Rob Römgens, founder and CEO of Swip Swap B.V. explains:

"The first lockdown in March 2020 fell exactly in the month in which a pilot in Maastricht would validate the app and the business model of Swip Swap. In April, talks were scheduled to discuss with investors an investment for the next phase, in which the prototype would be further developed into a product ready for a market launch, based on the validated app and the business model. However, the lockdown caused the pilot and the investment round to fall apart..."

Exchanging toys became impossible. "The first results of the pilot just before the lockdown were promising. After organizing a challenge at a local elementary school in de Heeg, a district in Maastricht, the app was downloaded and used a lot. In the first week of the lockdown, nothing seemed wrong, but after that the number of users decreased . People were advised to stay at home and not to take their children to the supermarket, so swapping toys at the Swip Swap Spot at the Jumbo was obviously not possible. The lockdown therefore meant very concretely that we could not validate the business model sufficiently to get investors on board for the planned follow-on (SEED) investment."

And that's when you chose the COL?. "The COL came at the right time for Swip Swap. Without COL funding, it would have been difficult to get through the corona period, especially since there was investment needed to validate the business model in the corona era and get investors on board."

What did you use the awarded loan for? "We are using the bridging loan to validate the business case in corona time so that interested investors step in at the SEED stage. Specifically, the bridge financing is used to grow the number of users and generate revenue. To do so, we invested in the development of several important features in the app, such as the gps module, native ads and a points system that motivates to use the app. Features that are necessary for a rapid growth of the user base and for generating sales. In addition, we invested in the development and rollout of a coronaproof market approach with an online toolkit, ambassadors and partnerships."

Where is your company now? "The development of Swip Swap is moving at lightning speed. The latest version of the app is many times better than the pre-corona app, and we are also making similar steps forward with the marketing strategy and business case. We are also making strides as a company. The team of Bob Wassermann (CTO), Bas Römgens (CSO) and myself (Rob Römgens, CEO), has been expanded with 2 strong young developers, a marketing specialist and a graphic designer. Important for the steps we are taking is also the strategic cooperation with Recycle Sint. By sharing knowledge and networks, we can achieve our common goals faster. At the moment we are working hard to prepare talks with investors to continue to grow."

Do you have any tips for other entrepreneurs? "The lockdown and the pilot that failed as a result obviously took a toll on us. After the brief disappointment, we quickly started looking for new opportunities and possibilities to achieve our goals in the new playing field. A fresh look at our business model showed us that it is flexible, that you can turn the knobs and that different roads lead to Rome. Looking back, we can even say that the corona crisis had a positive impact. The app has improved, our business case is more robust, and we have started talking to partners with whom we can realize our goals faster."