Datamaran: Sustainability is not one size fits all

‍Partying in the Big Apple

“It all started in 2012 at a party in New York,” says Marjella, who is from Zwaagwesteinde herself. “I spoke to a guy named Jean-Philippe and his best friend Jerome about the frustration I was feeling. For a foundation, I was working on the sustainability story every day, but noticed that it wasn't going anywhere. People saw it as something that had to be done “on the side” and because of statements like “If it costs nothing, it can't be important, right?” , I noticed that people didn't see the seriousness of it.

Jean-Philippe and Jerome said, “Why don't you do anything about that?” They thought I had the ideas and the network and wanted to get on board themselves. Indeed, with my strategic experience, Jean-Philippe's operational background and Jerome's computer science knowledge, we complemented each other well. And with the mission to use technology to prove which sustainability issues are important to senior decision makers, Datamaran was born. And oh yes; it turned out that I had also met my future husband with Jean-Philippe that evening.”

Working for Amazon and Phillips

Datamaran now works for around one hundred and forty customers including JP Morgan, Nike, Amazon, Ahold and Phillips. “We started by listing which companies might need our help, then we reached out to them and asked if we could use them in our first investor brochure. Very simple, but that's why logos and testimonials from, for example, KPMG Global and Suncor Energy were in our first folder and the ball started rolling.

Above all, the right positive people are essential here. You meet so many “naysayers” who say: “Why should you succeed, you only have your network in New York, right?” or “You don't have the knowledge to do this”. In addition, you should realize that you are not immediately a mega sales enterprise. I always say: “how does one eat an elephant? “One bite at the time”. For us, that meant that with our idea, we were looking for companies that wanted to help us develop. When we actually had something, we went back to looking for companies that could support in the next phase.

Recognizing the phase in which your startup is is extremely important, this is the only way to get the right help. Each phase has different expectations and a different story. First, you raise knowledge and money purely based on your team and idea, then you have to show something that matters whether your product is going to make it, and then your product-market fit is key. Each time, something different is asked and you should not arrive with BS. Dare to report risks; here we are, but we are definitely not there yet.”

I always say: how does one eat an elephant? One bite at the time.”

Just do it

Twelve years later, Marjella is sitting around the table with Nike people. The goal? Showing that sustainability is not a 'box ticking exercise'. “Ultimately, we're about making an impact, and we ensure that by giving companies good advice. They often get the advice: “Try it all and you might get high in the rankings.” We say just the opposite. After all, sustainability is something that you should specifically focus on your values. And at Nike, it's about sustainability in the supply chain, but also looking internally at women empowerment; this is widely disseminated, but is that also the right thing internally? That way, you suddenly make sustainability, a topic that many leaders of large companies see as a Gen-Z theme, strategic and goes from risk management to competitive advantage.”

Sustainability costs money

Sustainability costs money, but this does not have to be a disadvantage, according to Marjella: “I find it interesting to see how we can make sustainability commercially. And I'm the first person who always says it's never going to be cheaper, just more expensive. But when you look at the important decision makers in large companies, the price point often determines what matters to them. As a result, cheap often means unimportant. It must cost something not to become a 'side business'.

Scaling up with stable talent

With their workplace in Leeuwarden, Datamaran opened their fourth office near Marjella's hometown, but the choice for Friesland is not just because of its own roots. “Leeuwarden is really interesting in finding talent, for example, we work a lot with Campus Fryslân and NHL Stenden. By the way, the talent is not only interesting for us, but also for our customers. They are always desperately looking for people with an understanding of sustainability, which is why we want to act as matchmakers, something that, as a Frisian, I think is incredibly cool.

But this region is also interesting because our company is special for students: many of them want to stay here as long as there are jobs with an international connection. And we notice that the talent that we subsequently bring in is much more stable. With them, we now want to scale up. We have an internal document called “Datamaran Thousand” about our goal to go from one hundred and forty to one thousand customers. But if we are really allowed to dream, it can be even bigger, especially when you realize that with the current laws and regulations in the European Union alone, fifty thousand companies must become more sustainable.”‍