup.
Q: Could you introduce yourself?
My name is Mariska van der Hoek, I’m 22 years old and I’ve been involved in the initiative modAlgae for about a year now. I have always wanted to do something with my career that would make an impact. In addition, I really like organizations, especially the commercial side. That is why I wanted to do something with sustainability in business. I have always had an interest in the food industry. Throughout my studies, that interest has moved more towards biotechnology. I got involved with modAlgae by writing my thesis with Prof. Marc van der Maarel, who asked me what I wanted to do next. One plus one was two, and I got involved in the initiative!
Q: How did the idea behind modAlgae evolve into what it is now?
modAlgae was preceded by years of research. Within the university, Professor Marc van der Maarel wanted to get started with carbohydrates. Within his research group Bioproduct Engineering, Van der Maarel has studied algae that produce a lot of glycogen, a carbohydrate. The ball started rolling on the basis of this research; perhaps the idea could also be commercially interesting? When I came into the picture, we started working on a business model.
Q: In what phase is modAlgae now?
modAlgae is in a really early stage right now. The product and process have been validated on TRL 1-2, but the process in particular still needs optimization before upscaling. For the product, several application-related claim supports still need validation. In the coming six months we will focus on obtaining the claim supports in skin care, using the NWO Take-Off 1 grant.
Q: What was the role of VentureLab North in your business development?
VentureLab North has contributed enormously, both personally and for modAlgae. My background lies in Industrial Engineering and Management, which means you understand technology and business, but you know nothing about entrepreneurship. A business plan, a value proposition, focus points et cetera were all new to me. I learned a lot through the program. We were able to apply many of these learning points to modAlgae to further shape the initiative. In addition, the network gained is extremely useful.
Q: How did you raise capital? What did you learn from it?
The idea of using glycogen in cosmetics was interesting. Although we had already studied glycogen, it had never been incorporated into a cosmetic application. Before last summer, we realized that in order to continue, we would need claim support. A large part of our value proposition stands and falls with that. Of course, we needed money for this. We were informed that an NWO Take-Off grant might be a good fit, for which we wrote the application and gave a pitch. This gave us a very good idea of what we wanted to focus our project on. Because of this preparation, we had to think about the idea very formatively, which turned out to be of enormous value.
Q: How are you planning to use the capital? What are your next steps?
In recent months we have grown a lot of algae in the lab so that we have enough of our own glycogen. In addition, we have obtained competitive product. We will send both products to a lab in Italy, where the products are processed into a cosmetic substance to test the effect on the human skin. We will also look at the production process; what this would look like on an industrial scale and what costs would be involved. Based on the process and the claim support, we want to assess our market potential. In the future, we see ourselves as an advanced glycogen supplier as an ingredient in cosmetics. In 10 years, we may be working on an initial identification of food applications.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who thinks about starting as an entrepreneur?
Your idea is of course the most important, but there are many other things to consider around your idea. Complying with regulations, financing, finding the right people, et cetera. Don’t forget this! I never knew I wanted to start a business but having learned a lot last year, I can now also follow my passion. You don’t necessarily have to know at the age of 14 that you want to be an entrepreneur: you can always roll in and discover it is something for you too!
We can’t wait to see what the future brings for the Groningen-based startup! Do you have an amazing business idea yourselves? Come develop your business with us. Apply now for our Business Development Program here!
