8 minute read
Constantijn van Oranje
Ronald Wielinga is Manager of Entrepreneurship at WaterCampus Leeuwarden. He recently interviewed Constantijn van Oranje, Special Envoy at Techleap. They spoke about his role in the Dutch startup ecosystem, the developments of the Dutch startup climate, the challenges he sees and his take on the entrepreneurial opportunities in the international water sector.
Techleap plays a crucial role in the Dutch start-up and scaleup ecosystem. Can you tell us a little more about the organization?
Techleap is 100% government-funded. We work to connect and professionalize the techecosystem and reduce barriers in capital, market, talent and technology. Our goal is to produce more rapid growers who can contribute to the development of the Dutch economy and society.
You have been appointed Special Envoy at Techleap. It sounds nice, but can you explain what your role entails, exactly, and what makes your work fun?
As Envoy, I tell the story of the Dutch start-up and scaleup ecosystem. I make connections and help determine the organization’s strategy. In short, I keep the project on track. I am also involved internally on an operational level. The great part of my job is working in an optimistic, positive world. We work with start-ups and scaleups with a focus on opportunities and possibilities. It is tremendously stimulating, and I get to flex my creative muscles.
It is clear that you play a key role in the Dutch startup ecosystem, and that you have been part of it for a long time. What developments have you seen in this area in recent years?
We are making progress on all fronts, to be honest. The least progress was made in terms of diversity. The proportion of highly educated, white men is still very high. Apart from that, there is more capital, and we are more attractive to talent. There is also much more attention to entrepreneurship in places like universities, for example. In short, tech is really breaking through. This is reflected in the AEX index [stock exchange with the largest Dutch shares], with recent additions such as Adyen and Takeaway and more mature companies like ASML. The more traditional companies are struggling to transform in a rapidly changing world, while the scaleups are far more flexible.
There is always room for improvement; what are the biggest barriers currently delaying the achievement of your objectives?
The biggest threshold is us. The subdued, moderate Dutch culture does not produce the greatest dreamers. The encouragement to follow your dreams is critical to entrepreneurship. We also often denigrate ourselves: “The Netherlands is only a ‘I AM small country.” However, we must remember that we are four times as big as Greater Los Angeles and twice the size of Silicon Valley. I think we often disparage and fragment ourselves too much, and there’s no need for that. It would also be good to have more and more easily accessible capital available. Sweden, for example, only has half as many startups as the Netherlands, but twice the capital. The capital there is available through large, relatively easilyaccessible funds. The result is that, despite the lower number of startups, Sweden is producing more successful growers. Lastly, I amconcerned about the accessibility of the Netherlands for top talent fromabroad. The debate in society is changing, while it is crucial for asuccessful techecosystem that we attract and retain the greatest talentsin the Netherlands.
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Constantijn van Oranje
images Inge van Mill
Several hubs throughout the Netherlands support start-ups. Some are regional, while others, such as the WaterCampus, are sector-specific. How do we avoid competing with each other? More importantly, how can we ensure the right collaboration between Techleap and the startup hubs and between the hubs themselves to have an even bigger impact?
There’s nothing wrong with competition. Competition creates the best and strongest hubs and support facilities. In my opinion, it only becomes a problem if a region tries to prevent a start-up from leaving, while that organization could flourish better elsewhere. An example of this is regional development companies financing an organization under the condition that the organization remains in a specific region—that could limit growth. I also think we sometimes focus excessively on national borders, whereas I see a lot of opportunity in connecting with hubs abroad, such as Stockholm.
I am surrounded by brilliant colleagues at and around the WaterCampus; brilliant researchers who are making truly groundbreaking discoveries. Their discoveries often have the potential to form the basis of a successful new company. The missing link is often entrepreneurs— entrepreneurs willing to launch a startup together with researchers—which inhibits knowledge valorisation from research. Do you recognize this? What do you think is the right approach to tackle these challenges?
Designing a successful hub does not happen on its own, so yes, I definitely recognize that. It is essential to have a culture that rewards entrepreneurship. It should be about more than the number of publications or the citation index. Don’t get me wrong, that is very important in science, but it is also very important to stimulate entrepreneurship among researchers. Fortunately, we are seeing that more and more.
The ecosystem around Wageningen is a good example. Wageningen University has been the authority in the field of nutrition for decades—really world-class. Nevertheless, it does not automatically result in a huge startup community around that knowledge. It requires more than just excellent knowledge. It’s about not shutting yourself off; there has to be a mix of companies, investors and related knowledge. In the case of Wageningen University, it requires more than excellent knowledge in the field of nutrition. The ecosystem needs to be opened up, and nonresearchers must also be given space. By this, I mean talent in commerce and sales, for example. Wageningen has been focusing on this for some time now, with initiatives such as StartLife, and there is definitely a community forming.
A university often forms the base of a thriving hub, as there is already some level of infrastructure available— for talent, for example. The WaterCampus is different. I find it incredible how you have connected at a European level and are receiving international recognition for it. That worked out really well. It’s good that you are focused on water technology, but make sure you stay broad enough. Unlike other hubs, you have no university, so that must be organized through events, for example. Make sure the right people meet each other. An alternative could be to establish certain departments from the university on the campus in Leeuwarden. An inspiring example of this is the Cybersecurity hub in Beer Sheva (Israel), where a hugely successful hub has been established in the middle of nowhere. In any case, it is essential to admit talent from other places into the ecosystem, because the key to success always lies in multidisciplinarity.
Over the past year, manyof our water technologystart-ups and scaleupshave won importantinnovation and businessawards—companies suchasAcquaint, CE-Line andSusPhos. The highlightwas, of course, Hydraloopatthe CES in Las Vegas,which you also attended.Nevertheless, innovationandthe successful launchof a water tech companyis highly complex. Itoftenrequires large investments,margins are relatively low,and many investors are risk-averse. It seems much harder to launch a company in the water sector than in IT, for example. As a relative outsider, how do you view this?
The water industry is not unique. It can be hard to launch a successful startup in many sectors with a relatively long time-to-market and high technical complexity, but certainly not impossible. The entrepreneur’s creativity is key to their success. The money is not in the technology but the application. Make sure you are flexible and can change strategy quickly and have the capacity to test the new strategy quickly. 3D Carbon is a good example. Their highly flexible business model involves more than just selling 3D printers. They lease their printers, allowing you to assemble your own polymers with an app, they earn money on prototypes, they make their own products, etc. In short, they are fully focused on the application, and they monetize everything. As a result, the company has grown massively in just a few years.
When we organized Startup Fest in the Netherlands in 2016, we initially focused on the country’s strengths. Agriculture, food, health, energy and water. What struck me then is the limited number of fast-growing companies in many of these areas, including water. A lot of valuable knowledge is held by public bodies and is often passed on through international projects. There is little focus on economic growth and maximizing profit. In terms of knowledge, we are world leaders, but we give a lot of it away for free. We have taken steps in the right direction in recent years, but there are still many challenges and opportunities. It’s great to see that you are also working on this at the WaterCampus!
CONSTANTIJN VAN ORANJE leads Techleap.nl, the accelerator for the tech ecosystem in the Netherlands. As Special Envoy, he is on a mission to make the Netherlands the home of tomorrow’s tech leaders. He and his team connect the Dutch tech ecosystem to help ambitious and promising Dutch tech companies achieve rapid international growth by improving their access to capital, markets and talent. Van Oranje co-founded StartupFest Europe, which is still the biggest startup event ever organized in The Netherlands. As Chief of Staff for VP Neelie Kroes at the European Over the past year, many Commission, he used to of our water technology be in charge of the Digital start-ups and scaleups Agenda. He also led the have won important Brussels office of the innovation and business RAND Corporation. awards—companies such Today, he is also Director as Acquaint, CE-Line and of Digital Technology SusPhos. The highlight & Macro Strategy at was, of course, Hydraloop Macro Advisory Partners at the CES in Las Vegas, in London and New York and Edge Fellow which you also attended. at Deloitte Centre for Nevertheless, innovation the Edge. In addition and the successful launch to innovation and of a water tech company technology, Van Oranje is highly complex. It often is passionate about art, requires large investments, music, photography and margins are relatively low, nature.
