Startup Commons, an annual event in Amsterdam and Berlin, successfully unites startups, investors, and network enablers. This prestigious event could no more ignore Eindhoven, and so Startup Commons Eindhoven is a new yearly event that has been added to the busy Eindhoven agenda.
Startups, investors, and network multipliers from the Eindhoven ecosystem gathered to exchange ideas, network, and discuss the startup climate of Eindhoven. The event hosted at Microlab, a hardware co-working space in Eindhoven, united sixty-five interested parties on 25 May. Rik Visser, Founder of Microlab, remarks, “Once a year, all the leaders of the startup scene meet and exchange views through Startup Commons, and we are proud to host such an event in Eindhoven. It’s great to see local investors interact with local startups.”
The evening started with a big round of applause for Guus Frericks for the creation of DeepTechXL Fund I, a special fund that will invest in promising Dutch deep-tech startups and scale-ups.
Bert-Jan Woertman from Mikrocentrum adds, “ we are honoured to have keynotes from Guus Fredrik, Boudewijn Docter, CEO, EFFECT Photonics, and Maurice van Tilburg, MD Techleap. It goes to show what the power of this region has to offer”. Stimulating entrepreneurship throughout the country is the mission of Techleap. Effect Photonics is one of the most promising companies in the region that delivers highly integrated optical communications products.
Many speakers emphasised that the region of Eindhoven and Brabant have had tremendous innovation in technology and entrepreneurial potential for many years. However, poor access to capital can still block innovative startups. Tienko Rasker, CEO of the European angel platform Leapfunder, expresses, “We see a lot of promising startups here that struggle to access capital. There are a lot of excellent programmes and funds in the region that try to solve this issue. One of the reasons we support the Startup Commons is that it puts all these initiatives in the same room as the startups. That helps a lot with spotting the hurdles.”
After the keynote speeches, the startups and investors had plenty of opportunities to network. The organisers of Startup Commons view the event as a great success and are currently already planning next year’s event. It seems Eindhoven has gained another tradition.
Source: Startup Commons, Dennis Huizing, Leapfunder.
