Entrepreneurs bring business expertise to TU/e
Start-up PAKT joins Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program
Read more- The University
- 03/02/2023
Entrepreneurs bring business expertise to TU/e
Students and researchers with plans for a startup excel in enthusiasm and technical know-how, but lack entrepreneurial experience and a business network. In order to bring those qualities to campus, The Gate has appointed four so-called Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs): highly experienced entrepreneurs such as Erik-Jan van der Linden, who will spend one day a week coaching TU/e students and researchers who want to market their invention.
The road from promising innovation to successful company is not a six-lane highway, but a winding path with countless turn-offs. Determination and a damn good idea are not enough, as evidenced by the recent bankruptcy of Atlas Technologies, the company that produced the Lightyear 0.
“Do you know the average age at which founders of successful businesses started their companies?”, asks Erik-Jan van der Linden. The answer is 42. What the tech entrepreneur is trying to say is that youthful enthusiasm is genuinely fantastic - as an experienced startup coach, he calls it “a life elixir” - but the experience that comes with age is just as important.
Van der Linden is one of the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (or EIRs) at TU/e. The brain behind the EIR program is Sjoerd Romme. The Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation had included it in the list of recommendations resulting from the 2020 study he had conducted on academic entrepreneurship at TU/e together with Professor and innoSpace founder Isabelle Reymen and others.
Expectations
The practice of universities bringing in business seniority has existed for some time, Romme knows. “It’s especially common in the US, but Technion in Israel has the longest tradition.” What was the decisive factor in introducing mentors from the business community at TU/e too? After all, TU/e startups also receive support from The Gate’s business developers.
The previously mentioned study showed that our student entrepreneurs are - naturally - very inexperienced. “They lack social capital in the business and investment world. And researchers who want to market an innovation face a similar issue: they often have an excellent network in the academic world, but not in the business world.”
As a result, students and young alumni with plans for a startup may find themselves frustrated during initial discussions with TU/e. Because why does the university - or rather: the holding company TU/e Participations BV - want such a large share in their company? “Experienced entrepreneurs know that this is how it works, especially when intellectual property claims are involved, and think: it’s better to own 5 percent of the shares of a successful company, than 20 percent of a business that's not getting off the ground.”
To break into an existing industrial chain requires a long-term effort - including years of scraping by on a student’s income
As an experienced, neutral party, an EIR can help budding entrepreneurs adjust their overly optimistic expectations. Romme: “About the long “valley of death” that comes before success, for example. Tech companies that want to market an innovation have to break into an existing industrial chain. That requires a long-term effort - including years of scraping by on a student’s income.”
Seniority
The first four EIRs started in December. In addition to Erik-Jan van der Linden (co-founder ProcessGold and MagnaView), they are Hugo de Haan (CEO Vision Dynamics), Francesco Pessolano (CEO Xetal) and Maurice de Rochemont (CEO Adsventure). Most of them have prior experience in mentoring budding entrepreneurs, for example at HighTechXL.
The EIRs provide mentorship for one day a week and do so without remuneration, says Romme. They are financially independent people who freely commit themselves to this. They do so out of passion for coaching startups and out of a social drive - as many TU/e innovations revolve around sustainability.” Should an EIR wish to participate or invest in one of the startups, that’s possible in principle, but they will then lose their EIR role.
In due course, Romme would like to expand the number of EIRs in the program. “We’re still in the learning phase at the moment, but we want to scale up to about 10 to 15 EIRs. If we do, I think it’s also important to include female mentors, as role models for the many talented girls. They are a little harder to find, though: I have to approach them directly, whereas men are more likely to apply on their own accord.”
Entrepreneurship at TU/e
In other areas, too, TU/e is working on policies that stimulate and regulate entrepreneurship, says Romme. The new policy surrounding intellectual property (IP) in education is almost finalized. We want to roll it out in March or April. Another new addition is the possibility of unpaid leave for tenured scientists who want to get a spin-off off the ground.”
“A good idea doesn’t turn into a unicorn by itself”
Why did Erik-Jan van der Linden accept the invitation to become an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at TU/e? Firstly, because he finds young entrepreneurs, fresh out of university, a very fun group to work with. “They are incredibly energetic and joyful, which is extremely contagious. Moreover, as a mentor, it is precisely at this early stage that you can make a difference.”
What products are in demand, what kind of solutions does the industry accept, how do you raise startup capital, how do you gather the best employees around you? These are complex questions if you have never answered them before. That is why Van der Linden (see text box for bio) tells every entrepreneur in their twenties: “Think about how to bring experience on board. Bind those people to your business, ask them questions, tap into their knowledge.” An Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) can be just such a person.
“Students often think that a good idea will turn into a unicorn without much effort. In reality, you need a fair share of luck and the road to a successful business involves countless decisions. An EIR can help with important questions to make better decisions based on experience.”
It is also difficult to switch to the mindset of an entrepreneur, who thinks in terms of demand, says Van der Linden. “As a student, you spend five years learning all about technology. There is a risk that you keep 'engineering' for too long in order to make your innovation heavier, bigger or faster, while the customer is after something else: a solution to a problem. And as a company, your sole raison d'être is that customers want to buy what you make.”
‘The business aspect’
As EIR, Van der Linden will not only be coaching student startups, but also those of TU/e researchers who want to market their own invention. This group also often has to change their way of thinking, knows Van der Linden, who himself spent ten years working at universities. “They usually have a negative perception of 'the business aspect’, but in reality, it’s very similar to marketing yourself and your research at conferences or in applications for funding.”
In reality, 'the business aspect’ is very similar to marketing yourself and your research at conferences or in applications for funding
And there are more parallels: “Researchers and entrepreneurs are both looking for things that aren't there yet: new knowledge, new technologies. And another thing they share is great perseverance, the ability to keep going when the going gets tough.”
What many researchers are not aware of is that they do not immediately have to make a career switch when they go ‘into business’. “There is a myriad of ways in which you can be involved in a business as a scientist: full-time, part-time from 4:1 to 1:4, but also as a scientific advisor or as a supervisor of graduates. You really don’t have to say goodbye to the university.”
Front-row seat
Van der Linden is aware of the perception that the outside world may have of an EIR: that apart from altruistic motives, there may also be business considerations at play in fulfilling this unpaid role.
“I understand that there may be this image of an investor who wants a front-row seat in order to snatch away the good opportunities. But you have to operate very carefully in the role of EIR: the interests of the startups and entrepreneurs always come first.”
However, he also does not want to completely rule out the possibility of becoming involved in one of the startups as an investor or in some other way. “If there is a good click and the situation is attractive enough, there is a chance that, in time, things will work out that way. But what’s most important to me and to the other three EIRs is that we get to contribute something.”
CV Erik-Jan van der Linden
The connection between Erik-Jan van der Linden and TU/e dates back to 2005, when he and Roel Vliegen founded the company MagnaView, in close collaboration with the data visualization group of TU/e professor Jack van Wijk and the process mining group of former TU/e professor Wil van der Aalst. In 2019, the company was sold under the name of ProcessGold to the US-based business UiPath. Van der Linden wrote a book on entrepreneurship called The Smart Way (2022) and in addition to being an EIR, he is also a member of the GURU network of TU/e's Innovation Space, a mentor at Braventure and an investor in Eindhoven startup Aristotle Technologies, among other ventures.
“We’re doing everything for the first time”
Ever since he graduated from Mechanical Engineering, Thijs Wester has been fully focused on PAKT, a ‘student team turned startup’. “I founded PAKT with my friend who used to live next door to me, Peter Verweij, a Delft graduate. Today we have three full-timers, an intern and four students working at the company.”
PAKT is one of the startups participating in the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program. The team wants to set up a logistical system to collect packaging glass for reuse instead of recycling. “Glass is very recyclable, but it takes a tremendous amount of energy to melt it. The glass has to be heated to 1,600 degrees and that takes huge amounts of fossil fuels.”
So why not apply the “beer bottle idea” - collecting, cleaning and reusing - to peanut butter and applesauce jars and all other packaging glass? “Producers are willing to implement a deposit system, and we at PAKT want to put the infrastructure of cleaning facilities and inspection equipment in place.”
All that remains is the logistics from the consumer to that cleaning and inspection location. “To that end, we’re focusing on online supermarket chains. We recently wrapped up a pilot with Picnic in Alphen aan de Rijn. The delivery drivers delivered the groceries to the customers and collected their empty glass containers.” Otherwise, the well-known Picnic vehicles would be driving back empty.
Tips
PAKT has had its first meeting with EIR Erik-Jan van der Linden, says Wester. “I knew Erik-Jan by name and I was eager to meet with him.” He often tries to meet with experienced entrepreneurs. “We at PAKT are doing everything for the first time, so that's always very enlightening.”
PAKT is looking for start-up capital, so that was one of the topics of discussion. “We were thinking about corporate investors, but Erik-Jan pointed out to us that there are many public funds available, especially for circular start-ups like ours. He also expects that our business case - capital intensive and with many stakeholders involved - is difficult to sell to corporate investors right now.”
And he had more tips. “It turned out that Erik-Jan had worked with one of the supermarket chains we are in talks with; he told us a few things about that. And being an investor himself, he was able to advise us on what a good, compelling two-pager - a short introduction to your business plan - should look like.” On to the next meeting.
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