“We want to make sustainable energy accessible to everyone because we believe that the energy transition will only succeed if the entire society benefits from it,” Julius summarizes his mission and vision for Supersola. “Now you see that only higher incomes reap the benefits of the energy transition – say, people with an electric car and who can afford five thousand euros for solar panels. With our consumer product, you plug it into the socket and 13% is immediately deducted from your bill, even if you rent a home.”
Supersola already available through three channels
Julius is proud of his solution and what he has already achieved with his company. “You have to remember that our concept was completely new when we started. We now have a proven product and thousands of customers. Our panels are available on three major channels: via energy company Essent, the well-known online platform Coolblue and on the physical shelves of Praxis. We are also growing in France, which means we are already carefully building our international reputation.”
Investing in brand awareness
“This is the moment when we really have to get going,” Julius continues. “Our next objective is also to become known to the general international public through additional investments in sales and marketing. Our plan is to grow country by country. After the Netherlands and France, first to Spain and Italy, then Germany, Austria and Switzerland and then more to Eastern Europe – until our product is available throughout the EU in 2027. It is an exciting phase. You can see that the market is slowly starting to become a competition and that we are among the frontrunners. Because of the size we already have, it is increasingly about more money. If we stay in the top three, we will also become really big.”
Broad support
“ROM InWest supports us very broadly and that is also their strength,” says Julius. “They help us with, among other things, the further development of our product and sharpening our proposition, so that Supersola fits the market even better. The business developers of ROM InWest have a sharp eye on this with all their knowledge and experience. Their advice is therefore of great value to us. With their investments, ROM InWest makes the biggest difference for us. They work as a kind of lever on our organization and thus contribute most directly to our growth and scaling up volumes.”
“You have to enjoy a challenge”
Julius believes that as an entrepreneur you should love a challenge. “You are in fact constantly looking for the next opportunity to prove that you can develop or achieve something. For us, that started with the development of the product, then it was the certification for it, then the scaling up of our production and the entire operation and now the triangle of marketing, sales and financing. Sustainable entrepreneurship is certainly a journey with bumps, but taking those bumps always gives you a kick.”
Growth path and firm hypotheses
“Make sure you establish a clear growth path with firm hypotheses that you dare to test honestly on a regular basis,” Julius mentions as his next tip for fellow entrepreneurs. “By that I mean a number of basic truths on which your service or solution is based. For us, for example, that is the trend that solar panels are getting better every year. We deeply believe that everyone will eventually buy them – if not this year or next year, then the year after. That means that sooner or later this will become a gigantic market. You have to be able to fall back on these kinds of hypotheses when someone shouts 'stop', 'left' or 'right' again – and then steadfastly continue. Finally, I think that as an entrepreneur you can't be too ambitious. The most beautiful things come from big dreams.”
