Richard Pureveen: ‘I can’t stand waste’

Saga Medi won no fewer than two awards at the Tilburg University Challenge. The startup, co-founded by Richard Pureveen (22), a master’s student in Strategic Management, took home the Audience Award and the Advanced Award for their reusable kidney dish for healthcare. Who is this enterprising student?

1. What did you want to be as a child?

‘Farmer. I had my own vegetable garden at my parents’ house. I loved that. You’re building something tangible, something you can be proud of. Actually, I still would like that.’

2. What movie would you recommend to everyone?

‘Inception, a film with Leonardo di Caprio. That film is about different layers in dreams. I find that fascinating. It’s a relatively complex film that you really have to immerse yourself in to understand.’

3. What music can’t you get enough of?

‘I’m a drummer myself, so I listen to a lot of music. But I can always listen to soul music, whether it’s a rainy day or sunny and you’re sitting in the garden. It feels a bit like a warm blanket wrapped around you. All the things you worry about just fall away.’

4. You have an unexpected afternoon off, how do you spend the time?

‘I think it would be wonderful to go running in a different area. Somewhere you don’t normally go. No route planning, just hop on, let the paths lead you.’

5. What do few people know about you?

‘That I rode horses for ten years, from age six to sixteen. I also competed, and I especially loved jumping over obstacles. As a rider, you have to know what your horse can do, and the horse also has to trust what you’re doing. You really have to get to know each other.’

6. Your house is on fire, and you can only save one possession. What do you take with you?

‘A still life of a flower that I once bought on Marktplaats. I hung it on my wall with double-sided tape, then it fell over night, and everything was apart. I eventually taped it back together a bit. It’s the painting that came with me to Tilburg.’

7. Who is your biggest role model and why?

‘My father. He’s someone I look up to. Someone you learn from, someone you can spar with. He has perseverance; he keeps going until he collapses, which I find great to see.’

‘So much is thrown away in the healthcare sector. That’s such a huge motivator to continue with our product’

8. What are you most proud of?

‘Given my age, I’m proud of what I’ve already achieved. In a relatively short time, as young entrepreneurs, we were able to develop something that can have a real impact in the healthcare sector (a reusable and fully circular alternative to the disposable kidney dish, ed.).

‘I’m proud of that. We now have the product in our hands, and we’re currently rolling it out to various hospitals and elderly care facilities. The focus now is on the Netherlands, but the ambition is for it to eventually be used worldwide.’

9. What gives you a short fuse?

‘Waste. That’s also a driving force you see reflected in my entrepreneurship. So much is thrown away in the healthcare sector. We’ve seen those mountains of waste. That’s such a tremendous motivator to continue with our product.’

10. What’s a perfect night out for you?

‘The ultimate for me: a night out after you’ve accomplished something. A sporting achievement, like running. Or with the Tilburg University Challenge, when the three of us had dinner at home and then went out on the town to celebrate the awards.

‘But it can also happen after exams, for example. Once they’re over and you’re relaxed again. Even if it might have gone badly, at least it’s over.’

11. What are your plans for after graduation?

‘I’m still working on my master’s here for another six months, and then I’m going to do another master’s in Croatia, at a partner university. I’m going to get an MBA there. And after that? Our startup Saga Medi will keep running, hopefully it’ll get to a point where I can fully focus on that.’

12. Netflix or reading?

‘I think it will be Netflix. I feel like a story can be told faster with Netflix. I’m really into action movies and sometimes a war movie. I also watch How It’s Made. How certain aspects come together in a factory. For example, in a snack factory, how bitterballen (bitterballs) and bamischijfjes (bami slices) are made. You see how value is created within such an entire organization.’

13. Order food or cook yourself?

‘Mainly cooking yourself. I live in a house with twenty people and have enough food to get through a war winter. Food is important to me. If you don’t eat, you lose energy. Cooking yourself is also a bit of passion; there’s love in the food. I’m really into curries now. Because of the flavor. And if you have leftovers, you can always throw them in. Curries are relatively quick to make and they’re delicious.’