YES!Delft Students magazine #4 (March 2014)

START! #4 | MARCH 2014

SUSTAINABILITY14

THE GREEN VILLAGE COLUMN 18

MY STRUGGLES EVENT 24

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORUM

Editorial YES! We did it! An inspirational advert has seduced you and now you’ve started to read START! Magazine again!

In this edition we will give you insight in what it’s like to be in a startup. NightBalance will share a day in the life of the company [page 10]. We take a look at the world’s first recyclable tent which you might see during the summer at big music festivals [page 4]. Then ask yourself do you have the ambition of becoming a researcher while being an entrepreneur as well. If you are considering both, Koen Bertels will show you it’s possible [page 28]. Maybe we’ll see you in the Green Village tinkering or promoting your fresh idea’s [page 14]! And of course you should know YES!Delft Students was founded five years ago, so take a look at its history and join in the celebration! [page 30].

Inspirational greetings, Chief Editor, Hugo de Jong.

inspiration interview

04

sustainability

14

article

26

Made in Delft: One Nights Tent The Green Village

Greatest marketing campaigns

activation activity

06

event

24

History

30

Trend Event

Entrepreneurshup Forum 5 Years YES!Delft Students

education The START! is the informational magazine by YES!Delft Students Contributors

Hugo de Jong Editor-in-Chief

Bernhard Sombekke Content

Design, Content

Bob Wouterlood Design, Content

Susanne Verstegen

Acquisition, Content

Marc Barendse

Acquisition, Content

Maarten Vrouenraets

2

QQ’er YES!Delft Students

activity

17

column

18

Ready To Startup: Final Day

David Markey Thijs van Oorschot Koen Bertels

My Struggles

Photo’s made by

realisation

Haalbeeld Fotografie

Koen de Veth

12

Climate Kic

COLOPHON Team

course

2.000 copies

(Published trimesterly) DeltaHage bv, Den Haag YES!Delft Students

Molengraaffsingel 12-14 2629 JD Delft +31 (0)15 2784290 www.yesdelftstudents.nl Interested in advertising? magazine@yesdelft.nl Frontpage photo: AP/Luke Aikens

Source: http://www.scmp.com/photos/recent/658/1052863

Nothing from this magazine may be reproduced by other parties

interview

07

a day in the life of

10

Interview

28

The Life Of Arian: Part I The Nightbalance Enterprise Professor Bertels

14 24 17 7

Content

3

Interview

Made in delft: one nights tent

By Bob Wouterlood

Like to go to festivals? Well a lot of people do! But there is a big problem: 25% of the visitors leave their tent behind at the end of the festival. The cause is that many people only want to use a festival tent a single time. The ONE NIGHTS TENT, a product developed by Devin Malone and Joshua Klappe, has solved this problem!

When and how did you come up the idea for One Nights Tent?

‘I know Joshua from a study project and after this project we kept talking over drinks. Once we had a discussion about bio-plastics and how they are only used for small, cheap products. Then Joshua told me about this project he did in his Bachelor that focussed on the development of a plastic tent, and how it could be an inexpensive tent, but still a nice product from bio-plastic. And he told me how music festivals would be a perfect market, because of all the trash left behind. The original idea was a single-use compostable tent from bio-plastic, but because of feedback we got from festivals we switched to a durable, recyclable tent from a traditional plastic, polyethylene.

We also really focused on what the camper wants to pay us for.

In our case, it’s a nice tent for a good price, delivered in a very convenient way, and it also happens to be sustainable!’

How do you buy a ONE NIGHTS TENT and what do you get?

‘You buy it and own it as a product. When you buy your ticket, you will probably be able to buy a tent at the same time. We are not sure about this because tickets sell so fast these days, we don’t know if there is time to buy a tent. Once you arrive at the festival, there will be a stand and you can pick up your tent.

After the festival you have three options. You return the tent and receive your deposit. You take it home and use it again. Or you leave it behind. If you return it or leave it behind, we will collect the tents and recycle them.’

We understand that the tent is made of polyethylene

(PE), this is not a biodegradable material. Why is it currently the best material for the tents?

‘You can only do so many new things at once. Making a tent out of plastic is a big new thing, making a biodegradable tent is another thing. Biodegradable products are so new, they have a lot of flaws and are relatively expensive. Besides companies that manufacture, convert and recycle PE are very familiar with the material, which reduces the costs. This way we can take more risks, because it is on a low cost basis. Another advantage of using PE, the festivals do not appreciate a tent you can only use once. They think it’s not durable enough.’

Below: left Joshua Klappe, right: Devin Malone

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How do you approach the festivals and convince them to participate in your concept?

‘I tell them the following story. You want to reduce your CO2 emissions? You want more people to come by public transport?

You want less waste? This is our solution: People buy high quality tents online for little money. Because these people carry less, they are more likely to come by train. Concert organization MOJO and Lowlands are very enthusiastic about our concept. We are also considering working with a graphic designer who will make a design with an integrated advertisement. This way we try to maintain the customers experience, because we want our customers to have the best experience.’

Inspiration

How did you finance the development of this festival tent?

‘We participated in a number of competitions (Ready to Start Up, Climate KIC) and won a few of them. From the award money we were able to buy laptops and pay ourselves a small salary.

This isn’t enough money to manufacture the tents. But the tents will go on sale as the tickets go on sale, so the pre-sale will finance a part of the production costs. After this year we can understand the interest in the product and show the bank our business strategy. The bank will provide us as a loan which will pay for the remaining production costs. This summer we will start selling the PSSSH! Airbed, which will also raise money.’

Once you have developed a product, you should make the customer happy to see you.

Did you always want to become an entrepreneur?

‘No, but it does really fit my personality. Universities prepare you for jobs at a university or at big companies, but do not really prepare you to become an entrepreneur. I have worked for big companies before and it’s not for me. And for many people, the economic crisis brought a change of mindset. Big companies do not carry the economy anymore and you have to be prepared to do more things on your own.’

If you had not moved to Europe, would you have started your own company in the US? ‘In the U.S. there is a much better environment. There is a culture that is much more conducive, if your enterprise fails in the US it doesn’t matter. Sometimes it is seen as an advantage when you’ve failed, because it shows that you have experience.

In the US there are more banks that want to invest and their investments are bigger. In the Netherlands people don’t want to think big because they don’t want to take risks.’

Do you have suggestions for the students who want to become entrepreneurs?

‘Most ideas are often worth nothing, an idea has to evolve. But if you have an idea, do not hide it, talk with everyone about it!

People can help you improve your idea, they may want to help you or even give you money.

Once you have developed a product, you should make the customer happy to see you. The product you sold them should have solved their problem and be worth the money. In our case people are happy because they don’t have to carry their tents anymore.’ ■

For more information about ONE NIGHTS TENT visit the following websites:

www.facebook.com/onenightstent www.psssh.nl

Inspiration

5

ACTIVITY

TREND EVENT

By Koen de Veth

This February, YES!Delft’s Entrepreneurs Club organized their annual Trend Event. Two speakers told about entrepreneurship and future trends.

Mariel Vogel, founder of CreativeMV, kicked off the lecture with an inspirational talk about entrepreneurship. She gave the audience some very useful tips and tricks about starting a company: First of all, you need to have lots of ideas before you find a good one. Finding a good idea unfortunately doesn’t mean you have the key to a successful and profitable company. Although this seems obvious, many entrepreneurs still make this classic mistake.

Important factors, like timing and marketability, play a huge roll in the success of a startup. Bringing your innovative idea to the market as early as possible could make you the sole fish in a blue ocean. However, you may be too early in the adaptation process if the masses have not picked up the trend yet. But, you don’t want to be too late either. When the ocean becomes red, full of competitors, it may be far more difficult to gain a sufficient market share. But the most important tip of all: lack of motivation and discipline won’t get you anywhere!

The second speaker Patrick Savalle, founder of Mobbr, became well known by being fired after a surreal post on his personal blog. “We don’t live in an era of change, but a change of era”, were the first words of his speech. An era in which the bottom up society is growing. An era in which we are facing new technical challenges.

According to Savalle, trends to keep an eye on include immersive interfaces, wearables connected to the internet and encryption technology. He argues that starting a company embracing these trends will make you rich. However, his greatest expectations are about cryptocurrencies, such as the Bitcoin. Fueled by sensational articles in the newspapers about extreme returns on investments, the general public remains skeptical. Savalle dived deeper into the subject and explained that these coins are actually far more safe and transparent than all other known currencies. He even dared to state that cryptocurrencies will be the next big thing, greater than the internet.

Is he right? Time will tell. ■

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activation

facts about

bitcoinS Bitcoins are completely impossible to counterfeit Bitcoin is unique in that only 21 million bitcoins will ever be created Intelligence agencies want crooks to use Bitcoin: The forensic and data analytics available and applied to Bitcoin is really useful for identifying the movement of money At the end of August 2013, the value of all bitcoins in circulation exceeded US$ 1.5 billion, with millions of dollars worth of bitcoins exchanged daily However, this amount is too small to guarantee a stable currency value, Bitcoin is still a relatively small market compared to what it could be It doesn’t take a lot of money (volume) to move the market price up or down radically, and thus the price of a bitcoin is still very volatile For bitcoin’s price to stabilize, a large scale economy needs to unfold with more users involved What is the catch? For a large scale economy to develop, businesses and users will need price stability

INTERVIEW

the LIFE OF ARIAN: Part I

By Bernhard Sombekke

Arian Khamooshian, a graduate of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, now CTO and founder of Green Motion Technologies spent the last 3 years working hard to get his company rolling.

Recently he achieved success by finding a big launching customer for their Innovative Gear Designs R&D program. It wasn’t an easy journey, trying out different ideas in completely different fields from wave energy to combustion engines. But he survived, recently moved the company to Helmond in Brabant, and lives to tell the tale. We got together on Skype and talked about finding initial funding and his life as an entrepreneur. ►

realisation

7

If I’m not mistaken you are Iranian which makes me think of all the wonderful people I’ve met at my studies from Iran. Their pride, nationalism, and enthusiasm always leaves a mark. It seems quite difficult to reach entrepreneurs in general, but an Iranian entrepreneur is even more rare in the Netherlands. Yet, you were eager to speak out. Tell me a bit about yourself?

Well its true, I’m Iranian. Moved to the Netherlands when I was 2 years old and grew up in Brabant. I can definitely reflect upon the Iranian qualities you mention. I myself was very nationalistic in my youth. But I can say after meeting so many Iranians and other nationalities at the TU Delft my perspective has changed. Many people take a lot of pride in their nationality, however to me it seems pointless because the qualities of each individual are completely independent of nationality. Being proud of ‘your’ nationality just because you were accidently born in that country seems meaningless and often causes people to feel like there is a void between nationalities and people.

At least, I have seen this in my experiences with people that are very nationalistic. It’s a little difficult to explain. I guess what I’m saying is we all just need to make the best of it.

Very true. Now, I’m not sure if this is true, did you stop studying after starting your master? Was it a tough decision to make?

Being young, at 21, I stopped my master education. I finished my bachelor within two and half years. Which is quick. In fact I’ve always maintained the idea of getting things done quickly.

Getting through studying fast so I can get on to bigger things.

By the time I had reached the master phase I really just wanted to work. At first I started arranging interviews and looked for a job. Not necessarily as an engineer, but as a consultant. Which happened. This was a small step as I had to juggle 3 jobs at the same time during my studies to get me through some financial struggles. Teaching assistant at two Industrial Design departments and Aerospace Engineering, sale assistant at a software company and so on. I was offered a job, earning a great salary and with added benefits if I performed well. But then I started a company too and I had to make a decision. Since I had the idea of stopping after my bachelor, and perhaps going back to university after some years of work, I just choose what seemed more rewarding and challenging. Entrepreneurship was to be my career. I’ve never looked back since.

I read that your mother is the CEO, isn’t that asking for trouble having to work with family?

Well I’m very happy about my mother working with me. In fact, I think most students under estimate the amount of trust you need to have in your fellow team members. In another company I run, I work together with my best friend, and next to that another good friend of mine is also partner. All the companies I’ve setup have involved people very close to me. This is important because you then know whether your norms and values are compatible in the long run, when perhaps the going gets tough.

8

Realisation

It seems over the years you’ve crossed paths with a number of ideas, GWEC Gyroscopic Wave Energy Converter, Innovative Gear Designs, Green Motion Hybrids,... How did you start?

It all started with GWEC, a gyroscopic energy converter which uses the energy in ocean waves to produce electricity. In 2010 I found funding through a radio interview after receiving a lot of publicity due to becoming a finalist at Postcode Loterij Green Challenge. By approaching the government for a tender I also found an alternate source of funding. In total 500k euro.

That’s pretty impressive for a student, did you need an investor to cover a part of the subsidy?

Well, Rutte was not in power at the time [laughs]. So many subsidies in that period have been inundated or removed. But, back then our project was 100% subsidized by the government, for a maximum of a 100k euro.

Back then our project was 100% subsidized by the government.

How did you experience the tender process?

Well I remember it helped to be very enthusiastic, be a believer and very ambitious. You have to really work hard. At the time I was looking for funding all over the place. Calling AgentschapNL and interviewing them regarding just about every single subsidy. I read through all the rules, conditions and regulations.

And most of the subsidies were for financing up to 50% of the project, with the budget being half a million, up to a million euro. But this was under the condition that you work together with a partner company. Then I found this subsidy to fully fund projects and contacted the adviser at AgentschapNL and made an appointment. We then got into planning and setting up a report which explained our intentions, ie a businessplan.

Is it much different then pitching your story to an investor?

Well investors are much more about commercial potential.

They want to know how their money is going to create value, which will in turn give them a return on investment. When talking to a civil servant who is just doing his job of dividing the tax payers money across a number of projects there are different criteria in play. You have to know exactly what you are talking about, read all the folders and the details. But also ask questions to find out what the criteria are, and then give the story to them while fulfilling these criteria.

So you are pretty much reverse engineering the conversation to find out what the civil servant is concerned about. This seems pretty difficult when they aren’t really allowed to divulge any details?

Well their concerns are just different. They have to make sure something good happens with the money by sticking to certain criteria. In some cases the criteria could be that not more than 30% of the budget should go into buying new equipment. If your project shows 35% you will not be rewarded the tender.

But if you adjust the budget to within the boundaries of that specific criteria you’ll be safe. So it’s all about setting up your project correctly, within the boundaries. And thus you must get to know these boundaries by talking to the advisors and civil servants, before showing them your initiative. So, ask many questions.

Did you get any help from the TU Delft in this process?

I worked with a professor of 3ME and we agreed initially to work on the plan together. But as the design of the GWEC changed the specialisation of the 3ME department involved was no longer a good match. Instead of looking for a new department at TU Delft, I choose to employ the scientist myself as the costs would be much lower. The part of the tender which would have gone towards a now defunct research project (40k euro) was applied more effectively. Now I could employ the same scientist for more than 8 months, instead of paying for a 3 month research project by a scientist at the TU Delft.

But they didn’t have a leg to stand on because...?

Well the subsidy was filed by me and my company, so I could make all the decisions.. So maybe I should not have canceled the collaboration with 3ME, but I did eventually pay for the hours during which the professor was involved. The bottom-line is I also had to be honest and consider the origin of the subsidy.

I could not accept that a researcher would be paid 40k euro for 12 weeks work, when I could pay the same amount to an employee yet receive almost triple as much work. I choose the later, pure and simple, for the sake of the project. Otherwise it would have been a waste.

So, where did this idea and technology come from? Do you work together with professors? Or are these your own ideas?

This idea came out the final project of my bachelor. Together with a team of 9 students we worked on GWEC, and I decided to continue to work on it afterwards.

Wasn’t it difficult to gain control of this idea after the project?

Long story short it was hell. We’ll talk about that next time.*

So how did you spend your investments in general?

Well we have 3 employees on the payroll and then next to this we have the general costs like equipment, software, accountants, insurance, etc Did you go through tough financial times in your company, and if so how did you deal with it?

Yup, the creditors do jump on you. And you really have to just talk more. For creditors there is no point in you going bankrupt. That way bills don’t get paid. So you have to renegotiate the deals made. If you’re not paying the rent, make an arrangement to pay the missed rent over a period of time. Normally a collection agency might be used to increase the pressure on your company, which would eventually lead to taking all your company equipment (tables, lighting, and so on). However that just doesn’t happen anymore because the reward is minimal, so it’s pointless. For a while we were in a slump, and we had to make agreements with everyone regarding future payments to get rid of the debts we had. The great thing was that we learned how to deal with these companies and people, to show them the confidence and commitment we have in getting back in the game. We eventually held our head high, paid almost everything back, and we still exist.

Would you consider another subsidy?

Well we are actually working together with investors to tender for Innovation Credit. This would pay for 45% of our development costs. But this does mean we need investors on the side.

You’ve recently moved to Helmond, close to Eindhoven.

Has this provided different opportunities in terms of subsidies?

Well I’ve only just moved to the Helmond, but I feel there are different opportunities available in terms of subsidies. Their policies seem better, for me, compared to South Holland.

So, what is your biggest hope for the coming year?

That we get the production partnership going. That we approach the market with a new package: R&D, design and production in one, and shock the industry.

I hope so too. Don’t you miss TU Delft?

I miss the lack of stress. The carefree time in which everything seems possible, not yet knowing what you’ll achieve. Whereas now I’m constantly taking risks. But I can say honestly this, the earlier you start with entrepreneurship the better. With no wife, kids, and financial troubles when you’re young, it’s a great time to get out there and test yourself independently, with little risk. Things are changing a lot for students at university and anyone can make a difference if they try. ■

* Editor: In the next edition Arian Khamooshian shows the raw side of entrepreneurship, conflicts with professors, and the struggle for recognition for his hard work

realisation

9

A day in the life of

the NightBalance enterprise

By Hugo de Jong

Every day is different at a start-up company. To give you an insight in the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, we followed the entrepreneurs of the YES!Delft company NightBalance for one day. In this article you will find out what a entrepreneurial day can look like. One thing becomes clear: everyone is constantly busy and and works hard to reach its mission: treating 500.000 people with positional sleep apnea before 2020.

7:00

Around 7:00 the first people arrive at the office. We go through our inbox’s before the rest of the team arrives.

8:52

NightBala

Exactly eight minutes before nine, our team is complete and starts the day. In a short briefing, everyone explains his priorities for the day. The progress of the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), the most important obstacles for that day and whether someone needs help are discussed during this briefing. In this way, the management knows in five minutes exactly how each project is progressing.

9:01

Our clinical researchers go to the hospital to discuss an article which was written in relation to our joint clinical research program. Doctors will, with a little luck, publish their research in a journal before the summer.

Thijs van Oorschot is the co-founder and technical director at NightBalance, he studied Industrial Design Engineering. At NightBalance he works around 50 hours a week. Every Friday he plans his next week and takes into account that 25 percent of his time is composed of incoming activities. The other 75 percent is filled with a selection from around a 100 activities. He applies The Rockefeller Habits to guide his plans.

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Realisation

nce was in 2009, based on the research a t TU Delf t in order to furthe r develop t he Sleep Position T rainer. founded

osition The Sleep P people with Trainer helps ep apnea positional sle ssless and to enjoy stre ping again! reviving slee

9:15

Every quarter we schedule a training block to keep us sharp.

These training blocks make sure we learn new tools and keep our eyes open for new knowledge and opportunities. This time it is about visual communication. By learning to draw we improve our skills to communicate with each other quickly and clearly.

Together, we visualize our vision of NightBalance five years into the future. The artworks now hangs on the walls of our office.

11:27

The front desk calls us: people of our branding agency have arrived. At one of the many meeting spaces at YES!Delft, we have a talk about the positioning of our company and products in the market.

12:30

We grab some food out of the refrigerator, and with the whole team we sit down between other entrepreneurs at the long tables in YES!Delft. An ideal moment to get to know other people and share experiences. Once a week we have a ‘walking’ lunch, so that – despite the hard work - we can get some fresh air and daylight.

13:52

We get a call from the Apnea Association. They have a stand at the 50+ expo where they are distributing NightBalance’s flyers. Calling to say that our flyers are running out, due to the high level of interest, management quickly makes an arrangement to drop off an extra pile of folders before the second day of the expo starts.

DAILY AVERAGES

31 TELEPHONE 380

CALLS

EMAILS SENT

64

CUPS OF COFFEE AN D TEA

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13

MEETINGS

PRESENT EMPLOY EES

14.00

In order to keep innovating and inventing new things, the Research and Development team has a brainstorm session with the Product Manager about new products and new markets.

15:29

Having investors also means we must meet to make agreements and report our progress. We (management) have a monthly talk with our investors about developments, prospects and potential partners. The main topics in this talk are based on the management report. Many people in the company help with the report.

17:30

Time for champagne!

Our sales team has found in a new distributor. This implies that our products are now available in eleven countries! Each milestone – a sale or a new employee – is celebrated with bottle of champagne. When a new employee is signed, everyone is present to celebrate, including the champagne. This is one of the way everyone stays involved and motivated!

19:22

After a heavy day, our sales people are packing their bag for a flight to the South of France. Tomorrow they are going to train one of our distributors at a local hospital.

realisation

11

- advertorial -

Creating opportunities for innovators to address climate change and shape the world’s next economy “Together we formed a diverse and multi-disciplinary group. Our different skills had been brought together in order to transform Frankfurt” (Didi van Doren, participant of the Climate-KIC Phdlabel). Each year Climate-KIC puts together the right students, businesses and experts in order to create new climate innovators.

A background to Climate-KIC Climate-KIC is one of three Knowledge and Innovation Communities designated in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Our core purpose is to create opportunities for innovators to address climate change and shape the world’s next economy. Climate-KIC is unique amid the myriad of individual commercial, government and academic institutions involved in the climate-change category.

We join up of what others offer separately. Through a world-class network and Pan-European community of locations, Climate-KIC integrates education, entrepreneurship and innovation which results in connected, creative transformation of knowledge and ideas into climate challenge solutions, business and economic growth.

Our partners are united in their objective to effectively combat climate change and generate prosperity across Europe with global impact. Examples of our core partners are: TU delft, Wageningen UR, Universiteit Utrecht, KLM, TNO, BAYER, ARCADIS.

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Education

Education, innovation and entrepreneurship Climate-KIC links research, technology and business to find ways of mitigating or adapting to climate change and accelerating the solutions to market. Our business model has three areas of expertise.

We recruit and develop students to become agents of change. Our courses combine climate change science and entrepreneurship with an emphasis of learning-by-doing and exposure to real life challenges and our innovation projects.

Furthermore, to drive climate innovation we create successful partnerships between business, public bodies and the academic world. In building these relationships our focus is on identifying, developing and linking market potential with business ideas and initiatives. We create new products, services and jobs in Europe with global impact on climate change.

Finally, we open up market opportunities for small businesses and start-up companies with climate change innovations. We provide entrepreneurs with the opportunities and practical tools required to transform their ideas into commercial success.

- advertorial -

The Climate-KIC Master label The Climate-KIC master label offers students a first insight in what more they could do with their knowledge gathered during their master. We offer an programme where students are able to explore the potential for launching their first start-up business venture. For a lot of students the Climate-KIC MSc programme could be the first encounter with climate related businesses, SME’s and start-ups.

The Climate-KIC masterlabel contains four elements.

First and foremost TheJourney. This is our five-week summer school. During these five weeks, participants undergo a vast development, create business ideas related to climate change adaptation and mitigation and leave with a whole new skill- and mind-set to really make a difference and become climate innovators.

Next Climate-KIC stimulates and funds students to

do their internship or write their thesis at one of our European partners. This is called the Mobility. Furthermore students can follow some climate and business related courses offered by their own university. Finally students can participate in the SPARK! lectures. These thought-provoking lectures are held by climate innovators and opinion leaders in their field and are meant to inspire you and trigger a discussion afterwards.

They are hosted by our partner universities on rotation and telecast across our community.

For those students encouraged by our lectures and practices Climate-KIC offers a follow-up programme called the Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is a sheltered step for those who are still dedicated to their studies but see a budding future in entrepreneurship. A great examples of a group who decided to participate in the Greenhouse is DaBirdy. They decided to research within the Greenhouse program whether their summer school business plan could be feasible.

Climate-KIC provides students with the opportunities to become an active part of the network which is transforming truly valuable climate change ideas into commercial success.

Find out more about Climate-KIC and the Climate-KIC master label at www.climate-kic.org/for-students

Education

13

sustainability

the green village

By Susanne Verstegen

The Green Village: a breeding ground for developing the high-tech innovations that will solve tomorrows problems. It will be the platform for scientists, students and entrepreneurs to turn their green vision into reality. Within a few years the village will be built at the edge of the TU Delft campus, in the middle of the economic and technological heart of the Netherlands!

‘Creating a sustainable, lively and entrepreneurial environment where we discover, learn and show how to solve society’s urgent challenges’ is the Green Village’s mission which will translate into a green and sustainable environment. The village, built out of used sea containers, will not only be a meeting place for likeminded people, but also a lab that develops sustainable technologies that can actually be implemented in the current society. In order to create this green environment, three future labs (discussed on the next page) will be developed to give direction towards realising this vibrant village. Together they form the pillars of the Green Village initiative.

At first the village will exist of twenty to forty used sea containers.

They will be converted to labs, working/meeting spaces, restaurants and shops. The whole village is autarkic, which means that the containers are not connected to the sewer or water system and electricity grid. Instead, they use technical innovations that are developed at the Green Village to stay self-sufficient. It will be a futuristic place where the technologies of tomorrow will be invented and developed. Not only is the Green Village a workspace for engineers, it also inspires people.

Once the Green Village exists, activities such as lectures, workshops and exhibitions will be organized to gather people and make them think green. The realisation of the Green Village happens through close cooperation between students, researchers from the TU Delft, the Energy Club and companies. Companies can hire or buy containers to use as a workspace or showroom to test their technologic product or service in an engaged environment.

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Inspiration

PROFILE ad van wijk

The initiator of the Green Village is Ad van Wijk, one of the most influential entrepreneurs and innovators in the area of sustainability.

After graduating in physics at Utrecht University, Ad van Wijk has made a great career and won many important prizes, among which the Entrepreneur of the Year 2007. His slogan has been ‘A sustainable energy supply for everyone’ for years. He believes this can be realized within his lifetime. Currently, Ad van Wijk is an independent sustainable energy entrepreneur, advisor and Professor in ‘Future Energy Systems’ at the TU Delft.

Before Van Wijk came to the TU Delft he established a broad network in the business sector. Once at the TU Delft, he discovered there was no place for engineers and companies to meet. That’s when he started his plan to build an environment to facilitate the cooperation between students, entrepreneurs and companies in order to work on the realisation of future energy systems.

The activities of the Green Village are focussed on three new paradigm-shifting concepts, technological ideas that have a new view on sustainability. These three technological ideas will be developed further in the so-called ‘Future Labs’. Each of these future labs has a clear goal, something to work towards, a so-called ‘dot on the horizon’.

led revolution The first future lab will work on LEDs. New applications for LEDs will be explored in this lab. You can think of integrated LEDs in furniture, walls and windows whereby LEDs will take on the function of light producers for communicating visuals and light consumers as sensors for example. The eventual goal of this future lab is ‘The Harp’. This is a large building that combines a wind turbine and solar cells with social facilities as a cinema, discotheque, shops and restaurants, where LEDs will be integrated into every object.

ac-dc The second future lab will concentrate on a DC (direct current) grid. Our current electricity grid is an AC (alternating current) grid. However, all future electricity production is DC. Instead of conversion from DC to AC, replacement of the grid would be a better option. A DC grid is more energy efficient, saves inverter costs and does not generate electro-magnetic radiation. In the lab, new smart control strategies, safety concepts and grid architecture will be designed and applied. The dot on the horizon for this future lab is ‘The Energy Wall’, which looks like a noise barrier along a high way. The wall will be connected to a smart DC grid. Small wind turbines and solar cells will provide the grid with electricity. In turn, it will use electricity with its LEDs for lighting and signalling.

car as power plant The third future lab will work on fuel cell cars. These cars will not only be used for transportation, but will also be part of the electricity and water system. They will function as plant that produces electricity and clean water. The final goal of this mission is the ‘car park power plant’ which will be a combination of a car park and energy source. When the car is stationary, it will be used as a producer of electricity, water and warmth.

Help us to create something amazing: Allow people to hold hands over the Internet!

Several graduation projects and internships available in design, haptics, electronics and more Holland Haptics | Delft | T+31651416076 | michel@hollandhaptics.com

Inspiration

15

The village as described in this article currently only exists virtually. However, in the coming year, the village will be opened where the buildings will be quite similar to the virtual design, a cartoonish virtually village. In reality, it will probably turn out a bit differently, because an important promise the Green Village has made is that it will never be ready. It will keep on evolving as new components will be designed and developed. At the moment the technical design of the village is being made using a group process. The initial ideas came from Ad van Wijk, whereas the realisation has been done with input from students and partners. The village will grow organically, which means: step by step. The priority now lies with the future lab ‘Car as Powerplant’. Several solid partners have joined and six students are graduating by working on this future lab. The realisation of the Green Village will be funded by a consortium of the TU Delft, municipality and industry.

1•2•STARTUP

This year the third edition of the 1•2•Startup weekend will be held! During the weekend of 13-15 June a group of fifty enthusiastic students will create their own start-ups. During these three days you will pitch your (own) idea, create a team, design your business plan and finally pitch the results for a jury of successful entrepreneurs, coaches and investors. The best business plan wins the chance to implement their company within the YES!Delft coaching environment.

In order for the Green Village to succeed it needs its own community. The community provides the Green Village with knowledge, energy and support. The final mission is not to realise one single village, but to start a movement of supporters that builds its own future. The community already consists of around two hundred companies who are willing to contribute. These companies vary a lot: from YES!Delft startups, companies within the construction industry to high-tech companies that produce 3d-printers. Next to companies, students are also part of the Green Village community. They have the opportunity to graduate in Green Village topics or follow a Green Village honours track. However, more supporters are needed. Interested? Become a member of the Green Village community! ■

These intense 72 hours provide you with the opportunity to test your entrepreneurial skills in an extreme hands-on environment. You will work in a team consisting of students ranging from freshmen to freshly-minded PhDs, with diverse backgrounds. All this will take place in the building of YES!Delft, where you will work, sleep and obviously enjoy all meals with the whole group and committee.

The 1•2•STARTUP 2014 event will be organized on 13 - 15 June by YES!Delft Students. Application for this great weekend opens on March 9th, and closes on May 4th.

You can apply via www.aanmelder.com/12startup. Also like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/12startup for more information regarding the weekend. If you are entrepreneurial minded, have a great idea and/or have a great skill-set, be there!

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Inspiration

ACTIVITY

ready to startup! final day

By Marc Barendse

YES!Delft, TU Delft and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants collaborate yearly with numerous partners to organize the ‘Ready to Start-up!’ course. Talented entrepreneurs-to-be participate in the course, during which they are coached in the first phase of starting a business.

On the Final Day, 12th of February, the most promising startups presented their business plans. Based on these presentations, the jury – composed of entrepreneurs, investors and strategy consultants – rewarded the best

two plans with a cheque of 1,000 and 1,500 euro. To underline the importance of entrepreneurship a debate on the role of entrepreneurship in the Netherlands took place, moderated by Delft city counselor Pieter Guldemond.

Participants in this debate were Hans Biesheuvel, former president of MKB Nederland, Kees Verhouwen, Member of Parliament of political party D66 and Anne-Wil Lucas, Member of Parliament for VVD. All in all it was a beautiful afternoon that - hopefully - has inspired many future entrepreneurs. ■

Education

17

column

My STRUGGLEs

as an entrepreneur

By Anonymous

Emotionally gruelling. Depressing. Terrified of what’s to come. That’s how I would describe running a failing company. It’s one of the worst professional experiences someone can have. They talk about entrepreneurship being like a roller coaster. Well, failing would definitely the lowest part. Stuck at the start, body lock still open, frustrated with the time it’s taking to get rolling up the ramp. Yet, failure is surprisingly common and ultimately a rewarding experience.

If I had the power I would actually love to ‘station’ any aspiring entrepreneur at a failing start-up and have them live through bankruptcy. Then again, once you have seen that potential disaster zone and realize how much can go wrong, you might decide never to start a company. After all, entrepreneurship often happens because people underestimate how difficult something will be and how long it will take, and then get it done anyway. It’s true, you can learn a lot from mistakes. But, wouldn’t it be great if you could stick to learning from success.

So I would advise you to learn from your own success and from other people’s mistakes.

My biggest lesson? Team dynamics is probably the most important factor in a start-up. Not the idea. Not the execution plan or business plan. Not how good your team is in paper. Let me spell that out once more: How well your team works together will greatly define how well your start-up does. And that’s not just my experience. A 10-year long Harvard report on startups found the same, team dynamics is the key stone in building a company. Let me tell you a story, so perhaps, you can learn from my mistakes.

What you shouldn’t do

Years ago, I got into my first start-up. On paper, things seemed amazing. It was a bit like the way super-groups were formed in music: you get the best guitarist here, the coolest singer there, and a kick-ass drummer. But what if it turns out they suck at playing together? This is what happened to us. This begs the question: why do people with amazing skills fail to perform together? Usually it has to do with a mismatch of personalities and motivations.

Personality Disorderliness

The first problem we failed to discover was that we had too much of the same personalities. On the MBTI-scale, we were primarily in the thinking, visioning quadrant: abstract people. Planners. But very few doers. So we spent hours talking, everyone wrestling for their share of the time, battling to get logical supremacy. All co-founders had a desire for dominance, which made everyone the king of their own little kingdom doing their own, autonomous thing, sometimes even without informing others. This created a lot of tension, and it became a turf war. “No, my marketing campaign is more important than your sales leaflet!” I know, it sounds silly now, but it’s much harder to spot while living in the pre-honeymoon period full of

18

Education

presumptions about your co-founders and without knowledge about how personalities function together.

Misaligned Motivations

This one is the most difficult to discover. Why do people do the things they do? There are a number of core motivations that always pop-up in research on what drives entrepreneurs. There’s always some overlap, but what individual co-founders value most will really shape how one prioritizes. The funny thing is, many people are blind to their motivations and inclinations, so they will see it as the logical thing to do, not even seeing what 20 other options they’re not considering which might be at the core of their logical action. The subconscious isn’t easily reflected upon.

In our case, we had someone who pretty much saw himself as the end and company as means to promote himself. This was poison for our company. Here’s why: What this guy was doing, was getting himself in the spotlights and getting praise for other people’s work while telling overblown stories. As a consequence you get prioritization problems: when he had to decide between making a new product happen or doing a photo shoot and interview with a tech blog, guess what got the priority?

Team dynamics is the key stone in building a company Cool story bro. But what ‘should’ I do instead?

Good one. Let’s get into that. After all, there are many ways to lose money in a casino, and only a few to predictably win. The same goes for starting companies. So, how does one shift the odds in your favour?

Look For Personality Synergy

First, know thyself. I’m a big-picture thinker, abstract and mildly introverted. My weakness is over-analysis and lack of real-world testing. You should learn about yourself: do an MBTI test, think about how you like to work, ask friends and co-workers to describe your personality strengths and flaws. Be open to criticism. This will be uncomfortable, but it’s the path to growth.

Secondly, find people who fill in for your flaws and amplify your strengths, and do the same for them. Let’s say you’re an introverted tech guy who’s a great inventor, but sucks at deal-making and sales. Find an extraverted, enthusiastic person who’s great at the commercial part! This week, I worked in wonderful sync with two people with distinct personalities. The first one, is a super-organized mastermind who ‘closes’ all the open loops that I miss. His methodical, detailed approach complements my big-picture hopping. He likes working with me because I can conceptualize new things ridiculously fast (and moderately good, as I like to believe) as he can’t really do that part. The other is on the opposite end of the chaotic scale: a super-creative, smart kid that is like a fire-hose of ideas. We click because I can structure his waterfall of ideas and help choose what fits in whatever context we’re exploring.

Align Motivations

Again, the first step is to understand your own motivations.

Inc magazine’s “What drives entrepreneurs?”* is a great place to start. Be honest with yourself, if you want a comfortable lifestyle and to be able to go surfing on Wednesdays if you feel like it, that’s fine. Just don’t become a part of a team where everyone else believes you should work until the early hours, every day of the week.

How do you know motivations beforehand? First, it helps to discuss them openly, but not before everyone has spent time soul-searching and has written their motivation down. Be aware of the all too common socially acceptable answers: many will say they want to work hard and grow the company. But how do you define working hard? What’s the most important?

You can judge the motivations of the people you’ve worked with before, but what do you do when you’re co-founding with people you have never worked with before?

All co-founders had a desire for dominance The dynamic flexible start-up

Fortunately the process of discovering how you fit in a team is not the task of a hermit. In fact self discovery through doing something together can be one of the most rewarding parts of doing a start up. So how does one create an environment in a company that serves the purpose of creating the best team for a great start-up experience.

Make Dynamic Agreements

pen during a start-up, and you’ll only know how well you perform together once you’ve been at it for a while. With so much dynamism going on, is it smart to make static agreements on everything from roles, to equity, to who’s on the team?Here’s a better way to do it: First, acknowledge the dynamics and set a milestone around 2-3 months into the start-up journey, where you’ll review the value of everyone’s contribution, see how well personalities fit together and whether everyone is in the right position. Maybe some people will have to leave, and you will need to find a replacement. Or you’ll decide you need a different kind of co-founder to join in. This can be confronting, but do realize that when someone isn’t performing in a start-up team, especially if they are a highly skilled person, they are frustrated too. Do you really think it’s a good idea to put them in the same position for the next few years? It will probably be hell for them and you. This kind of dynamic agreement can be liberating for everyone by giving the start-up room to adapt.

Start Softly

An even better way to approach this, is to do a ‘soft start’, where you work on a project together for a few months. Heck, it could even be a well-paid project for a client. I know of a group who decided to embark on an entrepreneurial journey, but one of the crucial people on the team was severely in debt. This means his lifestyle, paying off debts while making a living and worrying about debts, wasn’t compatible with a start-up. They decided to work for 6 months to clear away his debts.

Doing this project was the perfect test to see if the team could work together on a common goal. And it truly transformed them. The now out-of-debt person is incredibly grateful. The others bonded with him and each other over this mission.

When I see them working together now, it feels like a family.

Not everything was a fairy-tale, mind you. One person left after a few months, mostly because he realized he was kind of obsolete: there was too much overlap with the skills of some other team members. But it’s much better to find out at that point, where everything is adaptable, then after they’d started an entrepreneurial company together.

Team dynamics are going to be crucial in your start-up. More than the idea, business plan or the actual skills of your team.

So make sure you assemble people that have complementary personalities and similar motivations. And make sure you train first and play a couple of friendly matches, adjust the team, then fly off to the World Cup. ■ Some say, when he was a baby the first word to come out of his mouth was incubator. And a CAT scan showed his brain has evolved into the segments of a business model canvas. All we really know is this column has been written by ‘The Anonymous’.

What if it turns out that the person who said ‘I don’t mind risk and am in it for the intellectual challenge’, finds out that reducing risk and getting recognition are their key motivators? Is the team able to agree and pivot motivations. Does the Dutch national football team just pick 11 of the best players and go off to the World Cup. Do the special forces go to war before considering elaborate training and simulations? So much can hap-

Education

19

Win € 500,000 for your green business plan!

Winner 2011

Last year’s winner!

Winner 2012

Do you have a creative and innovative business plan that helps combat climate change? Want to win € 500,000 to bring your plan to market? Sign up for the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2014!

www.greenchallenge.info

20

- advertorial -

POSTCODE LOTTERY GREEN CHALLENGE SEEKS EARTH-FRIENDLY STARTUPS

Win €500,000 for your green business idea For the eighth year in a row, the Dutch Postcode Lottery invites people around the world to send in sustainable, creative, innovative business plans for the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge. The best entrant will win €500,000 to realise his or her plan.

An additional €200,000 will go to one or two runners-up.

Ginger Dosier (36) of the United States knows what the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge can do for startup companies.

She won last year’s prize for her revolutionary brick production process. Her company, BioMason, “grows” bricks using bacteria, providing a clean alternative to the conventional firing process, which generates massive CO2 emissions worldwide.

Winning this competition was a huge boost for us.

“The prize money’s allowed us to get further faster, and to get our eco-friendly bricks on the market on a large scale,” Dosier said. “Winning this competition was a huge boost for us.” Two Dutchmen, Wolbert Allaart and Patrick Heuts, won runner-up prizes of €100,000 last year.

Mass audience Brilliant green inventions often stay at the draft stage. The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge makes it possible for them to reach a mass audience. Entry is free.

The competition aims to encourage people to think creatively about fighting climate change. That’s important, says Marieke van Schaik, managing director of the Dutch Postcode Lottery.

“Because of climate change, we’re all facing the challenge of embracing a new, greener lifestyle. One clever, creative idea can make a huge difference. The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is our way of making sure groundbreaking, sustainable solutions get developed and brought to market. To qualify, a product or service needs to reduce carbon emissions and score highly on design, user-friendliness and overall quality. And the business plan needs to be realisable within two years.”

How to enter The eighth Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is open for entries. Entrepreneurs can submit their sustainable business plans at www.greenchallenge.info until 3 June. Then a preliminary jury will choose five to eight finalists. On 11 September, the finalists will present their plans in Amsterdam before an international jury and invited guests, and the winner and runner(s)-up will be announced. ■

For more information, see

www.Greenchallenge.info

realisation

21

TOP 6

sources of inspiration You can’t take on the world by being a solo entrepreneur. You need a team. You can’t run a company by just building a technology. You also need customers or a user base. You can’t stay motivated by focussing on money. You need to be inspired. In this section we talk about important themes which may help you find your way through the maze of information regarding entrepreneurship. In this edition we present sources of inspiration which may help you to solve problems, create new products or just get you thinking about what might motivate you to pursue an entrepreneurial career and change the world. The sources of inspiration are followed by examples of start-ups in the respective area.

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2

3

BIO, ECO and ANIMAL-FRIENDLY

WHO AM I?

hyper-localisation

We know we use them to test medicine and for other scientific experiments, we torture them up in confined spaces just for the sake of cost-effectiveness, and we give them little to no rights. We’re talking about animals. Could it be possible to obtain the same results without such cruelty? We know the production of meat requires vast amounts of resources, but do we have any idea what the limits are of our planet? Would it be possible to produce all our food cheaply, yet ecoand animal friendly, without using six times more farmland? Can our body do with less? Sustainability and challenges in our food supply are fundamental issues. Can you find a better way?

Wireless biometric sensors are rapidly becoming cheap, accurate and ubiquitous, ranging from simple weight scales to wearable multi-modal devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers. The probability becoming depressed or incompatible with anti-depressants can be measured using your DNA. Methods for cheap periodic blood works using an automated lab is being developed and brought to market. These developments enable a range of possibilities for self-analysis and monitoring. What would you want to know about yourself?

Why do so many dream about travelling to New Zealand without knowing whats happening over just over the hill? Why do people follow Margot Robbie’s Twitter account while she walks on a red carpets far away in Los Angeles, instead of getting to know the girl next door?

Whats important in your local area, what should we consider noise and how could you cut it out? Going local is the new ‘going global!’ Keeping things local, is real and just as interesting. Localised startups gave us pizza at our door step.

Local gave up grass roots movements.

Local ain’t loco! Cut out the irrelevant.

Examples: Cocoa, Hampton Creek Foods, Hurel CorP

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Inspiration

Examples: Theranos, Scanadu, JointlyHealth, Moo

Examples: Takeaway.com, Everyblock, Patch, Urban Compass, CO Everywhere

Look around you and observe. Birds fly in a V-formation. Electric eels can emit a 600 volt discharge. Ants are capable of carrying objects 50 times their own body weight. Inefficiencies don’t endure for a long period in nature. In the last 3.8 billion years, nature has continuously perfected itself. Don’t reinvent the wheel, instead go outside and find out what nature could teach you.

Examples: Speedo Fastskin swimsuits, Velcro, O-foil

BIOMIMICRY

Sharing is caring. Not only that, it feels good too. Whether you’re sharing a bottle of wine with a friend, your opinion online, or your home with a hitchhiker, people often feel they receive karma points for giving something to society without asking too much back. The sharing economy is making the world more efficient, it’s cutting away at bureaucracy and freeing markets. Could you share something in your life and make the world a better place at the same time?

Examples: AirBnB, Couchsurfing International, Peerby, Indiegogo, Uber, GetAround, Yerdle

Share economy

4

Have you noticed how everything is becoming connected? One can switch on the lights at home while at the office using your own mobile phone. Before you know it we’ll be a able run a hot bath, check who’s already at home, cook a hot meal without being in your own house.

The world wants to be connected and the tools are available to achieve this. What are you going to connect to next?

Examples: Electric Imp, Nest, Spark-Core

internet of things

5

6

We hope you’ll never need us…!

www.integis.nl

Inspiration

23

EVENT

entrepreneurship Forum MEET THE FOUNDERS

By Marc Barendse

Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij

Brunel

Sector:

Energy service provider

Sector:

Recruitment & Consultancy

Turnover:

362 million euro (2012)

Turnover:

1.28 billion euro (2013)

Founded:

2005

Founded:

1975

What if Harald Swinkels did not break open the closed energy market? Would the price of energy be much higher and would the consumers be left in the dark about the possibilities we now take for granted?

What if Jan Brand became a world traveler using his passion for sailing to reach beyond the horizon? Would he still be as successful in recruitment? Would people still be working in the same company after more than 40 years?

Through an impressive, yet, down-to-earth marketing campaign featuring Natasja Froger, Maurice de Hond, Frans Bauer and Johan Derksen, NLEnergie made the Dutch customer aware of the fact that switching their energy supplier was quite easy and could save them a lot of money. Within five years, the Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij managed to become the fourth largest energy supplier in the Netherlands.

A great success!

Brunel was established in 1975, when the founder Jan Brand set up “Multec�, a company that focused on the recruitment of engineers. The first office was opened in Delft, the same city where Jan Brand attended university and a city that attracts many young engineers. Typical of those early years was the emphasis on placing highly qualified, technical specialists. Brunel has over a 107 offices all over the world spanning 41 countries in total. There services reach from the Netherlands to New Zealand.

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activation

WHAT IF THEY CHOOSE TO DO SOMETHING ELSE?

AMPELMANN

TAKEAWAY.COM

Sector:

Offshore walk-to-work market

Sector:

Online food ordering

Founded:

2008

Turnover:

110 million euro (2012)

Website: www.ampelmann.nl

Founded:

1999

What if Jan van der Tempel did not attend the course ’Turning Technology into Business’? Would he have been awarded a patent he used to start his company? Might he have become an aircraft-maker instead of creating the best way to transfer offshore crews?

What if Jitse Groen stopped his startup in 2000 when he was unsure about continuing his company ‘Thuisbezorgd.nl? Would there still be kebab businesses everywhere in the city? Would business dinners always be held externally in expensive restaurants and would the restaurants have developed towards catering?

Ampelmann Operations is a high-tech offshore personnel transfer company focusing on development, construction and lease of offshore access solutions. The company was founded in 2008 as a TU Delft research spin-off. The core technology is the Ampelmann system, a motion compensation platform that allows easy, fast and safe access from a moving vessel to offshore structures, even in high wave conditions. Almost Doubling the fleet every year since 2008, Ampelmann currently operates 20 systems world-wide.

The idea of thuisbezorgd.nl spawned during a family party.

After finding out how hard it was to find local restaurant menus online, founder Jitse Groen, started their website for online food ordering with a start capital of only a hundred guilders (45 euro). The company is expanding fast taking pole position in Europe by expanding into Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Swiss, Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden.

Activation

25

Article

The greatest marketing campaigns

By Bob Wouterlood

Marketing, crucial for businesses to sell their products. Think about your daily life and all the advertisements and marketing campaigns that you come across. Most of the time they irritate everyone but of course it turns out marketing is essential for companies to survive. In this article you read about how marketing sometimes creates new concepts, gives more value to the same product or makes you believe things that are not true.

Diamonds are forever De Beers is the largest diamonds company in the world. In 1939 the economy was in a depressed state, which led to a 50% decline in diamonds sale and an even bigger decline in value. De Beers hired an advertising agency who launched an advertising campaign that strengthened the association of diamonds with romance. Diamonds would become the gift of love that people would not trade for cash during rough times. Since the nineties de Beers have had a monopoly position in the diamond industry, which allows them to create an artificial diamond shortage. These facts are causing high prices for diamonds.

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Inspiration

1

Beer Babes!

Who does not remember the match at the World Cup of 2010 between Denmark and the Netherlands. Lurking the crowds in the Soccer City Stadium of Johannesburg a group of 36 Dutch women dressed as Danish supporters joined the match. As soon as the match started they stripped off to show their orange mini-dresses, marketed by the Dutch brewer, Bavaria. The dresses were sold with the Bavaria Fridgepack. Although the name of Bavaria was nowhere to be found on the dresses the group of women were still removed during the match by the FIFA. FIFA sued Bavaria for ‘ambush marketing’ stunt, a term used for the exploitation of a sponsored event by a non-sponsor. Budweiser, of the popular US beer was the official sponsor of the World Cup and FIFA was obligated to protect them. Eventually there was a lot of publicity about these dresses and therefore about Bavaria. You know what they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

3

Red Bull stratos jump

Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by a Thai energy drink, Krating Daeng. He modified the ingredients to suit the western taste, wrapped the energy drink in blue-silver can and sold it in partnership with Chaleo Yoovidhya. Daeng means red and Krating means gaur, an animal slightly larger than the bison. This way the name Red Bull was born.

Red Bull is the owner of the events: Red Bull Air Race and Red Bull Crashed Ice. Red Bull owns their own Formula 1 team and three football teams. It also sponsors all kinds of extreme sports, this way Red Bull becomes a lifestyle, more than just a beverage. But their best marketing campaign was the Red Bull Stratos Jump. They hired Felix Baumgartner to make a jump of 38.969 meters above the Earth, reaching a speed of 1.358 km/h. Over 8 million people watched this jump live and over 30 million people relived the jump on YouTube. Well apparently Red Bull really gives you wings after all!

Just do it!

4

Until 1988 most people only exercised when practising a sport. Bill Bowerman, Nike’s co-founder brought the popular concept of recreational jogging for exercise to the USA. He helped setting up jogging programs across the USA to get people interested. This created a lot of recreational joggers, but all these new athletes needed the right shoes to run on. Nike launched their marketing campaign ‘Just do it!’. This campaign led to an increase of $877 million tot $9.2 billion in just over 10 years.

Reebok directed their campaign at aerobics because of the fitness rage of the 80’s. Whilst Nike directed their campaign to every American regardless of age, gender, or physical fitness level. The result was Nike’s worn as a fashion statement and 80% of Nike’s shoes are not worn for its purpose, running.

Marlboro Man Philip Morris launched Marlboro in 1924 as a woman’s cigarette with the slogan ‘Mild As May’. In the 1920s the advertisements were primarily focused on women. For example the filter of the cigarettes had a red band printed around them to hide lipstick stains, they called it ‘Beauty Tips to Keep the Paper from Your Lips’. When scientist in the 1950s discovered that smoking increased the chance of lung cancer, Phillip Morris repositioned Marlboro as a men’s cigarette. This was not easy because filtered cigarettes were considered feminine at the time. To lose this image, the Marlboro Man was introduced. The Marlboro Man was a cowboy in nature with only a filtered cigarette. The shift in perspective, making cigarettes masculine in spite of health concerns, allowed the product to maintain its appeal. In a matter of months Marlboro became a masculine cigarette and the sales went from $5 billion to $20 billion in just 2 years. It is one of the most brilliant advertisement campaigns of all time.

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Inspiration

27

Interview

Professor Bertels on Combining research and entrepreneurship

By David Markey

Koen Bertels is the CTO of BlueBee Technologies. He combines this function with his position as a Professor at the Computer Engineering Lab, at Delft University of Technology. Koen talks about this uncommon combination as well as what students should be aware of as the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

How did you get in this position?

My career started at the Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix University in Wallonia, Belgium. After a couple of years I realised this university was too focussed on teaching rather than doing actual research.

I then started my first software company, Upsilon, which provided high end software for both banking and portfolio management companies in the finance industry. After a couple of years the major technological challenges were solved and I started to look for something new again.

This is when my research interests came up again and I got the opportunity of joining the TU Delft Computer engineering department. I have always enjoyed being part of it since.

So the entrepreneurial vibe has always been a part of you?

Absolutely, three years ago I started a new company together with some colleagues and PhD student. In research one can do fundamental research but ultimately you want these results to end up in the real world I would even argue it is a moral duty to bring new technology to the market.

How did BlueBee start?

BlueBee is a real example of a university spin-off. It is based on research done at TU Delft as well as Imperial College and provides acceleration solutions through FPGA or GPU based execution of existing applications using heterogeneous multicore hardware platforms that we can customise for high performance and big data applications.

How is it going now?

Our technology provides energy efficient solutions for high performance application domains. In that respect the embedded industry seemed at first a logical fit, which we had been addressing for about a year. Eventually it proved that the rate of change of the industry was too low, such that a pivot was needed.

New possibilities were found in finance, in which I already had experience from my first company. The financial industry has need for accurate risk calculations, especially now the frequency of reporting has gone up massively due to the increasing regulation.

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Realisation

We also started a collaboration with another startup, Ancoa with whom we collaborated to accelerate their transaction monitoring to unprecedented speeds. We succeeded in increasing the amount of transactions for their real time monitoring system from one hundred thousand to one million transactions per second. We’ve now found a new CEO with a lot of experience in the finance industry to lead the company and we have teamed up with a US based company which supplies a super computer platform, exactly what BlueBee needs.

So after 2 years, we’re now in the process of talking to a possible first official lead, which will give us the opportunity to do an on-site proof of concept, with hopefully more work after that.

How do you combine all this with your academic position?

You need passion. You’re busy 24/7. I mean both research as well as starting up a company isn’t something you do from 9 to 5 anyway, you’re really living it. I don’t think my academic work suffers. It’s mainly my personal time that pays the price. This obviously asks a lot of flexibility especially from your private life, but it is a deliberate choice. If you do something then you have to do it well.

Wouldn’t focussing on one instead of both give better results?

You have to make deliberate choices and focus on the important parts. You have to critically look at yourself and learn to prioritise. I’ve learned over the years that team work is key to be productive and come up with results. Whether it is in science or in business, it doesn’t matter..

Does it help to be a professor in business?

Your academic title, whether it is a PhD or a professorship, gives you credibility. It definitively creates trust, especially if you’re from a known university. The industry assumes you probably do know what you are talking about and have faith that the technology of the solution you are proposing will be good. So yes it is a benefit, but all this doesn’t mean you are a good entrepreneur and you will have to prove yourself just like anyone else.

How do you separate academic from business topics?

A lot of academic problems are just that, interesting intellectually, but not necessarily practical. It’s very important to have a good contact with the industry. This is true for every member of our research group. By having business exposure you learn to assess the relevance of your scientific ideas.

The challenge then becomes to find a balance of short term (industry related problems) and long term more speculative research.

How often can you use university work for your company?

There are plenty ideas from students I come across which are really valuable and I always try to push them to do something with it. I like to guide them further in their process of actually building their company. At least once a month, I have students asking my advice on such matters.

We have to be very precise about the ownership of an idea. You have to set clear agreements with the student from the start.

The principle is that students always own their work, which is also a TU Delft guideline. The main benefit for BlueBee is having access to a pool of talented young people that you can hire.

It is a moral duty to bring new technology to the market.

How do you cope with the difference in process speed of a business and a research group for e.g. pivoting your focus?

You would tend to think that a startup is all about being flexible and going fast where the academic research process is very big and slow, but it is not at all like that. To the contrary, in a research group you have the possibility to make a rather quick shift to a new research focus, just as our group did towards big data computing systems. It has to be a logical shift following up on earlier research though, it wouldn’t be like this if it were truly radical. You thus have a lot of freedom to drive the research group in different directions as you encounter things.

A just started business has this freedom as well, but from the moment you are getting revenues then it is not as easy to change focus anymore. There is a certain lead-time towards revenue. It takes quite some time before a certain decision is translated into actual money. This is why companies aren’t very fond of shifting and it’s actually a fundamental problem of innovation. It’s all about the balance because if you look at a company such as Nokia it shows you that switching your focus too late is harmful as well.

What are the biggest mistakes students make?

The first mistake everyone makes is to think too much in terms of the technology, rather than about the commercial applications. It’s very simple, yet so difficult to realise.

Another mistake is not to talk about your idea and seek exposure. This is mainly grounded in the fear of someone else stealing it. But an idea is not worth anything. It’s the execution that matters, so what do you have to lose? If your idea is that easy to copy, you have a problem once you go to market anyway. So don’t start with non-disclosure agreements etc., it only slows you down. Your first idea will probably change along the process anyway, which diminishes the need for secrecy even more.

You need to look for as much exposure as you canto shape your initial idea into something better. A patent is a way to protect your work. Mostly investors are fond of this andit shouldn’t be the foundation of everything.

Does this mean you advocate starting right out of college?

You should definitely try to start a company when you’re young. But get a degree first, preferably in high tech. You have to be very rational about it though and make sure you surround yourself with good people and make use of all kinds of support such as the YES!Delft incubator. By following an entrepreneurial course you prepare yourself for planning, financials, thinking about your clients, the market etc.

A company is nothing more than people who work together on a thing. The difficulty lies in exactly defining what this thing is and how you are going to sell it. Building it is not where the problem lies, you’ve got more than enough knowledge for that thanks to your education.

Of course there are many ways to get there, some people indeed work in the industry first and find a gap they can solve.

Eventually it all starts with a good idea.

And how did you find your idea?

It’s not like your idea is everything, but you do need it to start.

You can actively search for it, which is also what we did with BlueBee. You start from an interesting (often quite basic) technology and use it to build a product you can bring to market.

It’s all about serendipity: the intellectual capability to connect things with each other which aren’t connected at first. This is something you can’t force, it is how you stand in life. If you adopt this vision in your daily life, you will find many ideas worth pursuing.

Final last tip for students?

Over the years I have come to realise the importance of a good network. I was never fond of it, but connecting and knowing people can help you so much. You achieve so much more when you’re collaborating and sharing your work. To sum it all up, connect with people and talk about your idea as much as you can, it will benefit you massively. ■

realisation

29

5

YEARS

a glance at OUR history

By Maarten Vrouenraets

valorisation The Delft University of Technology determines knowledge valorisation as their third core task

2003

yes!delft

yes!delft students

TU Delft is traditionally a university focussed on applied technology that paves the way for many innovations that find their way into society. In 2003 the TU Delft extended her two core tasks of “Education” and “Research” with a third one called: “Valorisation”. Valorisation can be seen as capitalising on the knowledge available at the TU Delft. In a partnership with TNO and the municipality of Delft, the TU Delft shaped this third core task in 2005 by establishing the high-tech incubator YES!Delft. The incubator directly facilitates the valorisation of technical knowledge as new enthusiastic graduates use their knowledge for founding high-tech start-ups. Since 2005 over 120 start-ups have been established at YES!Delft. At the moment more than 70 start-ups in the incubator are working on realising their dream: “Become Tomorrow’s Leading Firm”.

In 2009 the importance of stimulating new entrepreneurial students was emphasized.

This would allow for the sustainable expansion of new high-tech start-ups ensuring a contribution to the ever-changing innovative Dutch economic climate. Thus YES!Delft Students was founded, the student organization of YES!Delft, encouraging and supporting motivated students from the Delft University of Technology and surroundings, who wish to expand their horizons in the dynamic field of entrepreneurship. The annually changing YES!Delft Students board achieves this, together with over 50 committee members, by organizing challenging events that highlight the opportunities and possibilities entrepreneurship has to offer. In this way YES!Delft Students aims to be the place “Where Students become Entrepreneurs”.

yes!DELFT ROTTERDAMSEWEG YES!Delft opens with a total of 17 start-ups

2004

30

activation

2005

AW

Cr the by

2009

TIMELINE This year YES!Delft Students’ 5th anniversary is celebrated during a fantastic Lustrum week from March 10 until March 15. With this celebration we look back at the steps made in previous years and look forward to the steps that will be made in the years to come. Below the growing effort made by many in our organisation is shown. We hope it will inspire others to do the same in the future. The time-line below presents the key milestones in the development of YES!Delft Students.

1 new c

2010 2 new committees ENTREPRENEURS CLUB

yes!delft students Establishment of YES!Delft Students to connect students with the possibilities of entrepreneurship

Supportive network of student-entrepreneurs

LECTURE

Inspiring students by successful entrepreneurs

yes!

YES!De room fo

events

programme Since 2009 the program offered by YES!Delft Students has developed into a diverse set of activities that can connect with the broad range of entrepreneurial interests students have. With activities ranging from inspirational lectures, serious games, master courses, groundbreaking entrepreneurial trips, to an active platform for student entrepreneurs.

That’s why we are proud to say entrepreneurial development can be offered to everyone.

3 board members 10 comissioners

50

2009

2010

2011

1000

2010

2011

CLEANTECH challenge

1•2•STARTUP

Build the platform for inspiration

From business idea to viable business plan in 48 hours

2011

!delft molengraaffsingel 11

elft moves to a new building with or a total of 65-70 start-ups

2012

2013

2014

2000+ facebook likes 1500+ twitter fOLLOWERS 1400+ linkedin members

Organise the Dutch Cleantech Challenge preliminaries

WARENESS TEAM

this year

5 board members 52 comissioners

2000

3 new committees TED X

2013

SOCIAL MEDIA

2009

committee

2012

100+ events organised last year

Providing good insight into all the different activities is crucial to satisfy one’s interests.

This is done by attaching specific activities to one of the four pillars: Inspiration, Activation, Education, Realisation. Additional information on the definition of these main program pillars can be found in the colophon of this magazine.

reating awareness of e possibilities offered y YES!Delft

first year

100

1 new committee LUSTRUM

Celebrate YES!Delft Students’ 5th anniversary

2012

2013 3 new committees MAGAZINE

Inspire, Activate, Educate and Realise students by a diversity of articles

WOMEN ACTIVATION

Inspire women to become an entrepreneur

4000 ANNUAL PARTICIPANTS YES!Delft Students has over 4000 unique students participating in the programs offered every year

2014

5 ANNIVERSARY TH

YES!Delft Students’ 5th anniversary is celebrated during a week full of activities from 10th until the 14th March

ACTIVATION

Activate students to learn by doing

Activation

31

REALISATION

EDUCATION

ACTIVATION

INSPIRATION

YES!Delft Students Calendar MARCH YES!Lustrum Week 10 YES!Kickoff 11 YES!Challenge 12 YES!Forum 13 YES!Skills 14 YES!Celebrate 24 27 28

Clean Tech Challenge Dutch Semi-final Philips Innovation Award Semi-final Monthly Incubator Tour

APRIL 03 04 22 24

Sparring Dinner Clean Tech Challenge Dutch Final YES!Delft Students Night Philips Innovation Award Final

24-25 Clean Tech Challenge Global Final

25 29

Monthly Incubator Tour Do-It! Game XXL

MAY

04 13

15

Register Deadline 1•2•Startup YES!Delft Students Night Women Event

21-30 ‘Come With Me To Tel Aviv and Istanbul’

JUNE

05 10

Inspirational Lecture YES!Delft Students Night

13-15 1•2•Startup Weekend

www.yesdelftstudents.nl

18 27

Final Day Ready to Startup!

Monthly Incubator Tour