The easiest option would have been to walk away.
We chose to take responsibility.
Just days after Soly’s bankruptcy, Milan, Richard and I were together in South Africa.
We had travelled there to personally say goodbye to the Soly team in Cape Town. South Africa had been our first international expansion in 2020, and it had always been close to our hearts.
Sitting together in the winelands outside Cape Town, we discussed what should come next.
Not how to make a grand comeback, but what we could still do for the people and partners who had trusted us.
Thousands of customers relied on their energy systems. Employees faced uncertainty. Suppliers and creditors were waiting to be paid. Financing partners had capital at risk.
We could not simply turn the page.
That conversation became the starting point for GoZero.
Shortly afterwards, we contacted the bankruptcy trustee about a partial restart. Several core assets had already been acquired, but Soly’s long-term solar lease and energy-generation portfolios were still there.
We saw operational energy systems, long-term customer relationships, recurring revenues and a mission that remained as relevant as ever.
Our first step was to buy back the South African activities.
We could not solve every problem, but we could take responsibility for what we were still able to influence.
We then acquired the solar lease and energy-generation activities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Together, these businesses continued as GoZero.
Zero dependence on the grid.
Zero CO₂ emissions.
This was only possible because two partners who had supported us from the early days—Triodos Bank and NLInvesteert—were willing to look forward with us.
Their trust helped us preserve value, provide continuity for customers and create a realistic path towards repayment.
Today, GoZero is stable, cashflow-positive and profitable, supporting customers and partners across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and South Africa.
Entrepreneurship is not defined only by starting something new.
It is also defined by what you do when circumstances change and walking away would be easier.
You recognise what still has value.
And you build a new future.
That is how GoZero began.
It is also the principle that now shapes how I build, invest and work alongside other founders.
Patrick van der Meulen
Founder & Operating Partner
With Milan in South Africa in 2021, one year after starting our first international expansion.