Michel Kappen: 'I am open to learning more about man's psyche'

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

What was your very first side job?

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

How did you end up in your current job?

"Before founding Scotch Whisky Investment, I worked at Rabobank in the Investment Department. I have always found the financial market fascinating. On January 1, 2002, I started the whisky adventure: not drinking whisky, but investing in whisky. As a whisky talker, my mission was to introduce the Dutch to single malt and convince them that that is the real whisky. Dressed in traditional kilt, I tore across the country. I organized tastings and events, gave presentations... Then I used up a hundred guilders worth of gasoline and sold two hundred guilders worth of whiskey. I barely kept anything from it, it was all laborious and on a small scale. The Dutch don't drink whisky in quantities that you can base a healthy business model on. The water was on my lips and I had to cut a knot: was there another course I could take to still stay involved with whisky, or should I quit?"

And then?

"For any initiative, you need an initial customer who believes in it. And that one came. He immediately provided a substantial amount of money and said, 'Go buy whisky.' With that amount I went to Scotland and bought all the whisky I wanted to buy - and still I had money left over. With bottles I came back. I stored those in my then office, an old bulb shed with straw on the floor."

Do you come from a nest of entrepreneurs?

"No, not at all, but my parents worked very hard to earn an extra penny so we could go on vacation. My father worked at Schiphol Airport and my mother worked 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 start-up entrepreneurs. Ramses gave me advice in different areas: about work, people and life. For me, he was really a mentor throughout my career."

If you were a whisky: which one are you and why?

"A Springbank. It's a very small Scottish family business which makes incredibly good whiskey. 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 tremendous quality. It's just good."

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

"By nature, I have a tremendous drive and when I do something in life, I want to do it well. For the first thirteen years I didn't make a penny with Scotch Whisky Investments, but my drive was so strong that I just 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: getting the crucial Financial Markets Authority license in 2013 and buying the Valentino Zagatti collection in 2015. In May 2013, I was told that the business model I had was not in line with AFM regulations. The organization found that I was selling an investment property because whiskey is a physical product. So I had to go back to the drawing board and transform the business so that it met the requirements. This new business model required me to invest €150,000. I didn't have this amount, but I had to get it done. No was not in my vocabulary, therefore I had no other choice. It took me a year and a half, but eventually I got the AFM license. This license also gave me investor confidence: investing in whiskey as a financial product.

When buying the Zagatti collection, I was tremendously driven and tenacious. I actually had no money at all, but I had to and would buy the finest whisky in the world. By showing interest for five years, traveling to Italy from time to time and talking to these people, at some point I managed to achieve this idealistic goal. I set up a real museum around this very exclusive collection of whisky. So the bottles are on permanent display at our office in Sassenheim."

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

"Follow your gut, 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 you find out if people are valuable to you. This can be on different levels."

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

"I am open to learning more about people's psyche. In fact, it is very interesting to get to the bottom of people faster and understand their motivations. I would still like to improve that."

Are you a wheelbarrow for someone?

"I hope to be a wheelbarrow for my 19-year-old son. He has ambitions to join Scotch Whisky Investments, but he is still young. If my son comes to work in the company, it will change the dynamic between us. That is why I said that he should first gain experience and knowledge somewhere else and then he will start here!"