The Firm - Frankendael Brewery
They got the idea to brew their own beer sitting in a pub. That was ten years ago, and meanwhile Frank and Lei van der Linden have their own brewery. Their advice? “Never forget your drunken ideas.”
At the time, they were students in Delft. She was studying science communication, he did industrial design engineering. One of them was more into beer than the other. “I was discovering beer in any way I could,” Frank quips. She, on the other hand, wasn’t the partying type. “I was the stereotypical Asian girl. I never drank beer when I was a student.”
“It started off as a wild idea: let’s make our own beer!” says Lei. They didn’t know the first thing about brewing beer. “But these days, you can learn anything online. That’s a skill you
can be proud of as a TU student.”
Jeroen Canton, chief designer at Frankendael Brewery, is the third member of the founding trio. He studied industrial design engineering at TU Delft and is responsible for the art work. “He designs the labels,” says Frank. “They are in a pop-art style: striking, but also a bit nerdy. We’re still TU graduates, after all.”
Microbreweries are popping up everywhere these days. “It’s a hype, not only in the Netherlands, but all over the whole world,” says Frank. The initial costs are low, which makes it popular for start-ups. “You can get started with €5,000 of start-up capital,” he explains. There are now about 600 breweries in the Netherlands. “When we started, there were only about 300. We were among the early adopters.”
The couple’s advice to students who are considering becoming entrepreneurs is: don’t hesitate. Frank: “Just have a go at it. Don’t underestimate the ideas you scribble on a beer mat when you’re drunk, because they can be the best ones. And remember, most startups fail. But you don’t hear about those, because people prefer to share only success stories.”
International students also shouldn’t be afraid to start their own company, says Lei. “The perception is that Asian students only spend their time studying at the University Library, they never go out and then they leave the country as soon as they graduate. But I see lots of international students forging careers here.”
Are there any misunderstandings about entrepreneurship? “It’s much harder than I ever expected,” he says. “It’s a 24-hour job,” she agrees. “It keeps you busy all the time. I often lie in bed at night thinking about things that we still have to do.”
Photo: Sam Rentmeester
They are both addicted to entrepreneurship. Frank: “I get new ideas every day.” In the coming years, they hope to be able to expand their brewery internationally. “We’re currently exploring opportunities in China,” he says.