If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

This week we caught up with champion of change, Gal Moore from Desolenator – an invention and breakthrough in the field of solar desalination – on track to becoming the most affordable and environmentally friendly method of purifying water from any source.

With a decade worth of experience in the social enterprise space, Gal brings a unique set of skills to the company to propel the invention to the right markets as a business development manager. Before joining the company, he was a music business entrepreneur and producer/ drummer for a live dubstep group called Jazzsteppa.

What was the dream when setting up Desolenator?

We started working on this project in India. I don’t know how many of the readers have actually been there – but the first thing you notice is that you are NOT supposed to drink tap water! Some of our team have also lived in the gulf states where almost all of domestic water comes from massive oil powered desalination plants- these are very bad for the environment and are not sustainable or affordable to most countries. From the start, I think the problem was really clear to us – we wanted to shake things up, we wanted to break the status quo!

More and more charities and NGO’s are moving towards the social enterprise space. What do you think about this?

Firstly, I see it as a natural progression. More people want to have a positive impact in their life and career, more and more people are becoming entrepreneurial and are innovating. In fact, there is a strong argument that pure charity is not a very affective way to achieve anything.

Second, it’s ironic given my previous answer, but there is no agreed definition to what ‘social enterprise’ actually means! I see this as a good thing. Social enterprise as a concept should be debated and discussed and developed (and practiced) for the benefit of everyone, humans, animals, the planet and future generations.

Desolanator is an excellent example of a sustainable model which addresses a global issue affecting millions of people. At what point did you and the team feel ready to convert the idea into a business venture?

Immediately. Once the patent was granted and we had a rough idea of the potential value and impact it was clear this should be a social enterprise and we picked up straight away.

Knowing that your product is protected due to a patent must make the competitor threat slightly easier for Desolenator. How do you think other ventures can establish a unique competitive advantage?

India and China are large potential markets for us: unfortunately they are not big on IP law enforcement- so the patent only offers some protection. A patent is not a competitive advantage, it’s a way of creating value in your company and building a sustainable business plan. Our competitive advantage is that we can do things better, faster, cheaper and more ethically than anyone else. We can innovate more and dance around large existing incumbents in the market and experiment. This is what is exciting about all types of entrepreneurship- you can get away with being young and foolish. You can make mistakes and innovate. Learn how something is done, then forget what you just learnt and do it 1000 times better! Sometimes that is all you need to succeed.

You’ve gained incredible traction from major media platforms from across the globe. How did you pull this off at this stage of the business?

It’s a combination of a great story, intellectual integrity, unstoppable determination and an amazing team of supporters with a phenomenal network! Hard work also helps; plenty of sleepless nights and working straight through weekends – but this is expected in any early stage venture.

Is business as hard as everyone says it is? (Share any challenges that you have faced whilst setting up Desolenator and how you overcame them)

Hard?! it’s impossible 🙂 some describe entrepreneurship as “jumping off a cliff and assembling an airplane on your way down” that is pretty accurate. You know what, to add some perspective I can explain that for me personally, sitting in an office in the city, 9 to 5, following the same sequence of actions day after day would be really hard. Much harder than what I’ve been doing in my career so far.

Gaining access to finance is a big hurdle for young startups and deters a lot of people from starting earlier on. How did Desolenator tackle this?

Unless you want to bootstrap, financing will always be part of your business. I wouldn’t see it as a hurdle, it’s a fact of life. When you start out you might need the first £1,000 a month to pay your salary. Later you might need £5k for your website and comms, maybe another £10k to develop a product, if you’re successful you will need a small team which can come at an annual cost of £60k – £1m! Most businesses do not generate enough sales to fuel this growth. Luckily for the readers of this website- being a Social Entrepreneur opens up loads of financing sources that normal startups don’t have access to.

You’ve had a very successful crowdfunding campaign. How was the experience?

Incredible! I enjoyed every moment 🙂

Many young entrepreneurs get turned down due to their age. What are your thoughts on this?

I’ve never heard of this. On the contrary, if you’re committed to being a social entrepreneur – go for it! The sooner the better.

What advice would you give to a young and aspiring entrepreneur?

For a young inexperienced entrepreneur I would really recommend finding a mentor. Make it your first goal on your way to success! Identify someone you look up to, qualify hard, aim high, and make it happen. If you can get the right mentor and a good team around you everything else will fall into place. Guaranteed!

If You Want To Go Fast, Go Alone. If You Want To Go Far, Go Together.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

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