Legger ut denne igjen… holder fortsatt vann.
ESGFIRE: Do you have any competitors in this field? What does competition look like?
Ole: I think the biggest competitor is the one I call ignorance and lack of knowledge.
The issues that our products address, topics such as desertification, are happening out of sight for most people. Soil degradation is happening under our feet, and the vital top soli is getting thinner from underneath. Some people become aware by seeing documentaries like «Kiss the Ground» on Netflix.
There are substitute products that could be used as complementary with Desert Control’s products such as biochar, polymer’s, peat moss and other things. The main difference from us is that while we are liquid, they are solid. We could potentially help liquify some of these products to decrease their intrusiveness or use them in combination with our solution.
There are of course other things that compete with us occupying a piece of customers wallets. However, if you look at the global market, the costs of desertification for the global economy is 490 million USD per year. We definitely need competitors because this is a huge market, and we must turn it around to safeguard the future for people and planet.
ESG: Do you have any plans to get a secondary listing perhaps on Nasdaq in the US in the future?
Ole: No plans, but it is possible. The nature of our business is global.
We are currently listed on the Euronext Growth index of the Oslo Stock Exchange in Europe where we are born.
It made sense to have access to capital from our closest market. However, if you look at our global expansion it may at some point make sense to consider other markets to be listed on.
We do already frequently get requests from investors who want to be part of our journey and who say it would be easier if the company was listed on other markets.
ESGFIRE: Patent protection, how comprehensive and how long is your product protected for?
Ole: Our patent is solid it covers the process and the actual binding between clay and sand particles in the soils. I’m not a big believer in building castles and walls and protecting things with patents, we need to focus on being the best at what we do. Our main patent was filed 2007 and approved, so naturally it will last 20 years (2027). We are working on potential additional patents. We have main patents and then we create patents around it. Even before Desert Control was established in 2017 it took 12 years to make it work in a way that it does not bring any harm to nature. Our product is not like software, when you deal with nature you need a full calendar year and then 4-5 natural cycles over time to get it right. It’s a lengthy process for any potential competitor. Further we believe our know-how and understanding about how to formulate our product optimally for each targeted soli type and the unique preferences of different plants and crops will be a good way of adding value for customers and staying ahead of competition at the same time.
If we play our cards right and execute on our official strategy we will maintain our competitive advantage for the unforeseeable future because it’s about how you build a competitive platform before competitors arrive. Our goal is to have a product and knowledge base as a constantly learning and evolving platform. That way, anyone who tries to copy us they will simply copy yesterday’s news.
Our goal is to have a product that’s so scalable and automated that it does not require training because then you cannot scale. Our goal is to create a model that can scale comparably to Starbucks, McDonalds etc. with a mobile soil health kitchen. The mobile soil platform will be the core. The algorithms for soil treatments will be the core IP treatments and will be in the digital cloud and not in the unit.
