Michel Kappen: 'I am open to learning more about the human psyche'

The whiskey talker from the Low Countries, Michel Kappen, once started in an old bulb shed with straw on the ground. Scotch is now Whiskey Investments leading in investing in Scottish single malt whisky, it provides asset management, it has unique whiskey collections and it has founded the exclusive Scotch Whiskey Investors Club. MASTERS talks to the CEO, because who is the man behind Scotch Whiskey Investments? Who was Michel's wheelbarrow?Text: Mical Joseph
Image: John van Helvert

What was your very first part-time job?

“In my younger years I aspired to become a professional footballer. I first played for Jong Ajax and when I was eighteen I left for HFC Haarlem. There I played together with Arthur Numan. At one point I was playing at a lower level, after which I decided to stop.”

How did you end up in your current job?

“Before I founded Scotch Whiskey Investment, I worked at the Rabobank department Investments. I have always found the financial market fascinating. On January 1, 2002 I started the whiskey adventure: not drinking whiskey, but investing in whiskey. If whiskey talker it was my mission to introduce the Dutch to single malt and convince them that it is the real whisky. Dressed in a traditional kilt, I tore across the country. I organized tastings and events, gave presentations... Then I used up a hundred guilders worth of petrol and sold two hundred guilders worth of whisky. I barely got anything out of it, it was all difficult and on a small scale. The Dutch do not drink whiskey in the quantities that you can base a healthy business model on. I was at a loss and had to make a decision: was there another course I could take to continue working with whisky, or should I stop?”

And then?

“For every initiative, you need the first customer who believes in it. And it came. He immediately made a substantial amount available and said: 'Go and buy whisky.' With that amount of money I went to Scotland and bought all the whiskey I wanted to buy – and I still had money left over. I came back with bottles. I stored them in my then office, an old bulb shed with straw on the ground.”

Do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

“No, not at all, but my parents worked hard to earn extra money so that we could go on holiday. My father worked at Schiphol and my mother at PTT Post.”

Who was your wheelbarrow?

“Ramses Braakman, the director of Hart voor de Zaak. I met him during a presentation at Lef, an organization for starting entrepreneurs. Ramses gave me advice in various areas: about work, people and life. He was truly a mentor to me throughout my career.”

If you were a whisky, which one would you be and why?

“A Spring Bank. It is a very small Scottish family business that makes incredibly good whisky. The Mitchels family has been running this company since 1400. From generation to generation. It is one of the few distilleries still in family hands. Springbank has history and enormous quality. It's just good.”

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

"I have an enormous drive by nature and when I do something in life, I want to do it well. I didn't make a cent with Scotch Whiskey Investments for the first thirteen years, but my drive was so strong that I kept going. The pure interest in the product was the great drive and at the same time my passion.”

What has been the biggest learning moment in your career?

“There have been two big moments in my life: obtaining the crucial Financial Markets Authority license in 2013 and purchasing the Valentino Zagatti collection in 2015. In May 2013 I was told that the business model I had was not viable. was in line with the AFM rules. The organization felt that I was selling an investment object, because whiskey is a physical product. So I had to go back to the drawing board and transform the company so that it met the conditions. For this new business model I had to invest € 150.000. I didn't have this amount, but I had to make it happen. No was not in my dictionary, so I had no other choice. It took me a year and a half, but I finally got the AFM permit. This license also gave me the confidence of investors: investing in whiskey as a financial product.

When purchasing the Zagatti collection, I was extremely driven and persistent. I actually had no money at all, but I had to buy the most beautiful whiskey in the world. By showing interest for five years, occasionally traveling to Italy and talking to these people, I eventually managed to achieve this idealistic goal. I have set up a real museum around this very exclusive whiskey collection. The bottles can therefore be permanently admired at our office in Sassenheim.”

What advice would you give to your 18 year old self?

“Follow your feelings, commit yourself with your boundless perseverance, take risks, ask questions and be open to advice. The trick is to gather the right people around you and by asking questions you find out whether people are valuable to you. This can be at different levels.”

You are of course an experienced entrepreneur, but what do you still want to learn in your life?

“I am open to learning more about the human psyche. It is very interesting to understand people more quickly and understand their motives. I would like to improve that.”

Are you a wheelbarrow for someone?

“I hope to be a wheelbarrow for my 19-year-old son. He has the ambition to work at Scotch Whiskey Investments, but he is still young. When my son comes to work in the company, it changes the dynamic between us. That's why I said that he should first gain experience and knowledge elsewhere and then start here!”