NIEK RIJNVELD EPIC CEO INTERVIEW
OptimAE is the world’s only fibre optic Acoustic Emission sensing system.
the OptimAE PD monitoring system that enables partial discharge detection in any critical high-voltage component of a substation; the NovaFAZ SHM, an innovative fiber optic Health Monitoring System of civil assets that gathers true actionable data in real time; and the I4 series FBG interrogators that provide measurement of key parameters such as pressure, temperature, and strain in challenging conditions. Also available is the OptimAE, the world’s first fiber optic acoustic emission system, and the DeltaSens, an acceleration sensing system capable of matching the performance of state-of-the-art electric accelero-meters. Optics11 Life, launched in 2020, provides products for life science in the fields of drug screening, regenerative medicine, and diagnostics. As Niek explains, work in these fields is about recreating the complexity of the human body in the lab in order to improve medical drug development, do better regenerative medicine, enhance treatments. To this end, Optics 11 Life offers a range of user-friendly, versatile, and robust table-top nanoindenters (the Pavone, Piuma and Chiaro) that can measure complex, irregular biomaterials such as single cells, tissues, hydrogels, and coatings and provide various mechanical parameters relevant for mechanical phenotyping, drug development, and tissue engineering.
Optics 11 have always had a very strong focus on making standard products in order to be able to produce repeat, off the shelf products. As regards income, while EU innovation subsidy projects were crucial at the beginning for income, customer relations and co-development, in recent years, the company has been profitable based on customer revenue alone. THE FUTURE Optics 11 has a bright future. In life science, there has been an explosion of exciting developments, for example, 3D biology and organ-on-a chip are already impacting pharma and the company is well placed to exploit these trends with their table-top nanoindenters, particularly the Pavone and a future new product the Cuore, although Niek is aware of the challenges of moving from a research instrument to a primary process tool that fits in the workflow of pharmaceutical biotech companies. On the industrial side, the asset monitoring landscape is rapidly changing due to developments around big data, connectivity and IoT together with new industry standards on improved monitoring performance and safety in respect of critical assets like bridges. In order to be part of the solution, Optics 11 are currently determining which part of the solution they can uniquely solve, which will inevitably mean moving higher up the value chain to ensure their customers are provided not just with sensor data but also actionable information. This will require the company to expand its capabilities and domain knowledge, and as a result, Optics 11 are about to start a new growth phase by recruiting an extra 30 employees in a range of disciplines. Although the job market is extremely challenging, Niek is confident that with their exciting and inclusive company culture, Optics11’s will be able to recruit and retain the new personnel and equip them with the resources to face the challenges ahead.
If you started again, what would you do differently?
“What I’ve learned about myself is that when things get tough and challenging, I tend to get very results oriented and forget about the people around me. I did this on occasions in the past, but I’ve since realised that it’s more important to build a team than to just grow revenue. Secondly, in the past we had the philosophy of enabling young people to grow in the company by giving them responsibilities for tasks rather than bringing in external expertise and putting some corporate big-shot on top of our young start-up excitement. At times this has worked out greatly and beyond expectations, but it didn’t always work out. If I started again, I’d look for a better balance by bringing in a bit of external experience instead of throwing inexperienced people in at the deep end.”
What’s your advice to the next generation of entrepreneurs?
“First, if you find yourself in a position like mine, that is, looking for a market for a disruptive technology, be prepared to change your market hypotheses according to customer feedback. Accordingly, you will need to have a broad approach and be open to those serendipity moments when you can unexpectedly find a use for your technology. As regards an MBA, after two years at Optics 11, I thought about doing an MBA. I don’t think it would have been helpful right at the beginning because I didn’t have enough experience of the problems involved. Things like finance and balance sheets you can learn along the way, but it’s far more difficult to understand how to manage a mature company and to see the business through the eyes of a shareholder. At times, I’ve felt out of my depth in discussions with investors and for these reasons, I’d recommend doing an MBA, but only when the time is right.”
Pavone: High throughput mechanical screening of cells and tissues for drug development and regenerative medicine.
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ISSUE 30 | Q3 2022
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