Hanno Schwab - Early Bird: starting up a sustainable business
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Claudia AcklinManaging Director Swiss Science Council / Managing Director Lotos-Produktionen GmbH
Few people moved as swiftly through our programme Creative Link as Hanno Schwab. Since he quit his job as an architect in October 2014 and started to work a 100% for the development of his business, many good things have happened to him. There was quite a bit of media coverage for his ecological freeriding downhill ski and he won the prestigious ISPO gold award 2015/2016 for JACKDAW, his innovative product with the small carbon footprint. Even though he did not receive any cash, ISPO opened a lot of doors for him; he had offers for several hundred pairs from companies abroad.
However, Hanno was not willing to become a big producer. His vision is to create the most sustainable ski and business as possible, which means:
- the product is handmade, created in a small batch (of 30 pairs last year), in a small carpentry in Schüpfen/BE
- besides Hanno, it's a small team including a local carpenter and an engineer to craft the skis
- the materials used are as sustainable as possible (e.g. the core is made of an innovative flax fibre sourced from a Swiss start-up nearby)
- the wood did grow in Swiss forests, so transportation costs are at a minimum
- by keeping the production small there are no compromises to be made in manufacturing
- etc.
Hanno’s vision to make a contribution to sustainable winter sport is not just a (green-washing) slogan; he rather stays small and innovative and wants to stay independent financially. For the upcoming winter season he intends to pre-produce 200 pairs, which would cover all his costs and would earn at least as much as he did as an architect. What are the success factors for this fulminant start?
Hanno was able to work fulltime as mentioned above. He invested personal money into the development and manufacturing infrastructure, so was able to produce independently and precisely how he wanted it. All money earned so far, was reinvested directly into the business.
He has a partner, who understands and supports him a 100%. Hanno had help and became very close with BComp (flax fibre), with the CEO as well as with the engineers, who helped with development and business advice.
Hanno also has contacts to the Berner Fachhochschule and some of the scientists there, who provide knowledge in the areas he needs.
Hanno is a consummate free rider himself, knows exactly how a good ski needs to be, and what other fans of alpine touring need. He is actually part of the community and had champions ride his ski.
Hanno was able to create a community of users and customers around his ski; almost all his clients came to the carpentry to fetch their new skis personally. Some of them still give him feedback or send photos from their trips.
Before he got deep into business development, Hanno had thought and experimented a lot on the construction of an ecological free ride-downhill ski. So experts recognised and valued his expertise and the innovative product that came from it. He is already planning what he wants to develop next because in today’s business it is necessary to stay ahead of the curve. This makes him a real entrepreneur; the “great” members of this species are all about innovation and about moneymaking.
