In this interview, Jose Pozo, Director of Technology and Innovation at EPIC talks to Theodor Nielsen, founder and CEO of NIL Technology ApS (NILT), a company specializing in nanopatterning and nanoimprint lithography.
Theodor's rapid rise to CEO of NIL Technology
Theodor set up NIL Technology while still in his 20s and studying for a PhD in nanoimprint lithography (NIL). It all began when Theodor and Brian Bilenberg, CTO and co-founder of NILT took a course in entrepreneurship and became completely hooked on business concepts and models. In 2005, they entered a business competition in Denmark and won second prize for a business model based on nanopatterning and nanoimprint lithography. Their success convinced them of the potential of their business plan, so they decided to take a leave of absence from their studies and set up NIL Technology. As Theodor said, "Looking back, if we'd known about all the obstacles and how long it would take maybe we wouldn't have jumped. But we've never regretted it and we've never looked back.”
Setting up the company
After negotiating start-up funding from a Danish seed funding focused VC and a license model for IPs based on Theodor's work while he was at university, they registered the company in January, 2006. Five months later, they hired the first external personnel and by the end of the first year, they had bought the IPs from the University.
"We got our first order two or three months after we started the company and since then, it has been part of our strategy to develop the business according to our customers' requirements. Only very rarely have we developed something in the hope that someone would buy it".
Communication
Theodor believes it is essential to develop an understanding of the concepts, vocabulary and procedures that allow a dialog at both a technical and business level. "As far as our customers go, most are lab-based so it's very important for us to be able to communicate at an engineering rather than a business level. We've always focused on what we know we can do and how we can provide solutions in the knowledge that a comprehensive understanding the technology is the key to our success".
For Theodor, one of the biggest challenges has been finding investors who are willing to enter the nanotechnology sector in Denmark, because few people really understand the technology they use. For this reason, while an investor may be interested in the technology, NILT has found that the best way to explain their vision is by focusing on their paying customers.
NILT's business model
NILT's original business plan was to sell stamps for nanoimprint. Nowadays, they are entirely customer-focused and as Theodor puts it, "When we hand out the high fives after work it's because we've received positive feedback from our customers and we know we've delivered good products and services".
However, while NILT is very customer focused, that's not to say there is a complete absence of standardization. With the focus on photonics and optics, although the kind of patterns required by their clients may vary, for example, in pixel size and the accuracy the patterns, they tend to fall into the same broad category. As a result, it has been possible to build up a unique process library with basic processes that can be combined in different ways.
Advice for finding investors
Theodor is convinced of the need to be open with investors and to talk freely about needs, abilities and potential. As he says, "Some people are afraid of talking about their ideas in case they are stolen. Of course, you should try to protect your ideas but it's more important to talk about them because you will start to meet people who can help you.
But he adds a word of caution, "Be careful - investors all have different opinions and they may try to push you in certain directions that have been successful for them in the past. So, my first piece of advice is don't do something just because someone wants you to do it. You need to understand it yourself, believe in it yourself and if it doesn't feel right, don't do it".
Theodor went on to say that when coming straight from university, it's inevitable that most people you meet in the business world will have more experience and be smarter than you are because you haven't been there before. But he believes that it's only by talking to investors and testing ideas that a young entrepreneur can find the right business model and convince the investor that they are worth investing in. He added, "Remember that although you may have a very good idea, the investor is going to invest in the founding team rather than the idea".
Theodor's final piece of advice was to remember to ask for something: "You can have a lot of great conversations but if you don't specifically ask for something, you won't get it."
In regard to investment, NILT went through three basic stages: First, people recognized that they were in an exciting field, which was the motivation behind their first small investment 12 years ago. Then, in 2006, they started to network and were finally able to attract a private investor, who's been with them ever since. Finally, in 2015, they broke even and since then, it's been a totally different game as they don't need annual funding.
Theodor says that to date, their growth has been semi organic with NILT learning about the technology and the market, building up expertise and waiting for their customers to be able to scale up, which started to happen 2 or 3 years ago. Within the last year, NILT has expanded its workforce by 50% and they expect to keep growing and hiring over the next 6 to 12 months.
Theodor's goals for the next five years are to expand beyond masters, to be significantly larger in the order of a hundred employees and with a turnover in the tens of millions.
What Theodor would have done differently and his advice to young entrepreneurs
"I wouldn't have done anything differently because I'm an all or nothing person. When I do something, I do it with everything I have; it's not a job, it's a passion and a lifestyle".
Theodor's main piece of advice is to be aware that when it comes to entrepreneurship and being the founder of a company, "you are the leader and the person who for many years will dictate the ethics and the values of the company". He believes that you can only do this effectively if it comes from the heart. "When you start, you are not fully aware of all the future risks and problems and to overcome them you will need a passionate belief in what you are doing".
His second most important point is to identify your own role. Decide what you are best at and what you want to do; hire people for things you're not good at or what you don't want to do. "The greatest benefit of starting a company is that you can decide your own role and take care of the fun part".
Finally, it's important to work out your business model at the outset. "Are you going to do it with a lot of money Silicon Valley style, with your own money or somewhere in between with a small investor like we did?"
Written by Jose Pozo, Director of Technology and Innovation at EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium).
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