Changing the world of paper with Anne Pleun (Paper on the Rocks).

Every week, I receive messages on this platform, asking me questions on how I started Dopper and how I made it work. And every week, I struggle to give an answer. Not because I don’t know what to say, but because my company is probably different than yours. What worked for me, might not work for you. That’s why Yara Hannema and I created The Lucky Ones. A documentary in which we invited eight successful sustainable entrepreneurs to talk about their path. Honest conversations about life, love, highs and lows. To show everyone it’s not always as easy as it seems. 

 These conversations got us hungry for more. So, I decided to interview even more sustainable entrepreneurs. To share their story. To inspire you to follow their lead. This month? Anne Pleun van Eijsden, founder of Paper on the Rocks. Her goal? To change the paper industry, one notebook at a time.  

Anne Pleun, can you tell me a little bit about Paper on the Rocks?  

Of course! In short, Paper on the Rocks is a company that wants to create a healthy paper industry. Why? Because this industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. Grinding down forests and swallowing unimaginable amounts of water. Oh, and don’t forget the tons of CO2 emissions. This needs to change. But luckily, there are some great alternatives out there that don’t use trees and require much less commodities. Two viable options are to create paper from stone or agricultural waste.

And that’s exactly what Paper on the Rock uses to create beautiful and practical (note)books. We are B Corp certified and the stone paper is cradle to cradle certified. And we’re ‘tree-free’. 

Great concept! Were you always keen on starting your own business?

Yes. I always wanted to become an entrepreneur. People find that strange sometimes, but it’s in my blood. When I was eleven, I wrote a book about how I saw the future. I wrote about how cars would disappear and how we would all live in or near the forest. I even got invited to be on a show with Paul de Leeuw! 

But it was always my intention to make a difference. I wanted to do better. One day, I came in contact with paper made from stone, invented in Taiwan. I knew that was it. And I just started. Wrote some things down, which didn’t really make any sense. But sometimes that’s all it takes. It did feel a bit uncomfortable in the beginning.

 I was so far out of my comfort zone. But that’s all part of the game. 

Starting a business is not easy, for anyone. Just remember that nobody really knows what they’re doing. Everybody’s just making it work. Trying things out. 

And then, it was time to grow your team… 

True, because no matter how hard you try, you can’t do everything by yourself. Luckily for me, I find it pretty easy to give up control. I trust my team completely. They come up with great ideas themselves, which means not everything has to come from my brain. My team is really invested in our mission and are always taking the initiative. A little while ago, someone decided to make a documentary, for example. So cool! 

I know everyone makes mistakes, and I don’t expect my team to be flawless. But I really do trust them to make the right decisions. And so far, they are definitely not letting me down. I mean, have you seen our website and our latest book designs? It looks great now!  

Are there things that keep you up at night? 

Of course. All the time. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It keeps you on your toes. What helps for me is to go for a workout. It makes a huge difference. To clear your mind. It really helps me sort my stuff out and to keep breathing.  

We have a lot of plans for the future, we want to become the biggest sustainable stationery brand in the world. Big dreams mean lots of yoga, haha.

And lastly, tell us about your new crowdfunding campaign! 

As you know, Paper on the Rocks is on a mission towards a forest-friendly stationery industry. But we can’t do this alone. We need help in scaling our company (we’re a certified B Corp, by the way). We’re looking for a convertible loan of 290k - with possible extension to 700k. This will help us until 2021, the year in which we’ll become profitable. 

You can invest, starting November 28th, with a minimum investment of €200. In exchange you will receive an interest rate of 6%, a notebook (starting from €250) and eternal gratitude from me and the rest of the team. 

Visit https://www.symbid.com/ideas/8554-forest-friendly-notebooks?locale=en&action=show&controller=ideas&id=8554-forest-friendly-notebooks to help us reach our goal!