Interview with Iliana and Susanne

 

What kind of company is Bioenergy Europe?

Bioenergy Netherlands is an organization that converts biomass waste into green molecules that can be used to produce products like heat, electricity, bio-hydrogen, bio-methane, bio-methanol and even jet fuel. Bioenergy refers to all types of energy derived from the conversion of natural, biological sources (referred to as biomass) available on a renewable basis.

 

Simply said, they take wood waste (for example from pallets) which they convert into a gas consisting of green molecules, whilst at the same time capturing carbon.

 

They are a super innovative and green organization, with a plant located in Amsterdam. What is so special, is that the process is ‘carbon negative’. This means that at the end of the process, you are left with less carbon than before. Their goal is to sustainably produce green molecules, so that fossil fuels can be replaced for different industries and transport.

 

It is a small, but super international organization. Their culture hosts a hands-on mentality and focus on future growth.

 

Where did Successr come in and how did we help?

The first request they had for Successr was finding operators that could work in the plant. They were looking for people with a passion for sustainable energy.

 

We started with some market research, and we found out there were Master programs that specialized in this, e.g. “renewable energies, green energy, biomass conversion”. We found around 10 different universities in Europe. Among them universities in the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Italy, and Hungary. It is a small cycle of people, so via networks we connected to them.

 

How did we make the difference?

We mostly helped them build the employer brand for the company by spreading the word in the market.

 

Iliana was representing Bioenergy and people recognized this and approached her directly. There were a lot of attributes for potential candidates that were attractive, like the company’s mission, vision, and development plans.

 

The word just needed to be spread about it, and that was exactly what we did during this partnership. The company had so much potential. People found it inspiring, and this helped so much with attracting the right talent. This is something typical for the way we work at Successr: we really try to gain in-depth insight of their company and culture.

 

Also, we tried to go beyond the original request that we had and tried to figure out how we could really make the difference. It was clear that highly educated people with a certain background and an interest in sustainability and green energy would be the right asset to bring the company to a higher level. So, then we started looking for those people.

 

What was the most challenging part of this partnership?

Bioenergy Netherlands is a startup in which people are really busy building the company. Which is totally understandable, but stakeholder management was therefore the hardest part. Keeping the conversation about candidates short and timely was the main challenge.

 

Why was Bioenergy such a good match with Successr?

Their mission includes green energy growth and changing the world. A strong purpose and contribution to society are important values for Successr as well. So the match was there since the beginning!

 

It was also great that we could join them in such an early stage of their company so that we can make significant impact now and in the future.