Dutch tycoon backs Silent Planet

WINTER PARK - Dutch software tycoon Eckart Wintzen is throwing his financial weight behind Silent Planet, a small digital entertainment company in Winter Park. Wintzen, who also was instrumental in the success of Wired magazine and Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Europe, has become a "high six-figure" cash investment. The millionaire met the Silent Planeteers after they were hired to create print and digital media for the launch of one of Wintzen's pet projects, Ex'pression Center for New Media in San Francisco. The center was founded by Wintzen and Gary Platt, a former Winter Park resident and Silent Planet acquaintance. Wintzen was so impressed by Silent Planet founder John-Erik Moseler and his colleagues that he decided to spread his wealth with them. "I like the way they talk and the way they work," says Wintzen, who flew into town Jan. 22 to seal his deal with Silent Planet. "They're highly talented." Silent Planet's forte-three dimension al animation, Web sites, print graphics and other media-falls in line with some of Wintzen's other high-tech investments. He says his primary focus these days is or "virtual entertainment"-electronic entertainment that carries little or no packaging and doesn't harm the environment. "This is not about profits," says Wintzen, whose long, silvery hair makes him look more like a hippie than a businessman. "Making money at the expense of being destructive is wrong." Asked what he expects Silent Plane to do with its new infusion of cash, Wintzen quiets down. "Let them decide," he says. "They car. set their own goals. They're grown-up guys." Moseler, the soft-spoken, 25-year-old leader of Silent Planet, says the money will be used to buy equipment and hire more talent In the past, the company has had to take occasional mundane jobs, such as designing business cards, to make ends meet. Wintzen's investment, though, will enable Silent Planet to concentrate almost exclusively on digital animation, games and video, Moseler says. On top of that, Silent Planet's new focus on quality, not quantity, might help the company draw more big-name clients. To date, it has handled jobs for the Walt Disney Co., NASA, Universal Studios Florida and Zom Development Co., among others. "We've had other offers" from people wanting to invest in Silent Planet, Moseler says. "But we've held out for the right one. The most important thing is finding the right relationship." Silent Planet seems to have found its axis in Wintzen. "We're having fun with this," says the Dutchman. "We started this (relationship) with trust, and most people who feel this kind of trust would never shame it."