What happens in the startup scene in The Netherlands right now? Find out in another Dutch startup news update!
News & Updates
Dutch startups get extra EUR 250 mln for scale-ups
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs will in partnership with the European Investment Fund (EFSI) provide EUR 100 million worth of extra financing for scale-ups. The other 150 million euro comes from the private private sector and the Dutch government’s SEED capital scheme (49,5 million euro). The announcement was made during StartupFest last week. The six SEED capital scheme’s that are honored are: Newion (NICE III), Slingshot Early Growth Fund, JOA Ventures Seed Capital 1, Chemelot Ventures Agri-Foodfonds Venlo, VOC Capital Partners III and Blue Sparrows MedTech Fund (in Dutch)
UtrechtInc presents six new ‘Pressure Cooker’ startups
Incubator UtrechtInc has selected six new startups for its ‘Pressure Cooker’ program: Closure, Goings-On, Campfire, MarcoPoloBot, PerfectPlace and PostMe. All startups are focused on the core objective of UtrechtInc: help tackle societal issues concerning health, the environment and education with entrepreneurship.
Booking.com launches ‘Technology Playmaker Awards’ to recognise achievements of women in tech
Amsterdam-based booking.com and one of the world’s largest travel e-commerce companies has launched the Technology Playmaker Awards. An award that aims to celebrate and recognise women who have disrupted, and continue to transform businesses, industries, and communities through the use of technology. The prize in recognition and a prize money of €10.000 will be awarded to the female technology leader whom the judges consider to be the most impactful individual in the European technology space.
Funding
Comparison startup ScanMovers raises €500K angel money
Amsterdam-based movers comparison startup ScanMovers has raised half a million euros form a group of housing and mortage market informals. The captial raised will be used for expanding the platform such that it enables ‘the customer in his or her journey to find the perfect mover.’
Enschede-based startup Sound Energy raises 1 million euro from Cottonwood
The capital raised will be used to expand the team and start mass production. The regional development fund Oost NL of the Twente Innovation Fund also participated in the round. The application of the company’s Thermo Acoustic Energy Converter (THEAC) can lead to energy savings of up to 50 percent.
Restaurant The Avocado Show raises 5 million dollar to expand globally
Ron Simpson his avocado-obsessed friend Julien Zaal have secured 5 million dollar with their much hyped avocado restaurant ‘The Avocado Show.’ The capital is raised form Orange Wings, the investment firm of the ‘female Bill Gates of the avocado world’ and is set to help the company to expand internationally.
Monday Read
The experience is the product
As a mentor and growth advisor I speak and see quite a number of startups and corporate companies. My mantra: design an experience. Across the board there seems to be some kind of difference between what we expect as the user of a product and as the product development or startup team. The difference is that for the user the product is an experience. If for instance, the marketing message or the customer support representative of a company offend us, we think twice about buying a product or service from that company again. But as product development teams we assume that solely the ‘product’ is the product. What’s the product of IKEA? Is it the cheap design furniture? Or is it almost everything IKEA does to make life easier for its customers, existing among others things out of:
• Cheap, good quality, design future (+)
• The restaurant – so you don’t have to have to leave IKEA when you’re hungry (+)
• Småland: the supervised play area in the entrance lobby for children (so your kids don’t get bored and want to go home before you bought one item) (+)
• Instruction video’s (+)
• Assembly service (+)
• etc.
Imagine what kind of a brand IKEA would be if it wouldn’t provide the restaurant, child care and assembly service? And how that would impact its bottom line. The experience is the product. For more inspiration about this topic watch Peter Merholz’s amazing talk about how teams can better align themselves to focus on the user experience.
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