Company: PHEE

Country: Greece

Using a patented zero-waste manufacturing technology PHEE upcycles the dead leafs of seagrass Posidonia Oceanica for the production of bio-based materials that can found applications in different sectors.

For more information: https://phee.gr/

INTERVIEW

Tell us about your business

PHEE is a Greek bio-composite materials company that has developed and is producing a family of novel bio-based composite materials by upcycling a range of hard to recycle/upcycle natural residues, such as the seagrass Posidonia Oceanica, used coffee grounds, Greek mountain tea biomass, and others. Through an unconventional environmentally-friendly manufacturing process, these residues are used to form non-toxic and renewable alternatives to conventional fossil fuel-based materials. There are commercial applications for PHEE materials in architecture, furniture manufacture, and interior design.

Where did you get the idea from?

I was inspired by a TEDx speech by Paul Efmorfidis, founder of Coco-Mat, who a made an open call to young professionals working on new technologies for upcycling Posidonia Oceanica residue.

How old were you when you first decided you would start your own business?

I was 22 years’ old.

How did you get it off the ground?

After lots of tries & errors on the product/technology development one entrepreneur linked me with my co-founder Nikos Athanasopoulos . From the first day we shared a common vision and started from scratch the R&D process of our manufacturing technology and the bio-based composite materials development that is the backbone of PHEE.

Who did you turn to for help?

PHEE is being supported by many different organizations for developing her technology and being able to commercialize it. PHEE will not be a reality without Angelopoulos 100 Fellowship Program, The People’s Trust, The Hellenic Initiative, Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, AFI Organization,Aephoria.net & BlueGrowth. Thank you for always being by our side!

Describe some of the obstacles you faced as a young person starting out in this business.

One obstacle was collaboration with the wrong people, which caused me to loose energy and time. The lack of a product market fit was another, and finally a lack of resources.

How do you define success?

Success it the opportunity to co-innovate by collaborating with multidisciplinary professionals under a common vision and mission that will affect society, environment and humanity in parallel.

What was the most challenging aspect of setting up your business?

The most challenging aspect was creating novel materials from scratch that have the properties to substitute efficient conventional materials.

What has been the most rewarding part of your journey so far?

The most rewarding part of an entrepreneur life is to hear positive feedback from clients and showing that what he visioned to create is a real market need her uptake can create value and impact. Working with global brands like Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts,Nespresso,Adidas is for all of the team the most rewarding and promising part of the PHEE journey and we are keep dreaming!

Last but not least a very important moment was my nomination on Forbes 30U30 Europe 2018 Industry List which highlights the most upcoming innovations on materials industry across Europe.

What are the future goals of your business, and how will you go about achieving it?

PHEE is continuing the market driven R&D in order to develop new biocomposite materials that can substitute efficiently fossil fuel based polymeric resins for other commercial applications like packaging,consumer goods,toys etc.

Last but not least we are exploring ,in strong collaboration, with other industries what other applications the PHEE treated bio residues in our effort to increase the bio-based content of their product line based on European Green Deal goals.

What are the future goals of your business, and how will you go about achieving it?

PHEE is continuing its market-driven R&D in order to develop new bio-composite materials that can substitute fossil fuel-based polymeric resins in commercial applications such as packaging, consumer goods, toys etc. Moreover, we are exploring, in strong collaboration with other industries, what other applications PHEE-treated bio residues can be used in, in an effort to increase the bio-based content of their product line, in line with the goals of the on European Green Deal.

What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

My advice would be to focus on people development and on making their organisation attractive to talented professionals. Also, listen to client feedback in order to be always able to improve their product or service and, finally, stay focused!