Co-founder Chevonne Hagens (LinkedIn) has always been fascinated by nature, and always went looking there for answers to her questions. She studied chemistry, specialising in polymers. That meant working extensively with bioplastics and searching for alternatives to plastics based on fossil fuels. Nature became her source of inspiration, and she began to delve into fungi, and into mycelium materials in particular.
A whole world opened up for her — one that even she, with her affinity for chemistry and biology, found difficult to enter. When she realised there were more people who would like to learn about the fungal kingdom but found it even harder to get started, the idea for Maashrooms came to life. She ended up at Code 043, where she took her first steps towards setting up Maashrooms. This allowed her to genuinely make knowledge accessible to people of all levels.
For co-founder Joris Heine (LinkedIn), that realisation began with a personal experience. As a child, being outside was second nature, but during secondary school and university, nature gradually faded into the background. Until a first mushroom walk changed everything. By slowing down and really looking, a hidden world opened up, right beneath his feet. Since then, not just a fascination with mushrooms has grown, but also the sense of calm, connection and wonder that comes from paying attention to the life around you.
In 2023, Chevonne and Joris met each other at an entrepreneur speed-dating event hosted by YES Maastricht. They soon discovered they shared the same conviction: that nature can bring people closer to themselves and to each other. Their shared passion for mushrooms, education and connection formed the basis for what would later become Maashrooms.
