Eight entrepreneurs were still in the race to win the LOEY Starters Award 2015. They pitched their idea in front of an expert panel this Wednesday, who selected the three finalists.
The LOEY Starters Award will be awarded to the best starting entrepreneur of The Netherlands. Previous winners include Marco Aarnink, founder of Drukwerkdeal.nl, and Fabian Duded of Nestpick fame (who we interviewed in March)
LOEY Starters Award finalists
Tim de Kraker – BarDoggy
BarDoggy is a loyalty programme for bars. Customers benefit from the programme by gaining discounts, while bar owners are able to increase the number of returning customers. The BarDoggy website also claims to be the world’s biggest events list. After seed and series A investments totalling 350.000 euro, BarDoggy is now looking for a 1 million euro investment.
Derk Roodhuyzen – Fixico
Fixico acts as the middleman between customers and garages, making it easier for customers to find the lowest price for car repairs. Fixico experienced rapid growth and now has more than 500 partnering garages. Another sign they are offering something that might be profitable: several Dutch companies have tried to copy the concept.
Henneke Stegweg – iLost
Startupbootcamp alumnus iLost is an online lost & found service, which enables you to search for lost items on a website. Currently, iLost offers its services at festivals, movie theaters and hotels. Being a very scalable concept, iLost is now looking to expand to Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Investing in early stage startups
The LOEY Starters Award is not being awarded to a startup, but to a founder. Being the running force behind the startup, the founder can be a decisive factor, when choosing in which startups to invest. Well-known investor in early stage startups Marcel Beemsterboer, one of the organizers of the LOEY Awards, explains:
“When I am considering investing in a startup, the most important thing is not if they already are profitable or have a perfect business plan. Crucial is if the founder(s) is passionate about the business opportunity. And more so, is the founder capable of improving himself and willing to adapt and learn? Is he or she capable of building a qualified team, so he is able to delegate roles to his team members as the company is growing? I am not looking for individualist.”
The other entrepreneurs
These are the other five entrepreneurs, who didn’t make it to the final three.
Nick Bortot – BUX
BUX is an app that enables people without any trading experience to get active on the stock market. Bortot could not be present at the presentation due to personal circumstances.
Jord Cuiper – Fanly
Fanly offers SME companies a way to start a loyalty programme, using advanced techniques, including in-store beacons.
Steven Lammertink – Cirqle
Cirqle is a curated fashion network, that acts like a publishing channel for influencing people from the fashion world.
Mei Ling Tan – House of Einstein
House of Einstein offers men a personalized advice on how to dress and buys the clothes for them.
Thijs Verheul – United Wardrobe
United Wardrobe is a marketplace for second-hand clothes.
On the 2nd of September, the final award ceremony will take place, where an audience of over 200 people will select the winner of the LOEY Starters Award.