Stora Enso just released an official announcement that mentioned DRVR as one of the final six startups to earn a place in their exclusive accelerator programme to be held in Helsinki, Finland. We conduct an interview with the change makers of DRVR, David Henderson and Damien Williams to find out what does it mean for DRVR’s strategic direction moving forward.
- What are the three takeaways from participating in this accelerator pitching selection process?
David: I went to this event thinking it was going to be largely about product. To my surprise, the key takeaway I had was that it was not about product but about culture. The second key takeaway for me was that it’s all about visibility. I’m a huge fan of lean and transparency. You need to be able to see to feel in control. Of course I’ve also come to realise that, my partner in business, Damien is an incredible pitcher.
Damien: Well, we discovered that myself as the CFO can also step in and be a credible lead when we have a need for someone to pitch on behalf of DRVR. That is actually hugely valuable, as a startup generally only has one or two key people that can actually turn a speaking timeslot into a real opportunity. Every first impression counts.
We also made amazing connections with the other incredible startups. We are excited to partner with some of them during the accelerator……to fast track the process of delivering value to Stora Enso.
Fun fact. We also learned that Finnish people are very comfortable with having a sauna completely naked, with friends or strangers (I learned that through conversation, not personal experience)
2. What significant events took place during the process and what are your thought about it?
David: The highlight for us was the announcement saying we were in.
Damien: Significant events include (1) The knockout rounds of pitching. 20 down to 12, then 12 down to 6 winners (2) The networking with the other 20 selected startups (3) The engagement with & feedback from the accelerator organisers and Stora Enso each day; to help us improve fast
3. How does being a Southeast Asian based startup affect your chance against the other participating startups who are based in Europe?
David: Initially, I thought this would be a major benefit to us but in reality, it turned to be more of a hinderance. We were questioned on our commitment to the program and the tyranny of distance (and time zone) difference from Thailand, making it more challenging for us to both run a business and send our talented employees to Finland. At DRVR, we don’t do things by half — it’s either all or nothing.
Damien: It was a major obstacle for us to overcome, however we convinced the panelists by making the connection between the core problems they were trying to solve, rather than the geographical differences. Providing examples of use cases and real results we are delivering for customers now, in challenging parts of the world to operate a business in was powerful and justified our capabilities.
4. What does getting a place in the Stora Enso accelerator program mean for DRVR (in short term and long term)?
David: Stora Enso is one of the world’s most respected companies. Damien mentioned in his speech when he said we share a common worldview and value on humanity and sustainability. We see this as an opportunity to both contribute Stora Enso and ourselves in an ever-changing world. This partnership offers DRVR an amazing opportunity to learn and grow and also develop a strategic partnership to grow beyond regional power in ASEAN.
Damien: As a young startup, there is always a question mark over your capability as it is not “proven” from a limited historical track record. I believe that Stora Enso selected DRVR because they feel that they can learn as much from us as we can learn from them, which is a very strong, and humbling acknowledgement from such an esteemed and highly regarded company. In the short term, we will learn a great deal from Stora Enso and in the long term, our product and our customers will reap the benefits of this learning through a better solution offering.
5. How does this experience change the way DRVR proceeds with accelerator programmes in the future?
David: Some startups take a revolving door approach to Accelerator programs. They send interns to MaGiC then to Korea and change from one to another. We take every accelerator programme personally and seriously and present the best of the DRVR. We look forward to participation in the program.
Damien: Whilst on the surface this accelerator is seemingly beyond our focus on Asia with its geographical location in Europe, the structure of the program actually makes perfect sense. It is the usual “accelerator” mentoring and business program, but running alongside real customer problems and experiences. It blends the theory with reality and if you solve that real problem, you are likely to walk away with a real paying customer. For DRVR, this was about getting access to the inner workings of Stora Enso and being positioned to show them how our product can help them. Without the accelerator, we would likely never have someone even answer our phone call!
6. What do you think is the important criteria that resulted in a placement for DRVR?
David: Technology is ever-evolving and DRVR is well positioned to keep up with the change. Taking a longer term view and culture into account would place DRVR very high on the list.
DRVR has a very strong and experienced team.
We also have a running operation across three countries. Very early stage startups are high risk and may not even survive until the program starts.
Damien:
-We showed how to adapt & improve over the 3 day program, by listening to their feedback and responding. This shows we can iterate and adapt fast, which is what a startup needs to do (and big corporates wish they could)
-We anchored our pitch to them on our values being aligned. We care for and believe in the same things, so we already have a greater chance of succeeding as a team
I think they liked my Australian accent :-)
7. What are the benefits and also the costs of participating in accelerator programmes (time consumption, priority?)
David: This has been a hot topic of conversation in the team. This is a big investment in time and effort and has a huge potential impact if we are not able to realise any benefits out of this. The ball is in our court. We shape our own destiny.
Damien: The investment so far, in submitting a thoughtful application and then attending the 3-day pitch program were worth taking on. The 4 month program is a big investment but the potential returns of landing a customer like Stora Enso are equally as high. You have to go for it. If we weren’t ready to, we would have never started DRVR in the first place
8. What kind of personality will best represent DRVR in the accelerator programme and why?
David: This exercise is not about hacking out a bit of code but actually learning new skills and improving both yourself and Stora Enso. I am not ruling anyone but the skills required need to be multi-disciplinary.
I would like to use this as an opportunity to train a new generation of leaders in our company especially staff from Thailand and Myanmar.
Courage, Problem Solving, Ability to listen and learn are traits that I’m looking for.
Damien: A purpose driven problem solver, that wants to grow personally and be a better person for the experience.
9. Advice for startups attempting to qualify for other accelerator programmes
David: Read the details of the program before you go! If you don’t understand what it is you are applying for then don’t waste your and other people’s time.
It all boils down to sending your best business people.
Damien: Understand exactly what the program will deliver to the participants and be clear on how the experience will “accelerate” your business journey. If the benefit is purely for social media publicity saying you were there and that is the most valuable thing for your business right now, then something is very wrong.
