Two engineers who pooled their business knowledge to start up the NICE car company have become keen environmentalists to boot

Julian Wilford
I was working at Lotus Cars when I met Evert. I was a management consultant, Evert was client manager. We worked together on a new car venture for Lotus.

When I reached my mid-40s, I knew I wanted to make a difference. I had always wanted to set up my own company, and had been on the lookout for potential partners. I really enjoyed working with Evert—he was very stimulating and I trusted him implicitly.

It was very much a partnership of trust from the beginning, especially since we didn't initially know what we wanted to do. But I had the confidence that he was the right person to do it with, and he had good automotive industry contacts. Someone contacted us about an opportunity with electro-vehicles and things just grew from there.

We didn't want to design and build a car from scratch. So we spent some time using our contacts in Europe to find a vehicle partner that had existing production. That takes a bit longer, but the benefit for us is that a leading European company designs the product.

I've become really passionate about the issue of road transport emissions—25-30 per cent of CO2 emissions in the UK come from road transport, and road transport emissions are going up every year. I thought we'd get a bit of funding or help from the government or an RDA, but nobody was interested in funding anything that they would call 'close to market'. We part-funded the business ourselves, and a number of people we worked with on our launch said, "We believe in your venture and would like to invest in it as shareholders."

We are both pretty people-friendly, but Evert's probably more comfortable sitting with a spreadsheet, methodically working through things by himself. I enjoy working with people. I could be working on something very important, but if a customer comes through the door, I'll say, "Hello! Let me tell you about electric cars."

One of the great advantages for the business is Evert's deep knowledge of the automotive industry and his technical understanding. He also has a great sense of humour. It's important to take a step back and have a laugh.

The only irritant is that he's Dutch. Every time something good is identified in the UK, he says, "We did that in Holland 10 years ago."

Evert Geurtsen
I met Julian about eight years ago when we worked together on a spinout venture for Lotus. Two years ago, we got together and talked about future plans and concluded that we were both looking for something different. We thought, "Let's start a business ourselves."

I spent three years as an MD where I turned around a private company from being effectively insolvent to fast growth and high profitability. It gave me the confidence that I could do it and above all, that it was worthwhile.
We have a genuine passion for the product, the cause, and the change it makes. We also have an interest in business. Our age and background is very similar—we've worked in international, high profile companies, so together we bring a lot of experience and credibility to the company.

Personality-wise, we're different. I'm the introverted grafter whereas Julian is the extroverted charmer. It makes a good combination—we thoroughly enjoy working together. One of the things we've found which is important to the success of our partnership is that we avoid dividing roles and responsibilities. We make the best decisions if we make them together.

We have worked together for long enough to know that we've got good intentions, and we're good at listening to one another. If a disagreement really drags on then usually the best way to settle it is to walk out of the office down to the pub on the corner, change the subject for a while and come back to it later.

Perhaps Julian's biggest asset is his ability to work so patiently with me! His business insight and his ability to see the big picture are second to none. He's great to work with. I'm a very well organised person who goes home with a clean desk, but Julian works best with a pile of information in front of him. But that makes for laughs and teasing rather than any irritation.
If we look back now, one thing that strikes us is how we're not just a profitable business with good outlooks, we also feel we're on the crest of a big movement. We're proud of where we've got to.