HeiQ CEO Carlo Centonze: ‘A company has to go public when the market wants it, not when it is ready—so we went public’

11.12.2020 08:05, Isabelle Mitchell

Last week, Schlieren-based HeiQ became a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange. We talked to HeiQ co-founder and CEO Carlo Centonze about the IPO, COVID-19, and HeiQ’s future.

Carlo, what does the IPO mean for HeiQ? 
It is an important milestone for HeiQ. We have spent the past 15 years building HeiQ into a corporation capable of combining competence in research, specialty materials manufacturing, and consumer ingredient branding, innovation, and helping brands differentiate their products. The IPO is a major milestone because it celebrates the maturity of our business model, gives HeiQ exposure to a broader audience, and brings in further funds to invest in areas that will accelerate growth, such as expanding the sales and distribution channels and brand awareness.

HeiQ was founded during a hike in the Swiss Alps. Was there a lot of hiking involved in the decision to go public? Why and how did you decide to go public? 
An IPO is always the most difficult peak for a startup. That’s why when we founded HeiQ, the IPO was our aspiration. Going public increases the corporate visibility and the trust of business partners. At the same time, consumer recognition is enhanced, which drives the demand for our technologies. It is a good platform to raise additional funding to fuel our future ambitions.

IPOs take a long time to plan and execute. What did you learn along the way? 
HeiQ pursued a modern form of IPO called SPAC [special purpose acquisition company] or RTO [reverse takeover]. This is a fast, economical way to go to market. We selected top advisors but neither any of the Big 5 nor banks. Once again, we did things differently from all others and were rewarded with success. It took us five months to the day from the board decision to going public to floating on the stock market. It was an outstanding performance by our IPO management team, true HeiQans!

How has COVID-19 influenced your business and, ultimately, the plans to go public? 
COVID-19 is an enormous catastrophe that sends billions back to poverty. But, as the Chinese saying goes, “every crisis is an opportunity.” This pandemic has allowed us to show to the world the power of HeiQ’s core competence—rapid, deep innovation capabilities that can deploy and serve the imminent needs of the world. We, at first, created generation 1 HeiQ Viroblock in 2013 amid the potential Ebola crisis, but the technology didn’t take off subsequently and was shelved. Last December, when we saw the COVID-19 pandemic coming, we quickly scaled up HeiQ Viroblock generation 2 and launched it within six weeks, literally two hours after the Swiss government announced the state of emergency and the army was mobilized.
We have over 200 turnkey technologies adopted and loved by major brands around the world. But the pandemic has put HeiQ Viroblock in the spotlight, as it is so effective, so sustainable, and so safe at the same time. Its ability to turn any textile into an antiviral surface has enabled HeiQ to create a positive impact in the world during this pandemic. Over 1 billion face masks with HeiQ Viroblock have already been utilized globally. A company has to go public when the market wants it, not when it is ready—so we went public.
 
What are the plans for HeiQ’s future?
The fundraising will enable HeiQ to build on the significant momentum achieved so far in 2020. There are strategic opportunities to capture more market share through increased sales of our core products to major brands. These have grown 17% in the first half of the year, and, in parallel, we have entered lucrative new markets with additional high-margin innovations. The antimicrobial market, which has grown into a mainstream request, also presents a compelling growth opportunity going forward. The launch of HeiQ Viroblock more than doubled HeiQ’s revenue in the first half of 2020. We look forward to innovating the antimicrobial field and regularly updating the market regarding new partnerships and contracts in the future.

HeiQ was founded in 2005, and you participated in one of the first Venturelab training sessions, including Venture Leaders 2006. How have these programs contributed to your company’s success?
Both I and my co-founder Murray are engineers and scientists. We had little to no experience in running a business. The Venturelab training was an important first “startup lecture,” and it was immensely helpful. It was also very important that in that training, you encounter other entrepreneurs, like-minded people who were struggling with the same problems. You exchange ideas and help each other out!

What is your advice for companies that are eyeing or planning an IPO?
A strong team is key. Because if you are eyeing an IPO, your business is very likely to be in a healthy and strong position, which means your daily business is keeping everyone busy already. And you will need to select a few team members to form an IPO team that, on top of running the daily business, will get the IPO process right. Like that, you can keep the rest of the organization focused on keeping the business running without distraction. Transparency throughout the organization is important. We kept the entire company regularly informed about the progress.



The HeiQ team around the globe celebrates its completely virtual IPO.