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Ahead of time with Giel and Godert of Edorado

In 2015 richtten de twee ondernemers en exposanten op MASTERS EXPO Giel Groothuis en Godert van Hardenbroek Edorado op. Een bedrijf dat snelle, elektrische boten maakt voorzien van een intrekbaar hydrofoil systeem. Dit betekent dus alle geneugten van een snelle boot, zonder emissie. Met – naar eigen zeggen – een vleugje naïviteit, maar vooral doorzettingsvermogen en een aanvullende skill set, is het gouden duo erin geslaagd om volgende jaar het eerste vlaggenschip te lanceren. MASTERS ging in gesprek.
Edorado

If you were allowed to invent something yourself that has already been invented in the past 50 years, what would it be, and why?

Giel: ''The Internet. It has allowed us to communicate much faster and develop because of it. Innovation has taken a major spurt because of the Internet and is moving humanity forward with global issues. For example, the Internet has provided a new generation of products such as phones and computers. But now so has new physical mobility products, such as the electric car and fast, electric boats. You can see it reflected in our product; it's completely digital.''

Godert: ''Solar panels. That's really a gamechanger for our future. After all, we have to learn to harvest energy. You do that with solar panels.''

What was the initial reaction to the business plan and who did it come from?

Giel: ''I first told the idea to Godert. At that time, I was living in Shanghai and had just bought myself a speedboat. However, at that time I realized that I actually thought a speedboat was a bit old-fashioned and that it should be more sustainable. But in addition to durable also fast, because I like fast sailing. That's when I looked up Godert.''

Godert: ''I was not immediately enthusiastic about Giel's idea. In fact, at that time I was working on electric racing cars. After all, I have always been a speedfreak but with a link to sustainability. However, when we started sparring further about the idea, I became very enthusiastic.''

Giel: ''The next person we told the idea to was our first investor, Steven Schuurman. He is someone who can look ahead and immediately hit on our proposition. With Steven we had our first conversation, from then on it became very serious. He understood what we meant, both on a product level and on a company level.''

What is Edorado's vision? 

Giel: ''Our slogan reads: Performance without a trace. So we make fast, performance boats where the experience, the speed and flying on the water is very important. But we do without a traceso without damaging nature. The combination of performance and environmental friendliness is at the heart of our business. This combination results in a totally new product that is better than a conventional boat in many ways.''

Godert: ''The richest 10 percent, about 630 million people worldwide, are responsible for 52% of total CO2 emissions. At the same time, this group has a role model function in society. After all, role models are always stars, never Jan modal. So when you talk about our mission, this is that we want to make the boating industry sustainable. To make this happen, it is important to start in the high segment.''

Giel: ''True. In fact, we did signal that there is a need in the high-end segment to make a contribution, without making concessions. After all, people want to be able to do the same as usual, but in a sustainable way. With today's technology, this is possible.''

What is the biggest milestone you have achieved with Edorado so far? 

Giel: ''That was mastering flying. Developing a computer and an algorithm so we could fly a fast and stable boat is our biggest achievement so far.''

Godert: ''This was a great moment and the road to this moment is classic for a start-up. You start it, you underestimate it, but still you fight on until it works.''

What do you hope to have accomplished ten years from now? 

Giel: ''We envision being one of the big players in the new, fast and electric hydrofoil market ten years from now. The boat market is huge, if there is a turnaround to electric, and for the fast category, to hydrofoils there is room for a lot of companies.''

If you can buy all the talents that exist in a store, what entrepreneurial talent do you think is necessary?

Giel: ''Two talents I would say. The first is being able to learn quickly in the technical field. It is start-up inherent to make a lot of mistakes, but the point is to learn and keep going again. The second talent is to be able to make a product that suits the market. After all, you can come up with a lot and make a lot these days, but it is important to make a product that fulfills the customer's need. These two talents, the combination between technique and commerciality is the most important trait that Godert and I have as a team. Godert manages the technical team and I am more on the business side. This complementary skill set makes us a strong team.''

Godert: ''Perseverance is also important.''

Giel: ''You might even call it naiveté, otherwise you never start such a process. In the boat industry, what we do is very unusual. Boats have been around for centuries, yet we decided to develop a new product from 0. We are not hindered by knowledge in the positive sense. This is a classic theory of innovation; the established order cannot reinvent itself.''

What are you taking to the fair in December?

Giel: ''We are bringing a scale model of our 1 in 10 boat. A scale model, because our pre-production boat is currently still being built. The first boats for customers will be ready next year. The scale model is impressive, because it reflects very well how we created the design and what the customer can expect in the end.''

The fair focuses on craftsmanship, innovation and entrepreneurship. What do you hope the fair will bring? 

Giel: ''Our target audience is in the high end. So we see a good match with our target audience and the audience of MASTERS EXPO.''

Godert: ''We are very excited to introduce our product to the public at the fair. At the same time, we are a young company launching their first flagship. So we are also very curious about the visitors' feedback.''

 

Check out Edorado's website here. 

 

MASTERS EXPO 

MASTERS EXPO is Europe's only exclusive business fair and focuses on craftsmanship, innovation and entrepreneurship. Approximately four hundred exceptional (family) companies from nearly twenty different industries - from business to lifestyle, cars to design and watches to boats - will enter the exhibition floor from December 8 to 12, 2022 in RAI Amsterdam. Keep an eye on the website for the start of ticket sales.