Volunteer for a startup building a fossil-free future for the materials industry! 🪵🌱

Reed Material creates eco-friendly industrial panels from fast-growing plants using natural binding processes to eliminate the need for timber and toxic chemicals.

The furniture and construction industries rely heavily on wood-based panels like MDF and particleboard, which drive deforestation and high carbon emissions. These traditional materials are typically bonded with synthetic, fossil-fuel-based resins that release formaldehyde—a harmful chemical that degrades indoor air quality. As global urbanization increases the demand for building materials, the pressure on our forests and the reliance on toxic adhesives continue to grow, creating an urgent need for a sustainable, non-toxic alternative.

Reed Material addresses this crisis by developing a new generation of industrial panels made entirely from Arundo donax, a fast-growing plant that thrives on marginal land with minimal resources. Our breakthrough is a proprietary lignin-based self-binding process that allows plant fibers to bond naturally without any added synthetic resins. This results in fully bio-based, carbon-negative panels that can directly replace conventional MDF in furniture and interior applications. By combining agricultural supply chains with clean industrial processing, we provide a circular, scalable alternative that protects forests, eliminates toxic emissions, and fits seamlessly into existing manufacturing methods.

Role (Volunteer, unpaid): Business Developer – Furniture & Interior Fit-out

Role Description: We are entering our first market phase, with early panels already tested and showcased, and strong interest from industry players.

We are looking for people who can help us generate our first real commercial traction, with two possible angles:

Option 1 — Network-driven (Furniture / Fit-out ecosystem)

You already know the ecosystem and can open doors.

Typical profile:

• Experience in furniture, interior fit-out, design or materials
• Existing network (brands, architects, agencies, manufacturers)
• Comfortable initiating conversations and building partnerships

What you’ll do:

• Identify and connect us with relevant players
• Generate first use cases (pilots, prototypes, LOIs)
• Help turn interest into concrete collaborations

Option 2 — Growth / Outbound (Lead generation & automation)

You are more “growth-oriented” and know how to scale outreach.

Typical profile:

• Experience in outbound, lead generation or growth
• Comfortable with tools (CRM, scraping, automation, cold outreach)
• Structured and data-driven mindset

What you’ll do:

• Build targeted lead lists (architects, designers, agencies)
• Set up outbound campaigns (email, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Automate and optimize lead generation processes
• Help structure a scalable early sales funnel

🔸 Bonus

👉 If you combine both (network + growth mindset), that’s a huge plus.

About us

We are a team of three co-founders at an early stage, building Reed Material with strong industrial and environmental ambitions.

We are looking for people who want to:

• get involved early in a high-potential project
• contribute to building something from scratch
• have a direct impact on the first commercial successes

All good will, energy and initiative are very welcome.

Context

• Product already presented publicly (e.g. ChangeNOW)
• Strong early interest from major industry players
• Key phase: converting interest into real projects

👉 Your role: help turn early traction into concrete business opportunities

Time Commitment: Volunteer 2-3 hours per week for 3-5 months remotely 💻

If you want to make change happen, apply to volunteer with Reed Material now!