‘Success is the opportunity to co-innovate’

On the Promoting Enterprise portal, we are talking to the entrepreneurs on the 33 Under 33 list. This Secrets of Success initiative aims to shine the spotlight on a selection of successful young entrepreneurs, documenting their stories in an effort to inspire others to consider entrepreneurship as a career path. Today it is the turn of young Greek Stavros Tsompanidis.

Stavros is from Greece and has a BSc in Finance & Banking Management from the University of Piraeus. His heroes are his grandfather, Dimitris, who believed in him from the first day he pitched him his idea, and his co-founder Nikos Athanasopoulos, who helped him turn his vision into reality. He was inspired to create his company PHEE after hearing a TEDx talk by the successful Greek entrepreneur Paul Efmorfidis, the founder of Coco-Mat.

Tell us about your business.

PHEE is a Greek bio-composite materials company that has developed and is producing a family of novel bio-based composite materials by upcycling a range of hard to recycle/upcycle natural residues, such as the seagrass Posidonia Oceanica, used coffee grounds, Greek mountain tea biomass, and others. Through an unconventional environmentally-friendly manufacturing process, these residues are used to form non-toxic and renewable alternatives to conventional fossil fuel-based materials. There are commercial applications for PHEE materials in architecture, furniture manufacture, and interior design.

Where did you get the idea from?

I was inspired by a TEDx speech by Paul Efmorfidis, founder of Coco-Mat, who a made an open call to young professionals working on new technologies for upcycling Posidonia Oceanica residue.

How old were you when you first decided you would start your own business?

I was 22 years’ old.

How did you get it off the ground?

After lots of trial and error on the product and technology development, an entrepreneur linked me with my co-founder Nikos Athanasopoulos. From the first day we shared a common vision and started from scratch the R&D process for our manufacturing technology and the bio-based composite materials development process that is the backbone of PHEE.

Who did you turn to for help?

PHEE is supported by many different organisations in developing our technology and being able to commercialise it. PHEE would not be a reality without the Angelopoulos 100 Fellowship Programme, The People’s Trust, The Hellenic Initiative, Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, AFI Organisation, Aephoria.net and BlueGrowth. A big thank you to them for always being by our side!

Describe some of the obstacles you faced as a young person starting out in this business.

One obstacle was collaboration with the wrong people, which caused me to loose energy and time. The lack of a product market fit was another, and finally a lack of resources.

How do you define success?

Success it the opportunity to co-innovate by collaborating with multidisciplinary professionals under a common vision and mission in a way that will affect society, the environment and humanity in parallel.

What was the most challenging aspect of setting up your business?

The most challenging aspect was creating novel materials from scratch that have the properties to substitute efficient conventional materials.

What has been the most rewarding part of your journey so far?

The most rewarding part of an entrepreneur’s life is to hear positive feedback from clients, showing that there is a real market for what he or she had the vision to create, and that it can create value and have an impact. Working with global brands like Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Nespresso, and Adidas is the most rewarding and promising part of the PHEE journey for all of the team, and we keep on dreaming! Last but not least, a very important moment was my nomination to the Forbes 30U30 Europe 2018 Industry List, which highlights upcoming innovations in the materials industry across Europe.

What are the future goals of your business, and how will you go about achieving them?

PHEE is continuing its market-driven R&D in order to develop new bio-composite materials that can substitute fossil fuel-based polymeric resins in commercial applications such as packaging, consumer goods, toys etc. Moreover, we are exploring, in strong collaboration with other industries, what other applications PHEE-treated bio residues can be used in, in an effort to increase the bio-based content of their product line, in line with the goals of the on European Green Deal.

What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

My advice would be to focus on people development and on making their organisation attractive to talented professionals. Also, listen to client feedback in order to be always able to improve their product or service and, finally, stay focused!

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