Accelerator platform 

Start-ups flourish following tradeshow participation  

Bright minds of beginning entrepreneurs are staged at the Start-Up area, showcasing newbie companies from the network of Yachting Ventures at tradeshows. Participants from last November’s Metstrade can see the accelerating effects already. Tom Furnas and Kalle Kare share their experiences.  

AnywherEnergy Systems from Cleveland, Ohio in the United States of America joined Yachting Ventures to exhibit at the Start-Up area. “Participating in the Start-Up area at Metstrade has been a tremendous opportunity for us to engage with potential customers and investors,” says Thomas Furnas, co-Founder and CEO. “In tradeshows we also get to meet component manufacturers, system integrators, retrofitters. The opportunity to meet with so many companies across the supply chain was tremendous. We are in the process of working with a number of those potential customers and investors.” 

 

NASA tested 

AnywherEnergy Systems developed a fuel cell electricity generator that runs on multiple fuels. It is silent and gets two to three times more electricity from a given amount of fuel when compared to a conventional internal combustion generator. This new type of generator is based on SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) technology. Different types of fuel can be supplied to the fuel cell, where a chemical catalyst breaks the hydrocarbon bonds and releases the hydrogen (which is part of any fuel) to generate electricity. It works with petrochemical fuels, biofuels and gases. There is no combustion, so no loss of heat, no noise and rattling of moving parts.

The technology has been demonstrated and tested at the highest levels with NASA and for military purposes. The founders of the company turned the technology into a consumer product and aim at the yachting and luxury RV markets. “Those markets are a little less price sensitive while in low volume production, and customers in these segments really value the features we offer. Silent operation, no fumes, no vibrations, low carbon footprint, and 2 to 3 times more fuel efficient than a typical internal combustion generator. It's like a battery that doesn't run out of power as long as it has fuel.” 

Graphic presentation of the working priciple of a Solid Oxide Fuel Celll

 

Always up 

The possibility of running the fuel cell generator on a multitude of fuels is also very convenient. Travelling over the world, quality of fuels will vary. The ability to use the type of fuel that offers the best efficiency that is locally available, really helps to keep electricity generation up in remote places. 

 

Pitchers 

Another exhibiting company at the Start-up area is Finnish start-up X-Fender. They launched their first line of products early 2025. Their boat fender consists of six strips of foam, beveled and assembled in a sturdy canvass cover, that rolls up to be an airless hull protector and rolls out to store flat and easy.

Originating from a complete re-design of boat fenders, the company started in May 2024. It has been a very exciting year since then for founders Jenna Tikkanen, Kalle Kare and Petro Lahtinen. The three Fins took their idea and developed it to be ready for a big launch in the leisure boating market. They exhibited in the Start-up area at Metstrade last November and participated in the Pitching Event. They won. 

 

Second batch 

Just after the announcement from the pitch jury, Kalle Kare explains how the help from Yachting Ventures has helped him and his partners to get their company started. “It was easy for us to first come to the market. Making prototypes of our product has not been very complicated. The challenge was how to get our product known across the industry and find the funds to scale up production. My aim in this Pitching Event is to raise 1.1 million euros (€ 1.100.000,-) for our second production batch. We won, so I think we have this covered now.”

Joining forces with Yachting Ventures (YV) opened the opportunity for X-Fender to exhibit at Metstrade. This accelerator platform for start-ups in the marine industry connects entrepreneurs with new ideas to investors that are open to drive innovation in leisure boating.  

New skills 

Starting a business is a thrilling process, where a small group of people join in the idea of launching a new type of product. This product is often the result of a technological innovation and the founders of a start-up are often technicians. Enthusiasm will help beginning companies find some first customers.

Then comes the hurdle: scaling up production, building a network in the industry, reaching the target group of potential customers, probably in a much wider circle than the company’s home town. This requires money, which a starting company still has to earn and skills that might not be familiar to the techy inventors.  Building a website, networking, seeking for funding with banks or other investors and – in the case of Kare – doing a pitch on a stage in an international trade show for an audience of long time professionals and a jury that could grant the requested money at instance.  

 

Attractions 

Yachting Ventures wants to be more than an investment opportunity for funds or individuals that have some money to spend. Gabbi Richardson’s quest since she started YV in 2020 has been to help start-ups in the marine industry to manage all of the difficult tasks that occur when after the first protoypes, a business needs to grow to be able to supply the products in a market where competitors have already been active for decades. Marketing, finance, networking and more are on the list.

“Getting potential customers and business partners to know about your product is essential,” Richardson knows. “Trade shows are ideal for that. Yet, participation is complicated: organising a booth, a product presentation, registering as a participant, getting in the right spot and having the right information about your product available are a lot of complex tasks for which larger companies have professionals employed for each of these competencies. We organise a pavilion where start-ups from our network present their innovative products in a collective booth. This reduces cost and allows the new businesses to be present at the show with only a quite small booth.” The new products and innovative ideas always attract a good audience and especially the professional press, so the news about the fresh companies in the industry gets widely spread. Next to this, YV can take care of building a website, designing promotional material and of course finding investors. 

Yachting Ventures founder Gabriella Richardson. 
 

Growth 

The first boats with X-Fenders will cruise over European waters during the upcoming season. X-Fender has also opened a webshop. By March 2025, no AnywherEnergy generators are installed in yachts yet. Contacts established at trade shows are promising, contracts with yards are in preparation and launching customers are eager to test and demonstrate the silent and efficient generators. Half or one third of the fuel and no noise is the defining incentive. This message should come across in the personal encounters during trade shows. 

https://anywhereenergy.us/ 

https://x-fender.com/ 

https://yachtingventures.com/