‘We raised 25,000 dollars with crowdfunding’ Text: Milou Peeters
ed to start a business, but hadn’t found the right partner. The ball started rolling when I moved with my wife to the States. When Koen asked me to come on board, I thought: What’s the worst that can happen? Let’s go for it!”
You started a business in 3D-printed phone cases. ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ It was with that thought in mind that Vincent van de Poll – newly married and emigrated to the USA – embarked on an
How did you hit on the idea of 3D-printed phone cases? “Koen already had a well-considered 60-page business plan about 3D printing, but it needed to be made more concrete,” says Van de Poll, with a smile. “We looked at what was already available on the market. A lot of 3D-print companies focus on technology, but what the customer wants is a cool, top-quality product. The lightbulb moment came during a meeting with investors in Hong Kong, when Koen’s cell phone, complete with case, was lying on the table. Someone said, ‘You present yourself as trendy, so why is your cell phone in a case like that?’ We knew then that what we had to do was produce 3D phone cases! Six months later, we had raised 25,000 dollars with crowdfunding. We are, by the way, one of only a handful of businesses that have funded a 3D product so successfully.”
adventure. Based in San Francisco, he co-founded GROM with Koen Munneke in 2012 and has never looked back. Neelie Kroes even dropped by for coffee at their place of business in Silicon Valley.
Doing business in the US, was that always your dream? “It’s awesome, but I never planned it in advance. Koen and I have been friends since we were fifteen. The idea came to us in France during a ski vacation with friends. One evening, we were sharing our business dreams and Koen kept talking excitedly about 3D printing. He want-
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