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Entrepreneurs

2011 volume 2

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ForewordTurn new small businesses into employers.

New family businesses, the 3.0 businesses, are sprouting up.

Businesses listed on the major stock exchanges are being born.

The sweet taste of success.

The notion of ‘co-creation’ is taking shape.

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These words take on a deeper significance because Saxion always presents itself as an enterprising institution. Together with the University of Twente, that makes a very enterprising partnership. Or should that be a partnership in enterprise? In any case, the two institutions are pooling their respective talents: high-tech research and razor-sharp business acumen.

VentureLab Twente is a good example of that inspiring partnership. The idea is to create a climate in which enterprising individuals will be better able to take advantage of all that pooled expertise, and in which new businessmen and women will be inspired to put their trust in this partnership to help them grow.

This business incubator will boost the success rate for new businesses much better than any other method. And not only the success rate. The lessons learned from research into in what makes businesses succeed or fail will improve the climate for new businesses in the East of the Netherlands as a whole. This will confirm that higher education is absolutely essential to achieving and maintaining prosperity in urban areas.

VentureLab is a wonderful part of the fulfilment of valorization plans. Higher education must ensure that the social and economic value that it creates is visible. One of the best indicators of this is the introduction of the high-growth company.

The investment of both institutions in the business ecosystem is now beginning to bear fruit in the form of new employment opportunities. Saxion has registered 400 student entrepreneurs and produces over 60 businesses per year. The University of Twente has a track record going back over 25 years in this field and its annual 40 spin-offs create large numbers of jobs in innovative businesses. The pooling of all the energy of these two institutions will surely lead to further growth of this kind and further job creation in the region.

The results of our partnership are reflected in this overview of new and emerging businesses.

Ladies and gentlemen entrepreneurs, good luck

Drs. Wim BoomkampChair of the Governing Board, Saxion

VentureLab Twente: on the path to success.

Recently, a PhD thesis from spatial economics proved that the quality of an enterprise is more important than its location in a regional cluster (Smits, 2010). Once again, this shows that entrepreneurial action involves people with certain qualities, as well as organizations with competencies. Businesses are built primarily within the networks of the markets in which they operate. This requires entrepreneurial competencies.

In VentureLab Twente, we make sure that ambitious starting or growing high-tech entrepreneurs are aware of this need. VentureLab Twente was designed according to principles based on our academic knowledge and practical experience of implementing enterprise-support programmes. So it is both state of the art, and constantly improving. For example, our weekly monitoring of the entrepreneurs’ activities through a diary sharpens our knowledge of developing and supporting ‘high-tech high-growth’ business. This data enables us to test current models of entrepreneurial processes. The causation versus effectuation approach developed by Prof. Sarasvathy, one of the star trainers at VentureLab Twente, is one of our pet notions and should help us to advance our insight into supporting high-tech high-growth entrepreneurs. This is not only interesting at a practical level, but also contributes to ground-breaking research in this area.

However, the competencies of the entrepreneurs is not the only factor influencing success or failure. The way entrepreneurs deploy networks is another important example. As witnessed during a seminar on Open Innovation at IGS (Institute for Innovation and Governance @ UT), collaboration between large, small, new and older businesses is another factor that determines the competitive and innovative abilities of groups of businesses.

Message from the Academic Director

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The potential of the new technology that entrepreneurs in VentureLab use to develop their businesses also has an impact. Joska Broekmaat with the Solmates team won the Overijssel Technology Award partly because of the potential of their 3D chip design and production machinery. The jury saw a new ASML in Solmates!

Another example is given by Prof. Wim de Ridder, in the diagram showing the development of solar technology for energy production. This development seems to be following much the same path as that followed previously by chips under Moore’s law, predicting that productivity doubles each year and the costs per unit are halved. The diagram shows that if development continues in the same way as it has over the past 20 years, by 2020 solar energy will be the most competitive energy-producing technology. This offers great opportunities for ’clean-tech’ entrepreneurs, even more so as larger companies like Shell are leaving the solar technology sector. However, this is a matter that involves real entrepreneurial risk; we do not know whether this historical development will continue.

Prof. dr. Aard J. Groen Scientific Director of NIKOS and Professor of Innovative Entrepreneurship

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This is the fourth volume in the series of VentureLab Twente Entrepreneurs.

VentureLab Twente is now entering a new phase. For the first two years (2009 and 2010), the programme received subsidies from the European Fund for Regional Development, co-financed by the Province of Overijssel and the Region of Twente. VentureLab Twente was recently granted new funding for 2011 and 2012. We are pleased to report that, alongside Overijssel and Twente, the Province of Gelderland is now also funding VentureLab. This means that we will have to strengthen our ties with Food Valley in Wageningen and Health Valley in Nijmegen.

VentureLab Twente is flourishing as a major initiative for boosting high tech entrepreneurship and employment in the East of the Netherlands. And the renewed subsidies will allow us to continue passing on the benefits to new participants.

Furthermore, the Stichting Business Generator Groningen (SBGG) has shown an interest in collaborating with us, thus emphasizing a growing and nationwide interest in the effectiveness of the VentureLab concept for business support and economic growth.

This recognition is important to us. Subsidies are not infinite and we will at some point have to rethink our future. Our main challenge will be to develop a new earning model for VentureLab Twente, while continuing to offer added value to the entrepreneurs that we support. We are therefore putting our preaching into practice by developing new strategies ourselves.

Message from the Programme Director

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Once again, we have been very active outside the regular programme. We organized VLT VentureClasses in March and April: Social Media by Efthymios Constantinides and Virtual Reality and serious gaming in the Technology Exchange. The VLT VentureClasses have now earned a reputation as networking events and attract a lot of visitors.

Further, VentureLab Twente and NIKOS are preparing summer schools on entrepreneurship and on business support systems. The first is to be held in June of this year. We hope that both will broaden our international network.

But of course this booklet has been compiled in honour of the VentureLab Twente participants of group 4, now leaving the programme after a year of training, learning and developing their companies. We hope you will enjoy reading their stories on the following pages.

Dr. Rob van Lambalgen

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8Contents

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10-11 Intelligent energy consumption generates independence - Marc Peters

12-13 Social media for internal use - Maurice Markslag

14-15 Result-based restoration - Mirjam ten Hove

16-17 Granny’s new-style strong broth - Patrick Koehorst

18-19 Short pulses for new products - Max Groenendijk

20-21 Trend-setter in GIS and Remote Sensing - Jan Schipper

22-23 Harmony with lightweight concrete - Carl Voorhaar

24-25 Posture is in your blood - Simon Thijs

26-27 Modern director for durable living - Henny Leferink

28-29 Architectural quality forms the common objective - Geert Nijhoff

30-31 Going into business after graduating - Suzanne Pen

32-33 Learning from IT history - Abe Kornelis

34-35 Digital mapping concept - Samir Bendida

36-37 The power of sound business relations - Hendrik van der Lied

38-39 Multidisciplinary idea generator - Frans Jonkman

40-41 A new vaccination method - Michel Verhoeven

42-43 Dynamics on and around a chip - Joska Broekmaat

Page

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An intelligent energy distribution platform. This is the name Marc Peters from Cypress Technologies has given to the invention that he, his father and a few other people are currently working on. To his mind, an invention that will cause a revolution in energy consumption. “It is cleaner and cheaper. And what’s more, it will help us become less dependent on the oil-exporting countries.”

The company is just about to start up. A launching customer has been found; a laboratory set-up partly made possible by kiEMT (Energy and Environmental Technology platform) has proved the inventors right. “Our concept helps to optimize innovative techniques. We let them work together instead of competing with each other”, explains Peters, “and so efficiently that we’ll be able to dispense with domestic gas mains connections. It should show returns within three to four years. The real strength of our invention is that it works locally, per room. So I am also expecting to be able to rid hospital wards of MRSA and E.coli bacteria.”

Intelligent energy consumption generates independence

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It has far-reaching implications. The system developed by Cypress Technologies has a wide scope and will help the West to become less dependent on the oil-exporting countries. “It’s not rocket science; we can demonstrate it. And then there’s the economic perspective: a 10% share of the market will mean a company with around 400 new jobs.”

The idea first arose in the hot summer of 2003. A long heat wave killed about 50,000 people throughout Europe, “Despite all the ventilation and air conditioning systems, many of which were actually competing with each other. We designed a solution, but the credit crunch threw a huge spanner in the works. So instead, we continued with the development side. And that’s when I heard about VentureLab. I signed up to learn how we could set ourselves up more professionally.”

His expectations have been met. “You learn so much here. How to find and use relevant networks, for example. How to protect your ideas. The discussions with other entrepreneurs are also useful. They inspire you to carry on. I’d recommend it to anyone.” He is now applying his insight at Cypress Technologies. “A construction company in Noord-Holland is keen to use our technology. We’ll be able to show that we can fulfil our promises.”

marc.peters.qs@gmail.com

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Social media for internal useHe has a vision: a large touch screen near the entrance to business premises, on which the companies based in the building present themselves and their operations. The interactive set-up tells them how often people click on their company, and helps them to pitch their commercial presentation. This is Maurice Markslag’s vision of the future.

‘A sort of social media for internal use’, is how he describes his idea. Visitors will be able to click tweets and other information posted by staff, along with the usual company videos. They see exactly what a company is working on. “I am combining several things. One of my own strengths, which is visualizing thoughts and ideas, my natural inclination towards product design and the growing relevance of social media.” Moreover, he wants to do it differently: “Using videos will always be a question of an hourly rate; I would rather deliver a total product. This is it, this is what it can do, this is what it costs.”

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He can already see the man-sized touch screens in his mind. “I am working alongside Smart Signs, a participant in one of the previous VentureLab groups. But I don’t just want to provide personalized information. The touch screen set-up will also save information; it really is interactive. The companies using the system will benefit from the information. By getting a better picture of their clientele (and potential clientele), for example.”

And this is just one of his ideas. “I keep thinking of new opportunities, but VentureLab has taught me to focus”, says Markslag. “Which is good; that’s why I signed up. You don’t learn how to be an entrepreneur at school; it’s a voyage of discovery on which you learn from experience. The diary they ask us to keep is a real help. It enables me to pinpoint what I need. And it forces me to focus.”

And he can see more advantages. “I love meeting other entrepreneurs. There are lots of starters like me, but also old hands with a wealth of experience. This becomes really obvious during the synergy sessions, group discussions where you talk about business plans, experiences and networks. And guided by your coach, you go through a process of personal development. It has been a great help to me.”

www.imagis.nl

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“The gentler side of the building industry, where you’re still allowed to be fond of your profession.” This is how Mirjam ten Hove, expert in building and restoration, describes the historic buildings preservation sector. She is now working on a new concept based on result-based restoration, monitoring and maintenance. “I am focusing my business model on owners of buildings predating 1945.”

The term has already been mentioned: result-based building and restoration. “It’s a reverse way of working”, explains Ten Hove. “The usual way is to draw up specifications setting out the details first. After this, quotes are applied for and the cheapest quote is awarded the contract.” Result-based building and restoration begins with asking the client exactly what he wants. “Suppose someone wants to get rid of wood rot for at least fifteen years; this is a performance criterion. The client and the contracted party make specific agreements about the quality, and the costs for the entire contract period are laid down.”

Result- based restoration

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To her mind, it is a strategy that inspires innovation: “You have to be clever. In the long term, result-based working clearly saves the client money. This can be twenty percent or more on maintenance work. Talk about value proposition …”But this method of working is not widely deployed. “It takes a different attitude to business; the client is the central point”, explains Ten Hove.

Ten Hove and her partners focus on the process of advice, construction, maintenance and monitoring. “In a very distinctive way, by designing concepts for groups of similar buildings. For example, all houses built in a particular style, such as houses with a mansard roof. Owners can then choose possible measures from these concepts. They are given quality, a fixed price, reliable planning and one point of contact/director. It’s my ambition to turn this approach into a brand, perhaps even a certified brand.”

She will shortly be embarking on her first project, which involves maintenance and restoration of the T-shaped farms typical of the IJssel district. She signed up with VentureLab Twente to get help organizing her ideas and thoughts. “Apart from all the useful things you learn, I’m amazed at how quickly you feel part of a group. You help each other, bounce ideas around, stimulate each other. This is how new ideas and insight are generated. I’m currently going through my plans with a few of the other participants. VentureLab really helps you get on.”

m.tenhove@emd-advies.nl

Granny’s new-style strong broth

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A nice strong broth. An expression that will conjure up memories of Granny’s kitchen and enticing smells coming from a saucepan simmering on the stove. Under the pan lid, all the goodness from the meat carcass is permeating into the warm liquid. Delicious and incredibly nourishing, with lots of high quality proteins. “My method for separating meat from bones has the same effect”, says Patrick Koehorst from Meatco.

He opens two plastic pots. One contains a piece of meat on the bone. Useless to a butcher, but still with plenty of meat. The other pot has a bone that has been completely stripped, plus another transparent pot containing a pink substance derived from the bone. “A great basis for meat products. It tastes good and is packed with high quality proteins. A flavour enhancer without E-numbers”, explains Koehorst.

www.meatco.com

He estimates the impact. A lot of meat from the bone now goes into pet food. “At a rough guess, I can extract 500 kg of emulsion from 1,000 kg of this type of meat. The meat yield per animal increases, so you need fewer animals. This is much cheaper, requires less space and helps reduce CO2 emissions.” And: “It is a relatively simple way of producing high quality proteins in famine areas. The demand for high quality proteins will have doubled by 2050, but we simply haven’t got the space to meet this need. We desperately need other solutions.”

This realization is at the root of Koehorst’s thinking. “My procedure will fulfil part of the rising demand for protein. I am the only person in the world who does it like this. The fact that it may help to feed the world population is my driving force. I’m an idealist; I don’t have to become filthy rich from this idea. My dream is to use the proceeds from this business to fund mobile workplaces so that people in third world countries can produce their own proteins from meat residue.”

He is on the point of signing contracts. “VentureLab has been enormously important in this respect; the knowledge they provide, the coach who acts as mirror and sounding board. And the other participants, who bring you back down to earth every now and then. I’ve been able to polish up my business model and set out a proper strategy.”

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“The possibilities of new laser technology are practically endless. It enables you to process all kinds of materials in a way that is impossible using conventional technology.” Max Groenendijk of Lightmotif is a picture of enthusiasm. He and his colleagues are working hard to offer clients support in developing new products and processes.

Everything at Lightmotif revolves around the latest laser technology. “It works on the basis of ultra short pulses. Minuscule bundles of light really”, explains Groenendijk. “It’s highly complex technology with an endless range of applications. The short pulses mean that less heat is left in the processed material. This in turn means fewer burrs and higher precision.” A much-enlarged photo shows what he means. The image appears to show a huge pipe with deep grooves, but is actually a needle of just half-a-millimetre in diameter.

Short pulses for new products

The technology is also capable of changing the properties of materials by altering the roughness of the surface. “This allows you to make materials water-proof or self-cleaning. But there are also medical applications. The actual material used to make an implant has an effect on the growth rate of cells. If the material has the right structure, the implant will bond faster and better.”

Opportunities galore. “We are concentrating on the production process. Together with our customers, we are working on feasibility studies and the development of new products and processes. We currently lead the way in the Netherlands, and we want to secure this position in Germany too. But being a spin-off of the University of Twente, it’s the content that inspires us. Our true entrepreneurial spirit only emerged when we were approached by ASML. It wasn’t the entrepreneurial side that really interested us.”

So to gain some extra knowledge in this area, Groenendijk signed up with VentureLab Twente. “The coach has been absolutely vital to us. He actively helped with our business plan. VentureLab has had a huge impact on our operation. So what’s the next step? I could imagine running a world-wide operation, preferably in collaboration with other partners. It’s difficult to say what kind of business this would grow into. Maybe a staff of 50-300, but it could stay at 30. There are seven of us at the moment, but there will probably be twelve by the end of next year.”

www.lightmotif.nl

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Trend-setter in GIS and Remote Sensing

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Jan Schipper, managing-director of GeoInfoSolutions, came up with the idea of starting an engineering company for projects using geographic information systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing. “The coach here advised me to reorganize my thoughts and alter my business plan. As a result, I decided to take on a more facilitating role.”

The company dates from March 2010. Schipper works with a former colleague from Enschede, who is based in the Middle-East. Together, they aspire to become a trend-setting geo-information consultancy. “This could involve collecting, digitalizing and interpreting geographical information from satellite images, for example. We also sell satellite pictures and associated measuring instruments. Our primary market is in the Middle-East and Asia, and we are trying to open an office in Kuala Lumpur.”

To illustrate their work, he cites the example of an oil company: “The company currently works with eight different GIS-databases, but wants to change to just one all encompassing database. How can this be done? That’s where we come in; we can give advice, support the implementation and take on the project management side. Other clients include ministries and larger businesses and universities. We have discarded our original idea of doing the work ourselves. We are now the facilitator, so we match supply with demand and manage the staff carrying out the work.”

He doesn’t find this particularly innovative. But having said this: “The way we make information accessible is pretty innovative in the Middle-East. As is the way we organize things. We try to shift the responsibility to lower down in the organization in countries where hierarchy traditionally plays an important role. What’s more, we want specific applications to be developed by companies from the East of the Netherlands.”

More than a year later, the company is developing well. It now has business relations in Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Malaya. Students come to improve their English and further their training. “We have reached a turning point. VentureLab Twente has been invaluable thanks to the coach, the contacts, the intervision and the network. It teaches you to focus; this is one of its real strengths. Meeting other entrepreneurs is equally important. You learn from them and realize that you don’t have to do everything by yourself. They help you to sharpen your mind, and you help them to sharpen theirs.”

www.geoinfosolutions.nl

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Harmony with lightweight concrete

“Look.” Carl Voorhaar digs into his bag and produces a piece of concrete. It is obviously concrete, but the strands of grass dispersed randomly throughout the brittle mass make it look completely different. “Lightweight concrete. An excellent building material. And grass is the vital ingredient. It keeps the costs down and helps reduce our carbon footprint. This is what I call worthwhile.”

A brief constructional explanation is needed here. Lightweight concrete has a lower specific gravity than the more common variety: 800-1,200 kg/m3 as opposed to 2,000 kg/m3 or more. “It is mainly used in voluminous constructions like viaducts, as the foundations do not need to be as solid. But it is not always used structurally. I want to change this. Lightweight concrete like this is perfect for structural use.”

And then there’s the other advantage. One of the ingredients is grass. “The ingredients of traditional concrete, such as gravel and good sand, are becoming scarcer. But grass grows everywhere. In theory, the supply is endless. And you can do so much with it. If you lay a grass bank alongside a motorway, for example, it not only muffles the noise, but it also absorbs CO2. In short, it’s a fantastic raw material, very cheap, widely available and it helps reduce CO2 emissions.”

Despite his enthusiasm, Voorhaar does not intend to produce concrete himself. “No, I’m an architect not a manufacturer. I’m just a propagandist who has become convinced of the possibilities.” This is what brought him to VentureLab Twente. “I came in search of the network, the coaching and access to knowledge. What goes on here is really impressive. And it continues outside. What’s more: thanks to VentureLab, the Overijssel provincial authorities granted me funding to demonstrate the reliability and scope of application of lightweight concrete. Once I’ve done this, I’ll be finished. Then it’s up to the production companies.”

This is entirely suited to his profession. “An architect wants to create harmony”, he explains. And preferably in a sustainable manner. “Half of the Netherlands is built from building materials imported on forty-ton trucks from Germany, Belgium and France. It’s no longer necessary; grass grows everywhere. There are huge opportunities. And it helps reduce our carbon footprint. I want to do my bit.”

www.cavd.nl

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Posture is in your blood

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It’s an unusual claim: “Your blood group is responsible for a lot of things in your life. For example, there is even a connection between your blood group and your posture.” Simon Thijs, managing-director of the Centre for Posture and Movement [Centrum voor Houding en Beweging], is well aware that his claim is challenging the medical establishment. The next step in his crusade to prove the significance of blood group is the production of corrective insoles to correct posture.

His company already boasts four busy branches in Lelystad, Schagen, Harderwijk and Almere. According to the principles of podopostural therapy, people with posture problems are fitted for special insoles designed to cure or help their complaint. “I use the revenue from this to fund scientific research into the link between posture and blood group. Every blood group has its own characteristics and remediation models in terms of posture. I’m about to start up a company that supplies insoles for the correct physical balance. Tell me your blood group, show me your footprint and I´ll give you the insoles you need.”

Production is due to start shortly in Germany. Thijs: “Giving people the insoles they need at low prices will help me gain notoriety for my ideas. I have accumulated so much knowledge that I want to pass on.” He has a cell biologist, a movement specialist and a social psychologist working on his research. “My proposition is that blood, and not the nervous system, is the most important factor. This is what I want to prove. And it can lead to other, completely new applications. We could perhaps use blood group as a criterion for recruiting staff. Or help children find their way on the basis of specific characteristics of their blood. You could even launch a blood group dating agency.” Smiling, he adds: “what innovation that will be!”

This is why he finds VentureLab Twente so exciting. “You meet kindred spirits, which is incredibly vitalizing. You’re allocated a coach, who listens critically and gives feedback. And then there’s the climate; full of enthusiastic people who want to help you get on. Another essential aspect: I rented a room here so that I can approach people from the University of Twente campus. That opens doors that will allow me to share my insight with a wider audience.”

25 www.chbnederland.com

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Modern director for durable living

A director who can liaise in the various aspects of care and assistance for elderly people. Who takes control and makes sure that the organizations involved keep to the agreements. So that help is available when it is needed, and elderly people can live safely in their homes for longer. This is Henny Leferink’s Tenant Service for Durable Living [Huurder Service voor Levensbestendig Wonen] in a nutshell.

“I actually started out in the book branch, but I was always involved on committees and in social work. I now use all this experience, also about the need for human contact, in my Tenant Service.” The older tenants who sign up can approach Tenant Service staff with any questions they may have relating to care or assistance. They can do this via the PC or through a special device fitted in their home. “A broadband connection allows them to see who they are talking to. Some of the questions will be easy enough for Tenant Service staff to deal with immediately, but others may take more time. If someone needs to go into hospital, for example, Tenant Service will talk to them about after-care and any modifications that may be needed in the home. The company assumes the role of a director that can liaise and monitor on behalf of the tenants.”

This has huge advantages. It means that elderly people can live in their homes longer. “In their own familiar environment, in the midst of their own social network.” The costs are much lower than a retirement home. “You keep people out of the care circuit. What’s more, Tenant Service can coordinate various forms of treatment, saving both time and money. It is beneficial for housing corporations, healthcare institutions and government bodies.”

Leferink and the design department of a major regional housing corporation are examining the feasibility of his plans. “You need a particular volume. I’m trying to set up a pilot project to get some experience. Clients can pass on their findings via a Tenant Community. If it works, others will be able to join in. We might even get some commercial parties interested.”

VentureLab Twente was essential to the fine-tuning of his idea. “Particularly the coach, who helped me to devise a realistic business model. It can be a lonely route; you have to take the initiative yourself, but you really need a sounding board. The coach provided a lot of practical expertise. I am still reaping the benefits.”

info@hennyleferink.nl

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Architectural quality forms the common objective

If there was one thing Geert Nijhoff was sure of, it was that he would not become an architect like his grandfather, his uncle and his father before him. However, after graduating in Wageningen, he soon found himself studying architecture in Delft. He has now taken his place in the family business and wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Our profession is subject to perpetual change. If I want to do more than produce pretty pictures, I can’t afford to sit around in the office waiting,” says Nijhoff by means of introduction. “There’s also the question of what becomes of your picture. We have been thinking about ways of keeping a tighter hold on the various phases of the building process. This is already the case with the larger projects, but we think it should be possible for small-scale projects too.”

www.nijhoffarchitecten.nl

Building has become a complex business. This is largely due to all the rules and regulations and the large numbers of parties involved. “But it’s also possible for just a couple of parties to manage the entire process from start to finish. It allows you to keep an eye on the costs, management, maintenance and architectural quality of the building work, and ensure that quality is the common objective. This is what clients want, so it’s what we should be doing. And it’s by no means impossible; new forms of processes and contracts that can be used on a smaller scale have already been devised. The client’s wishes are paramount, and this includes areas such as sustainability.”

Entrepreneurial skills are essential. “This is not something that comes naturally to me. VentureLab was the answer to my problems. I want to be creative, but I also need to earn a living. The great thing is that you learn a lot here and you get to meet lots of other people. We may come from different branches, but we all run into the same problems. The presentations given by the more experienced entrepreneurs had the greatest impact on me. And the coach of course, who encouraged me to be more selective. It’s nice to have a lot of work, but you must also be able to deliver.”

VentureLab Twente can help with this too. Nijhoff is currently discussing his plans with a fellow participant. “She wants to do much the same, but for older types of houses. We’re exploring ways of helping each other; another area where VentureLab comes into its own.”

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Going into business after graduating

What can I do now I’ve graduated? This is the question that Suzanne Pen took with her to VentureLab Twente. She already has her own business, but this is more of a hobby. It doesn’t pay the rent and it’s not what she wants to do with her life. Furthermore, she would rather work in molecular life sciences, the field in which she graduated. She has now found a job with a promising, innovative start-up company. “They give me plenty of leeway to develop my entrepreneurial side.”

“My small business Hippogriff doesn’t earn me a living. But that was never my intention. My partner and I set it up in 2006 in order to learn about business. It’s really just an extension of my hobby: I ride my horse in endurance races, so I know a lot about heart monitors and I can give good advice”, explains Pen. She decided to sign up for VentureLab after she had graduated. “I wanted to do something that involved technology, something that would do justice to my qualifications.”

At much the same time, she saw an advertisement for a job at Blue4Green, a start-up company that had developed a lab-on-a-chip to help vets make a swift diagnosis. “It was perfect in terms of both my degree and my hobby. What’s more, my parents are both vets. My job is very varied with both scientific and marketing aspects. It is innovative and provides plenty of opportunity for personal initiative. It’s certainly not an ‘ordinary’ job with an established company.”

It has possibly made her involvement with VentureLab Twente even more valuable to her. “I have been on training courses that have proved to be important for my work. My coach has helped me to focus on a personal development plan. This focuses on matters like ensuring that my development continues. In terms of marketing and networking, for example. These are the things that you don’t learn at university.”

Pen is not yet concerned about becoming an entrepreneur herself. “At the moment, I’m happy to be one of the youngest participants who can benefit from the experiences of others. As long as I’m given the space to be enterprising in my job, you won’t hear me complaining. I’m not a career planner.”

suzanne@hippogriff.nl

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Learning from IT history

Investing in IT is a complicated business. The material is complex, the costs high, expectations even higher and disappointment often unavoidable. Extensive scientific research, including that of VU University Amsterdam, has shown that it can be much simpler. “I translate the outcome into affordable concepts for the business world. Mistakes from the past can help us prevent mistakes in the future”, says Abe Kornelis from Bixoft.

He grabs a sheet of paper and randomly draws a diagram. “In the beginning, you tend to see the costs soar. Investments can be sky high and are usually followed by more expense that nobody saw coming. And then you’ve got a problem. It’s better to be aware of this before you start on a project, before you make decisions. This is where I come in; I can help companies to keep control of their IT-related expenditure and investment.”

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Kornelis takes his time to explain. With obvious fascination. He has been running his company, which specializes in mainframe technology, for thirty years. A recent visit to an IBM seminar got him thinking. “A professor from VU University Amsterdam was explaining about research into 10,000 completed projects. About the pitfalls and the risks. You can prevent a lot of grief by learning from past mistakes. Major companies are already incorporating this concept, but it’s much trickier for medium-sized and small businesses.”

He is considering starting a second company for this end of the market. “Give it another shot”, as he puts it. “I have thirty years of valuable knowledge and experience, so I know all the ins and outs.” This is what put him on the trail of VentureLab Twente. “I thought I’d give it a try and see what they could do for me.”

And? “I’ve already recommended it to other people. VentureLab has given me a lot of new insight, both in commercial processes and in the importance of networking. But the real added value comes from the discussions during and after lectures. They force you to formulate your ideas clearly and identify your own blind spots, in much the same way as I help my customers to identify their blind spots.”

www.bixoft.nl

Digital mapping concept

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The idea suddenly popped up in his mind while walking in Utrecht in summer 2009. Samir Bendida believes that he finally found the business idea that fits his passion for travelling. The number of applications is huge and the competition fierce. When asked about describing his concept, he replies: “Let’s say it’s about digital mapping.”A tentative guess. Wrong. Bendida smiles: “Let’s just say that I am active in the digital mapping industry. This innovative concept sparked the enthusiasm of almost everyone who saw my prototype in action. The ‘proof of concept’ is there.”

Originating from Paris, he moved to Nijmegen in 2007 to work as an electrical engineer. He thoroughly enjoyed the first year, working on projects that matched his interest for MEMS technology. However, the semiconductor industry was hit hard by the credit crunch. “After a massive reorganization I was ‘invited’ to work on different matters that included repetitive and boring tasks. During my free time, I kept on learning fascinating new things outside my area of expertise. In September 2009, I threw caution to the wind and resigned in order to bring my concept to reality. I do not want to live with regrets.”

A mentor from the Nijmegen company informed Bendida about VentureLab Twente. He decided to join: “It’s not easy to start up a business in a foreign country. You need a network, contacts and if you are lucky, some starting capital. I decided to focus on consumers, the best ‘investors’ you can find. So I introduced the concept to a multitude of municipalities and provinces in the Netherlands and Europe. This concept could generate considerable attention for any city adopting it, and it is not expensive. Several cities have showed a great deal of interest in it.”

VentureLab has helped him to expand his network. “The VentureLab network helped me to find the skills that I lacked. When you develop something new, you’re bound to have high expectations and huge disappointments. Although the lectures given at VLT cover a wide range of topics, I only attended a couple of them. Time is clearly not on my side, I need to act fast.”

35samir@zaneris.com

The power of sound business relations

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Hendrik van der Lied already has one successful business to his name. And the first major orders for his second business have just been finalized. But the new ideas and insights just keep on coming; sooner or later they will result in yet more forms of entrepreneurship. “This is my strength: bringing people and ideas together.”

His first business goes by the name of VanderLied Consultancy. “We advise and support our clients in their innovation projects. We bring together the financial, fiscal and subsidy aspects. Take, for example, subsidies for innovation, sustainability and energy. We alert business to the fact that they may be eligible. This is what I enjoy: finding the right people and bringing them into contact so that they can get things moving.” His business also gives commercial advice and arranges project management. Successfully: it is already employing four staff.

His second business is quite different: Energie Controle Europa [Energy Control Europe]- ECE. This company acts as a link between energy providers and end users in complex buildings or premises; in holiday parks, for example. If the provider installs a meter at the entrance to the park, owners will have to decide for themselves how to charge their guests. “We are happy to take on this responsibility. We can do it in a straightforward, transparent way so that holiday-makers and owners can both see how much energy they have used and what it costs,” Van der Lied explains. The same formula can be used in shopping centres, joint business premises and similar complexes involving multiple tenants.

“Whenever I talk to people about it, the ideas just keep on coming. I see opportunities everywhere I look. But I also know that my way of translating opportunities into plans often lets me down.” This is why he joined VentureLab Twente. “Out of interest: innovation, high-tech, high growth; these are the things that excite me, and it’s where I want to be. But I also needed someone to make me look in the mirror.”

VentureLab has allowed him to speed up his thought processes. “I have learned the best way to set up a business, including establishing a firm financial basis. My coach, Jos Slijkhuis, was a great help in this respect. In addition, I’ve forged new business relations here, which I intend to continue working with once I’ve finished.” He grins: “And of course I’ve had a few new ideas …”

www.vanderlied.nl

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Multidisciplinary idea generator

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“I see myself as an idea generator with a multidisciplinary approach. Someone who brings ideas and people together to generate something new.” Frans Jonkman, owner of SINNAS, describes himself in a few brief words. He is a concept machine, coming up with all kinds of ideas ranging from ways of making the travel branch more personal and customer-friendly to a device for changing pillowcases.

The latter concept may seem a little strange, but Jonkman is prepared and unfolds a construction diagram to show us his device. It is not intended for pillows on beds, but for the smaller version that airlines provide on transatlantic flights. “The pillowcases are presently changed by hand, which is an expensive business. When I designed this machine, the airlines had just changed to a system of machine washing but found it unsatisfactory, so I zoomed in the new opportunity.” To clarify: millions of these pillowcases are changed every year at Schiphol alone. The market is international.

www.sinnas.nl

“But you have to be the first’, the designer knows from experience. It’s a hot item; KLM intends to start changing pillowcases again. What’s more, they want their suppliers to innovate. We are currently in discussions. But this isn’t the only line of communication between VentureLab and KLM and Schiphol.”

This project fits in perfectly with another of his activities: Jonkman is currently conducting PhD research into knowledge transfer. “Are there better ways of conveying knowledge about management sciences from the universities to the business sector? My particular passion is finding interactive and decisive ways of creating added value by linking knowledge and skills.” In the meantime, he continues to come up with more new ideas for the travel and cleaning branches. And he still acts as the generator; SINNAS (Simple Innovative Solutions) is a one-man business. “I don’t necessarily have to become a large company; just let me do what I’m good at.”

VentureLab Twente provides him with a stimulating context. “As a business specialist, I am already familiar with a lot of the material. But concepts such as lead user and value merchant generate new insight. You learn to be more critical of yourself, and the connections with the University of Twente open new doors. I would strongly recommend it, particularly to up-and-coming entrepreneurs.”

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A new vaccination method

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A tiny ceramic disc, fitted with gossamer-thin micro-needles. “In fact, it’s a piece of brick with small points”, laughs Michel Verhoeven. This chemical technologist, who obtained a PhD in biomaterials, has now joined a small team of post-doc researchers at the University of Twente to work on a completely new vaccination method. The benefits: it is painless and uses much less vaccine.

The patent has already been approved, as has a substantial research grant. “Imagine a small disc, about half a centimetre in diameter. It has been fitted with tiny porous needles that suck up the vaccine. You can attach this disc to a plaster and stick it onto the skin. You don’t feel a thing. The micro-needles administer the vaccine directly into the dendritic cells beneath the skin, which play an important role in the effectiveness of the immune system. It requires much less vaccine.”

The list of practical applications is growing. It includes the annual flu jab and other vaccinations. “Not that it will make much difference financially in the fight against flu. But think about experimental vaccines, like vaccines against cancer. Administering less vaccine will lead to substantial savings, which will be an enormous incentive in terms of research into other similar substances”, explains Verhoeven. “We are also studying the reverse action: can we use this method to extract subcutaneous fluids?”

Contacts with the pharmaceutical industry and investors have already been forged. But first of all, collaboration with the University of Amsterdam must help them to understand how the method can be applied. “Investors aren’t interested in good ideas; you need a ‘proof of principle’ to show them.” And if that works, Verhoeven and his colleagues can offer various options from selling licences to starting up your own business. Personally, he would rather stay on the laboratory. “I’m a researcher. What I like best is collaborating, solving problems, developing new ideas.”

In anticipation, he signed up for VentureLab Twente. “It’s been really good for me. You meet experts, good teachers, entrepreneurs and fellow-participants who all tell you things you don’t know. Who can explain about how to sell your product so that people are happy to come up with the money. I’m very positive, which is why I’m considering continuing as an alumni member.”

verhom1@gmail.com

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Dynamics on and around a chip

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SolMateS, Solutions in Material Science, was founded five years ago as a spin-off of the University of Twente. It has since grown steadily into a business that currently employs 15 staff. And this growth is set to continue, according to co-founder Joska Broekmaat: “Our ambition is to become a second ASML.”

They started out small. Broekmaat and his co-founders found themselves with time to spare during their PhD research in 2006. “We craved excitement and decided to start offering consultancy advice in the area of coatings and materials, to gain some experience of the market.” SolMateS bridged the gap between the laboratory and the real world. The business is now an authority in technology for fitting a Piezoelectric Transducer film (PZT) onto conventional chips. “PZT is an ultra-thin layer of material that moves under the influence of an electric charge. These ‘chips with brawn’ open up all kinds of new possibilities.”

For industrial printers, for example. “Manufacturers of high-quality printer heads need a material in the chips that can generate pressure. This is exactly what chips with PZT technology can do.” SolMateS technology has also reduced the price of ultrasound heads in scanners for ultrasonography. Furthermore, moveable chips are finding their way into micro-beamers and cameras for mobile phones.

SolMateS does not supply the chips, but the machines for ‘wafers’: the thin slices of silicon used to make chips. The demo-lab houses a machine that produces 8-inch slices. There will soon be a machine that produces slices of a high enough quality. This will be a milestone. “Up until now, it has been a cash burning process and we desperately need the funding from grants and private investors. But we will soon be generating income and working more like the chip machine maker ASML: contracting much of the work out to machine builders and engineering consultancies, and supplying the service.”

Which is why they joined VentureLab Twente. “We had three objectives: attracting risk capital, learning more about sales, and acquiring knowledge about group processes. And we were successful; we have been able to take the steps we needed for SolMateS on all three fronts. I found the reflection sessions with the coach the most useful. I was also very impressed with the development of Kennispark as an inspirational meeting place and incubator, in the good sense of the word. VentureLab has played an essential part in the development of both SolMateS and me as a person.”

www.solmates.nl

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Disclaimer

Publisher - VentureLab TwenteExecutive Editor - Annemarie RidderPublication - May 2011, Enschede, The NetherlandsCopies - 1000

Interviews and text - Hans Morssinkhof PublicityConcept and design - NexusPhotography - Erik Brinkhorst Fotografie - Jeroen Jazet (page 2)Print - VDA-groep

With thanks toCore team VentureLab TwenteAard Groen, Annemarie Ridder, Basil Englis, Edith van Eijk, Ellen Donkers, Heike Spenkelink, Hèla Klaczynski, Ingrid Haverkate-Greven, Jaap van Tilburg, Jeroen Kraaijenbrink, Joris Heuven, Linda de Kleijn-Colleije, Mariska Roersen, Rainer Harms, Paula Englis, Raymond Loohuis, Rik van Reekum, Rob van Lambalgen, Roel Pieper, Ruud Koopman, Sandor Löwik, Shaker Zahra, Steven Walsh and Theodor van der Velde.

Coaches involved with the entrepreneurs presented in this volumeGerard Zonnebeld, Jaap Beernink, Raoul Timmerman, Marc Sandalowski, Eelco de Jong, Jos Slijkhuis,Marc Leeuw, Willem Poterman, Peter Krijnsen and Gilles Meijer.

Colophon

44This publication was produced in order to highlight the innovative developments in VentureLab Twente and to convey general information regarding entrepreneurship. Although this volume was prepared with the greatest of care, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies. It is also important to remember that both law and practice are subject to continual change.© VentureLab Twente. This publication is protected by copyright. VentureLab Twente has no objection to the reproduction of this material, but it asserts the right to be recognized as author of the original material contained therein, along with the right to demand that these materials remain unaltered.

Contact VentureLab Twente

Please visit our website for more information, news and upcoming events.www.venturelabtwente.com

Visiting addressYou are welcome to meet us in person in the middle of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.The Corridor Hengelosestraat 525-5277521 AG ENSCHEDEThe Netherlands

Correspondence addressWe look forward to hearing from you.NIKOS / University of TwentePO Box 2177500 AE ENSCHEDEThe Netherlands

You may also contact us by e-mail at: info@venturelabtwente.com.

Personal contactIf you prefer to address your communication to a specific individual, please contact one of the following staff members.

Dr. R. (Rob) van LambalgenProgramme DirectorT +31 (0) 53 4836 883M +31 (0) 6 1302 5103 E r.vanlambalgen@utwente.nl Ir. J.J. (Jaap) van TilburgProgramme ManagerT +31 (0) 53 4836 878 / 4896 989 M +31 (0) 6 2224 6069E j.j.vantilburg@utwente.nl 45

VentureLab was initiated by the Innovation Platform Twente, and it is co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development, the Provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland, and the Region of Twente.

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