Nine years after starting his pioneering low-cost grocery delivery service in Amersfoort, together with his co-founders Joris Beckers and Frederik Nieuwenhuys, alumnus Michiel Muller is busy expanding Picnic into Germany and France, faithful to the EUR mission to create positive social impact.
“Working families want to purchase quality food while saving time in the process” he explains. “People love our lowest price, freshest produce, and free delivery model. And although, with more than a billion-euro turnover, we’re no longer a start-up, we still have that mindset because there’s so much opportunity out there to grow in many ways.”
Affordable grocery delivery is just the latest of his successful start-ups. He describes looking for an entrepreneurial journey in 2001 after more than ten years at ExxonMobil as ‘an interesting ride’ not least because his first day of self-employment is best remembered for the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
“It was a leap of faith to switch from a major international company to a start-up setting and I’ll admit I sometimes lay awake at night for the first few months because the period after 9/11 was so globally unsettled. But I was looking for more dynamism at work and my family supported me in this decision. Together with my former business partner, Marc Schröder, I launched two companies and invested in others. I’ve also been involved in various other projects before launching Picnic."
If you’re a student here, you become part of that world and it gets into your veins
Graduating from the Erasmus School of Economics in 1989 with an MSc in Business Economics, Michiel remembers the exciting buzz of Rotterdam: “It’s a vibrant commercial city and entrepreneurship is in its DNA. If you’re a student here, you become part of that world and it gets into your veins. Today, there are more opportunities than ever to combine coursework with practical experience through internships or studying abroad, so students should take full advantage of their time at university.”
One hundred years after the foundation of EUR, Michiel became Chairman of the Erasmus Trustfonds. Together with his board and the supervisory council, they devised a plan to establish an endowment fund of €100 million to enable excellent projects in education and research and got the university behind their plans. “The general feeling was that alumni didn’t give to their universities in the Netherlands. But after talking to other endowment funds in other countries we concluded that we simply never asked them. Together with the chair of our council and alumnus Frans van Houten we went out to talk to prominent alumni and shaped our case for support. We were extremely grateful when, after a few months, one of the alumni donated one million euros, which became a catalyst for many other alumni and families from Rotterdam to follow suit."
Change can happen rapidly
In addition to frequently lacing up his running shoes to join fellow students and alumni in the popular annual Erasmus Charity Run, he was also inspired by an idea that emerged from the alumni community: launching an investment fund aimed at supporting young and ambitious entrepreneurs. They collaborated with Delft University to establish 'Graduate Entrepreneur,' which provides pre-seed, seed, and Series A funding to entrepreneurial students and staff. With numerous startups in the program, it genuinely supports talented young individuals who lack the financial means to realize their dreams.
Michiel urges current students to develop their entrepreneurial skills during their studies, whether they intend to start their own businesses after graduating or bring new ways of thinking to established companies. And he says they have a responsibility to educate the companies where they’ll start: “You are the first generation to enter the workforce with more skills in critical business processes and technology than many current managers. With an econometric background, the ability to analyze large data sets, an understanding of coding, and proficiency in social media, you are well-equipped to manage projects that aim to make the world a better place. You'll find that change can happen rapidly.”
Following his own advice, Michiel is contributing his expertise to the National Growth Fund in the Netherlands which has €20 billion to invest in tomorrow’s technologies and innovations. Doubtless, he will be mindful of the EUR mission and seek to create positive social impact when decisions are taken at the highest levels.
