"On a flight back to Edinburgh from my home in the Netherlands during my MSc, I was sitting next to someone who was cleaning his phone with a wipe. At the time, I thought, surely this could be done more efficiently?" says Daan Hoek (MSc International Business and Emerging Markets 2017).
"I had no technical background, but my friend, Thiijs Kea, who had studied maritime engineering at TU Delft, did. He knew that UV light has a disinfecting effect, and realised that at the right wavelength, we would be able to disinfect an object or surface.
"That's how it all started, and following market research, we decided to focus on the medical industry, in particular around the disinfection of medical instruments and equipment, without the need for chemicals, liquids, steam, or heat."
Coming from an entrepreneurial family, Daan had encouragement from home, but given that he had previous experience with large firms including Philips and Heineken, and had envisaged working in an emerging market following his MSc studies, Daan was unsure what to do.
However, a number of conversations with Diane Gill, then head of Student Development at the Business School, led Daan to decide to just go for it:
"When you come to the Business School and you see a lot of your peers planning to join corporates or going back to old jobs, there is a lot of expectancy to go down that path. Plus you've made a big financial investment too.
"Diane helped me to look at the pros and cons, and as a result, Thijs and I decided in June 2017 to launch UV Smart for a year, review the metrics, and at that stage, agree whether to proceed. Just five days before the cut-off in the middle of June 2018, we secured funding from a venture capitalist and finished our first clinical trial, so knew we had made the right decision!"
Their plan was to develop three different devices in succession, all based on the same UV technology, but for different medical applications.
Following clinical trials with different hospitals, their first product (the D25) was certified in May 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent acute shortages of personal protective equipment, there had been huge demand to develop the device earlier.
"This wasn't possible as our supply chain was backed up", says Daan. "But in response, we released an emergency unit of the D25 which has the same performance that we could source locally and ship out quickly.
"Roughly the size of a printer, not only can these disinfect mouth masks, they can also disinfect small medical instruments and equipment. It takes around 25 seconds to complete disinfection; hence the name D25.
"We now have over 170 devices in 19 countries, and have just finished swapping these emergency versions over with the official D25.
"Our second product, a long cabinet shape (like an old-school American locker), designed for probes, endoscopes, and ultrasound heads, is due to come to market in summer this year, with the third product hopefully released early in 2022. So we will have a range of disinfection products all based on UV light but for different applications."
Looking back, Daan reflects fondly on his time on the MSc and the year he spent in Edinburgh, not least because he met his life partner, Mariana, who was studying on the same programme.
"We both cherish the friendships we made during that year in Edinburgh and all try to meet up at least once a year.
"I would say that the biggest learning from the MSc was how to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I must admit I was a bit sceptical when they told us this at the start, but on reflection, it was definitely the group working with classmates of 43 different nationalities that taught me the most!
"I still use much of this learning today, whether I'm selling a device, particularly outwith my comfort bubble of the Netherlands, talking with an employee, or understanding our investors.
"I also learnt about the importance of local knowledge when entering new markets and therefore as we expand into new countries, we'll look for local distribution partners in those areas. They speak the language, know the culture, and have a network in the target market. We also plan to add more products to our portfolio and to grow our team, from 12 to maybe 20 by the end of the year. That said, it's not our ambition to become too big."
As for advice for current students thinking about setting up a business, Daan has some sound advice.
"You think you have a lot to lose when you are at the Business School, with others looking for corporate jobs, but the biggest mistake you can make is not to try it. Just go for it! You'll find out if it works or not, and if it does, enjoy it! In the worst case scenario, if it doesn't, you have learned a lot and you can always look to work at a corporate afterwards. And if you're still not sure, go and talk to Student Development!"