Selecting the Finalists. What is happening now!

We're getting questions from startup teams about finance as well as the selection procedure. Time to put those points to Guus Frericks, CEO of Startupbootcamp HightechXL in Eindhoven.

How will you know if you’ve found the right team?

We are looking for breakthrough innovations. That means they have some kind of game-changing element, which has the potential to disrupt the whole sector in which they are playing. If that disruption is happening in a growing “end market”, then we know from previous experience, that this is exactly the kind of successful teams we’re looking for. We have a wide range of expertise, especially in entrepreneurship and finance in our core selection team. But, we’re not doing it all alone. We’re selecting the final 100 with the help of brilliant mentors who have signed up for our program.

And when it comes to the final 20, we’re doing something that is unique. We’re partnering with InContext.nl, a renowned firm of human resource consultants. They will assess each member of the team, looking at various aspects of their personality. That will help us judge how the founders will work together under the intense pressure that our program demands. This will be very useful for each finalist team, whether or not they are in the top 10. The report shows exactly the strengths and weaknesses present in each team. And when you know that, you can take action. It may seem strange to be bringing psychologists onto the High Tech Campus. But we know it works because we’ve done the same test on our own Startupbootcamp HightechXL team.  

In The Netherlands, when it comes to tech startups, the media hype is mainly about web and mobile, even though there are some really remarkable companies in more high-tech sectors. How is Startupbootcamp HightechXL different?

I believe everything is in place for a successful program. We are funded for three years, so this search for teams is ongoing. We’ve announced 8 areas of high-tech that are proving to be the fastest growth areas in the coming 5 years. As a start-up ourselves, we will adapt and develop along with the teams we bring on board.

We’ve made a decision to set the bar high from Day One. Teams need to show us a prototype of their idea that they believe is ripe for accelerated development. They also need to show that have a close-knit, complementary team to bring their prototype to launching customers. Our need for a hardware prototype makes us different from the rest of our colleague accelerators.

We’re also standing on the shoulders of giants. We’ve followed how others have built successful programs. We have similar experiences to Eric Ries, the developer of the Lean Start-Up methodology, together with Steve Blank. We believe that successful accelerators need to be run by entrepreneurs with the academic, business and government world’s feeding relevant expertise and support.

But we also realize that high-tech accelerators have different dynamics. Whereas teams can often bootstrap a sufficient runway to create a piece of software, building a sensor or a chip takes much more money upfront. We’re fortunate that in this area we have enthusiastic investors.

We see our job at Startupbootcamp HightechXL is to ensure that our winning teams get access to serious capital. We’ve prepared separate videos to explain access to money to startups. 


We know that teams in our sector need access to between 0.5 and 2.5 million Euro. We have all the experience in our Startupbootcamp HightechXL team to make that happen.

What is the state of the European high-tech ecosystem right now and what is its place of Eindhoven on the world "map" of high technology?

For the general public, Silicon Valley is the birthplace of social media and search engines.Most of the companies in this part of the Netherlands are well-known to handset manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung or Motorola. The speed of their connected devices is determined by the high-precision equipment developed by ASML in the Netherlands. In short, they enable the manufacturing of the chips found in 90% of the world’s smartphones. But the general public doesn’t know about this side of the story. These are not consumer brands. Intel often stickers on the side of PC’s saying Intel Inside. I believe every connected device could carry the slogan ‘enabled by ASML’.

But I believe that will change. This region in the South of the Netherlands is becoming known for breakthrough innovation driving the “Internet of Things”. Brain sensors, robotics, Lifetech, 3D printing, Cleantech, nanotechnology; all these kinds of technologies are going to impact on people’s daily lives. These ideas, products and services are all coming about as a result of disruptive thinking and doing; exactly the sort of ecosystem we’re building with a program like Startupbootcamp HightechXL.

What motivates companies to stay after the program?

The Netherlands is an excellent area to test market an idea. Recently, Elon Musk announced that the new generation of Tesla cars will be built in the city next to ours. So others from abroad are beginning to realize the potential of this region. And Holland has reciprocal tax agreements with a wide range of countries making it much easier to start an international company here than in many other parts of the EU, but also the US or Hong Kong. We know that tech start-ups are not focused on these issues – until they try to scale up rapidly.

In Europe, especially in the Netherlands, we tend to be more risk averse than in Silicon Valley. I believe that’s because many of the venture capitalists and angel investors come from a financial background. In California, many of the new VC’s have run tech companies themselves. But that balance is beginning to change here. I see more of our mentors and investors having very detailed knowledge and understanding of what it takes to build a new high-tech spin-out.

On Demo Day we expect around 300 investors to see what the 10 teams have produced after 3 months of being in a pressure cooker. We estimate that audience will represent €10 billion in capital and there is a hunger for good ideas and products that makes me confident. We’ve been encouraged that investors have come to us to brief us on what they’re looking for, not the other way round.

We’re doing everything to ensure that the ecosystem is right to encourage teams to stay in the Netherlands. There have been other success stories on the High-Tech Campus, like Gen-key or Civolution who have expanded to global markets, but retained their engineering base in Eindhoven. That’s proof that open innovation works.

We’re aware that money is an important factor in the equation. That’s why we believe it is our job as Startupbootcamp HightechXL to ensure there are paths to funding of between €0.5 - 2 million for each team by the time they emerge from the program in February 2014. Other cities like New York and Boston have shown us that this is important. I overheard a colleague describe our role as the “HighTech Headhunters of the 21^st century”. I rather like that thought!

It’s great when a plan comes together – The Story of Startupbootcamp HightechXL.

In conversation with Guus Frericks CEO and Managing Director of Startupbootcamp HighTechXL, Eindhoven. This article first appeared in Greek on the website of EMEA.GR.

There are over 200 accelerators out there, so why does the world need another one?

Because in our sector, high-tech, young companies building the hardware of tomorrow need a different approach to building their business. Having run innovation units in the corporate world for Philips and NXP, I know that engineers tend to be perfectionists. They work long hours tinkering with their prototype, not showing it to anyone. Yet, when they finally show it to a lead customer, they discover they don’t like it. Building a scalable business, especially an international business, doesn’t enter their head.

Often they want features that the founder realizes means they need to back to the drawing board for a costly redesign. In the apps world, that could mean changing a few lines of code. In high-tech that could mean half a million Euro to rethink the design of a chip or sensor. By which time a competitor will capture the market. Young companies the Netherlands don’t have that kind of money to waste.

My business partner Eric van den Eijnden (CEO of Dutch Expansion Capital) and I have been helping some of the most innovative tech startups in Europe for several years. One of them, Tidalys, is disrupting the tidal energy market with a fresh approach to turbine design and implementation. They’re located in Caen, in Normandy, home to the fastest tidal currents in the world.

Ideas On the Long Drive Home

The drive back to the Netherlands takes around 6 hours. That gave us both plenty of time to think and discuss. As entrepreneurs we know that we have to scale this concept to cope with the logarithmic growth in innovation.  Instead of building business and marketing strategies for one company at a time, we needed to find a way to do ten at a time.

Having built the framework for the idea, we immediately approach partners to test it. We were surprised and delighted that our accountants, Ernst & Young, not only liked the idea, but quickly came on board as a leading partner. Patrick Gabriëls, who leads an innovation team for EY in Eindhoven bring knowledge in taxation, IP and legal into the mix.

Our company, Dutch Expansion Capital, has proven international experience in building market entry strategies for young high-tech companies. We toyed with the idea of building our own “startup factory”. That was until we realized that global names like Techstars and Startupbootcamp have the experience of running the kind of program we had in mind. We looked around, mentored in few programmes, watched Demo Days in Amsterdam, Berlin and Dublin and then formed a partnership with Startupbootcamp. We’re the 7^th city for Startupbootcamp, following on from successful programs running in Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Copenhagen, Haifa, and London.

The program is backed by over 150 international mentors. We've been having regular meetings on the Hightech Campus

Don’t you need to be in a capital city to attract the big investors and best teams?

It is true. Location is extremely important. It’s not about buildings. It’s all about tapping into a vibrant ecosystem of investors, customers, entrepreneurs and researchers. Whilst Amsterdam is the centre of Dutch app-development, Eindhoven is the right in the heart of high-tech. And the best brains in the sector have concentrated their collaborative research skills on what is now known as the High-Tech Campus.

It’s the site of the former Philips research centre NatLab.

But whereas the inventors and engineers used to “invent for you” behind closely guarded fences, Philips pivoted completely in 2003. They were one of the first to champion the open innovation approach, sharing information and facilities with other tech companies. Large corporates innovate faster when they collaborate with young disruptive teams. Although Philips spin-offs like NXP and ASML were already on site, the sale of the whole campus to a consortium of private investors in 2012 means Philips is now a tenant, alongside more than 120 other companies working on the tomorrow’s technologies.

The Hightech Campus Eindhoven is our fourth partner, providing us with offices right in the heart of what’s happening. Our 10 winning teams will have facilities on “the Strip”, which is where all the events & activities are focused. It really is a dream location. And you don’t just have to take our word for it. Back in July, Forbes magazine named Eindhoven as the most inventive city on the planet, well out in front of the rest. And we’re actually located in the smartest square kilometer of that city, the high-tech campus, where on average, a new patent is filed every 20 minutes.

Startupbootcamp HightechXL Barcelona Pitch Day from StartupbootcampTV on Vimeo.

In a few days you will organize a pitch day for high-tech startups in Eindhoven as well as Helsinki & Barcelona. Why have you gone on the road?

We expect that 70% of the teams we attract will come from outside the Netherlands. The Hightechcampus Eindhoven brands itself as the world’s smartest square kilometer. So we have set our target to build the world’s best high-tech accelerator. To do that we need to find the brightest and best teams, irrespective of where they come from. And as the open pitch days ramp up, I know this has been the right approach. I’ve personally been impressed by teams we’ve talked to in South-Eastern Europe recently.

My colleague in DEC, Nick Kalliagkopoulos, knows the Greek High-Tech scene. We have had a good reaction to our initial call for team pitches. So we went to Athens on 12^th September to meet potential candidates. These are the kind of networks that you have to build face to face. You can’t just do this on Skype.

One last question: If a high-tech start up has just heard about the program, what do they need to do now?

Online applications closed on Sunday September 8^th. www.hightechxl.com has all the details on the program. But there a couple of more opportunities for teams providing they sign up immediately. These pages have all the details:

Helsinki September 25th

Barcelona October 2nd 

Please note that we require pitches to be in English because our program in Eindhoven is also 100% in English. 

Hardware Pitching in the Heart of Barcelona

Heading for Barcelona on October 2nd where Startupbootcamp HightechXL is organising a special pitch day for high-tech startups. If you have a hardware solution, then now is the time to sign-up. Only a few places left. All the details are here. 

 Startupbootcamp HightechXL Barcelona Pitch Day from StartupbootcampTV on Vimeo.

Also a great opportunity to find out about our very different approach to accelerating high-tech startups.

Global Challenge to High Tech Startups...Last Call to Action

Startupbootcamp HighTechXL Pitch Day EuroZone Eindhoven September 20th from StartupbootcampTV on Vimeo.

In the studio to get the word out about our pitch days in Eindhoven on September 20th. Thanks to all who helped us out so far. One final push to get the word out as we approach the home straight.

Elon Musk and the Future of Design

So is Elon Musk, the American entrepreneur, industrialist and inventor a sort of real-life version of fictitious hero Tony Stark, Marvel Comic's Iron Man? I don't think he really cares. He's got his hands full with ventures like SpaceX (space launcher) and Tesla (Electric cars) is hardly out of the headlines at the moment. The difference is that, in contrast to some others trying to develop alternatives to petrol engines, Elon has engineering at heart. Other companies are driven purely by design. That might work for an app. It doesn't seem to be working when it comes to designing an electric car - which is basically a giant battery on wheels.

Musk is worth following because he shares at least some of what he's up to. Look at his recent release on the future of design. It's like Microsoft's Kinect, but then in 3D. Why would hand gestures be useful? Because you have direct control over the navigation rather than trying to fiddle with a joystick.

SpaceX is exploring methods for engineers to accelerate their workflow by designing more directly in 3D. We are integrating breakthroughs in sensor and visualization technologies to view and modify designs more naturally and efficiently than we could using purely 2D tools. We are just beginning, but eventually hope to build the fastest route between the idea of a rocket and the reality of the factory floor. Special thanks to Leap Motion, Siemens and Oculus VR, as well as NVIDIA, Projection Design, Provision, and to everyone enabling and challenging the world to interact with technology in exciting new ways.

They Threw Away the Best Bits

The Dutch current affairs TV programme, Een Vandaag, conducted an interview between Elon Musk and (what they claim) is his Dutch counterpart Michiel Mol (who currently lives in New York). The first bit of the interview was the PR stuff to please the Dutch authorities. Of course that went out on air. But I had cause to explore the public broadcaster's website for a client, and discovered a longer un-cut version of the interview with Elon Musk. Skip the first bit that was used and explore the latter half of the interview. The interviewer gets into a discussion about the technology, especially in current capabilities of batteries. They are not there yet, but much further than I thought.

Elon says the Model S has a useful range of around 400 km at the moment. The new car can charge at 120 kW, 60 times the power consumed by the average household. So the charger and battery need to perform a dance which needs to be monitored. Charge too fast and the battery will overheat (and could catch fire I suppose). Charge too slow and the customers start looking for alternatives. Public expectation is that the battery can be charged just a little slower than filling the tank with conventional gas. Science hasn't yet caught up, but you can be sure they are working on it.

By the end of this year, there will be supercharging stations in metropolitan cities in the US. It should be possible to drive coast-to-coast in the US and remain in range of an electric charging station. As far as Tesla is concerned, the first charging stations in Europe will be installed in Norway. These guys, who made their fortune with oil, have now bought more electric vehicles than anyone.

By the end of 2014, you will be able to be able to travel across Europe and charge the car through the network. And charging is always going to be free. The charging stations are powered by solar cells. Elon also explains why he got involved in the SpaceX project and his fascinating with the planet Mars. He points out that for the first few years they got no help from the government, relying on something like the Lean Startup Method in order to get across Geoffrey Moore's Chasm that faces most hardware entrepreneurs.

Google has been setting up Hangouts between Richard Branson, Elon Musk and the public. Pity that Google doesn't do anything like the preparation required to bring tempo to such a fascinating conversation. Note how emotional Elon becomes around 39'10"into the interview when he went through a very difficult year and had to decide where to put what was left of his money. Clearly he is passionate about what he does. That's the mark of a true world entrepreneur. We shall continue to watch and learn. Hope that Elon comes to this part of the world more often.

My lips are sealed about HightechXL Pitch Days

As a journalist, it's kinda frustrating not being able to blog or tweet about the great high-tech pitches I saw today at the second open pitch day for Startupbootcamp HightechXL.

That's because it would be unfair to dozens of teams who spent 30 minutes interacting with several mentors from the lead partners EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and Dutch Expansion Capital. You need "Chatham House" rules in order for both sides to be open with each other. It's all about trust, especially when the intellectual property could eventually be worth a lot of money. But I can say that the teams from several countries gave us all the backing we needed.

One team even went as far to say that access to Europe's Silicon Valley in the South of the Netherlands was even more important that his current sales activities in Palo Alto. "People forget that the Netherlands has trade agreements with hundreds of countries, making it so much easier to expand to other markets."

Most of the teams have ambition to expand their ideas to wider markets. For those on line who still want to be considered for the October 14th finals in Eindhoven, there are only 4 days left. September 8th is the deadline because we want to be fair to others. If you know teams that haven't yet heard about Europe's leading hardware accelerator, break the news to them today!

Here's a sneak peek as to who dropped by at the office for the Startupbootcamp HighTechXL side of the selection call.  I was there too, but someone had to be behind the camera.

Know a great team that should be in Eindhoven for the finals? Then stop reading this and persuade them to head off to HighTechXL.com. They'll thank you for it, believe me.

Patrick Gabriels, Eric van den Eijnden, Bart Lugard (seated), Eric Broekhuizen, Guus Frericks take a serious look at a great pitch. Bart and his team have screened 5000 potential companies.

Victoria Martinez and Nick Kalliagkopoulos also cast a sharp eye on the conversations coming in.

Shapeways - from Eindhoven to New York City

There's a great series of video interviews running on The Verge at the moment. It is called Small Empires. Hosted by Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, the series focuses on New York based startups.

Episode 5 caught my eye this week as it features a visit to Shapeways, the 3D printing success story which started in the South-East corner of the Netherlands. Founded by an ex-Philips employee, Peter Weijmarshausen, these guys combine very clever technology with a passion for cool design. And by building a shop rather like an art gallery, it inspires others to make things. My son used the 3D service they built in Eindhoven for a project earlier this year - their turnaround time was phenomenal and the costs were very reasonable. Quality of the final product was simply perfect.

Personally, I have no doubt that 3D printing is going to be big. I already know people who use Shapeways or companies like it to make spare parts on-demand to restore antique cars. Why keep a storehouse full of spares when you may need a part every few years? The video above also features co-founder and COO of Shapeways Marleen Vogelaar. It seems the reason that Shapeways has managed to raise more than 30 million dollars in funding is due to the strength of the community they have built around the factory in Long Island City, in Queens, New York. And they have some mighty cool offices on the 9th floor of the building at 419 Park Avenue South in Manhattan!

They help those people uploading designs, giving advice as to whether it will print well in 3D. And the fact that they have printing facilities on both sides of the Atlantic has reduced both shipping costs and the time customers need to wait for their designs to arrive. Shapeways is much more than a print shop dealing with 30,000 uploads to their website per month - in my experience they also give extremely useful advice. The goal is to build a factory with 50 3D printers. There may be a time when everyone has a 3D printer at home, but, as you can see in the video, there's a bit more work needed than just filling a stack of paper as with its 2D cousin. Crafting these objects still takes a few hours in 3D. 

Pitching to an audience worth 10 billion Euro

I'm currently heavily involved in selecting high-tech startup teams for a brand new accelerator program in Eindhoven, in the deep South of the Netherlands. Open Pitch days have started in earnest.

Bart Lugard is the head of team selection at HightechXL, and in this update which we shot he explains about the work so far and what's happening in Athens on September 12th.

Follow the Money

And then of course, the teams often want to know about money. After all in hardware, the sums are substantially more than with web/tablet app development. Teams are typically looking for Euro 500.000 to 2 million on Demo Day. We put this short trailer together to explain why the mentors we're involving also have access to substantial funds. Of course, taking part in HightechXL is a lot more than just about the money. Still, how about pitching to an audience that represents 10 billion Euro? Now that's a real question

Location, Location, Location - Vital to Success

We know that the best young tech companies do research before they consider joining an accelerator program. This video gives you an insight into the unique eco-system that surrounds Startupbootcamp HightechXL, the new high-tech accelerator program that I am helping to build in Eindhoven. Take a look. And if you know teams that might benefit, encourage them to pitch to us. More details at www.hightechxl.com

Ape-like Robots in disaster areas

Are robots attacking your place of work? Luckily only in virtual reality

HightechXL is currently in final stages of the global search for start-ups working in high-tech. But that term "hightech" is quite broad, so we've narrowed it down to the areas which we believe have potential to scale globally. We're looking for teams in these sectors:

Internet of Things	Machine to Machine communication. Networks of low-cost sensors and actuators used for data collection, monitoring, decision making and process optimisation. Includes intelligent lighting systems, personal entertainment, Micro Medical Systems & relevant Nanotechnology.
Advanced Materials	New materials designed to have superior characteristics, (e.g. strengths, conductivity, weight,) or extraordinary functionality. (like graphene).
(Near) Autonomous Vehicles	Vehicles that can navigate and operate with little or no human intervention. Examples include developments in sustainable personal mobility as well as robots that lay glass-fiber inside pipes, or drone-like vehicles that operate in zones too dangerous for humans.
Energy Storage	Devices or system that store energy for later use. Includes advanced battery technologies.
3D Printing	Additive manufacturing techniques to create objects by printing layers of material based on digital models. From spare parts for obsolete cars to high-grade medical human implants. This area is creating huge interest.
Renewable Energy	Generation of electricity from renewable sources, reducing the impact on climate. From solar cells to tidal power.
Advanced Robotics	Increasingly capable robots with enhanced intelligence, dexterity & senses. Doing things that humans find repetitive, difficult or dangerous.
Lifetech – Medtech	21st century healthcare, including the “quantified self”. Technologies to improve personal well being.

The more I dig into this area, the more I become fascinated by what's happening in robotics. In the mainstream media, robots seem to be portrayed as trying to mimic humans. In the film fantasy industry, out of control robot armies paint a threatening, darker picture.  Have you seen the new site Chaos in Your Town, which turned out to be a rather novel, viral campaign for a US insurance agency? Fill in your name and address and watch the action unfold. I wonder if the insurance company follows up with a proposal to protect the real property? But then from what?

More down to earth are the real autonomous robots being developed for use in natural disasters and, I guess, in the military theatres.The US Department of Defense is organising a robot challenge (the DARPA) in four months time. The IEEE magazine Spectrum spotted some of the early public entries. Like the RoboSimian from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is more ape-like in its movements rather than trying to imitate a human.

Brabant - where it's happening in R & D

Rather pleased at the response as the video campaign to assist recruitment to the Startupbootcamp HightechXL program now takes shape. Thanks for those who tweeted and reposted. Great buzz in the city of Eindhoven these days. Hope they win their bid to be the Netherlands Cultural capital in 2018. The region certainly deserves more recognition - it's putting more than 3.3 billion Euro into R & D. The rest of the country pales by comparison.

HightechXL Ramps up to the next Phase

Summer holidays are over. 

The labs, cafes and testing facilities are buzzing again on the Hightech Campus Eindhoven. Our global search for brilliant teams now enters a new phase. We've launched the first in a new series of insider videos, giving you a taste of what's to come.

Startupbootcamp HightechXL is ramping up to be the world's leading accelerator for young high-tech companies. 10 teams will soon be selected for the program starting here in the heart of what's happening on November 11th. If your team fits one of the high-tech profiles we're looking for, - and if you're ready to advance your global business strategy, we really should be talking.

Bart Lugard - driving our global search for teams

Don't Miss the Open Pitch Days - Aug 29 & Sept 3rd

Bart Lugard is heading our global search for teams. He reports a very high interest in our different approach to startup acceleration. 

"Competition to get into the program in November is intense. On-line discussions are already taking place this month with teams who have already applied. But there is still a window of opportunity in the open pitch days we're arrange for August 29th and September 3rd 2013. We know that high potentials always surprise us. We love to be challenged by brilliance. And we believe we have useful guidance to give back. All the details are at Hightechxl.com. Spread the word!

8 Profiles on our radar

"Of course, in high-tech, we’re looking for strong teams that have more than just an idea. The winning teams will start the program on November 11^th with a proof of concept or technology proof of principle. Ideally, they should have a demonstrator or a working prototype. In general, paper plans are not usually enough."

"In the various conversations we have had with early startup companies, it's clear that there are big differences between the world of app development and those that involve hardware in their solution. As you're out there searching for the "sustainable business model", as Steve Blank would say, it's much easier to tweak a line of code rather than rebuild a piece of hardware. Which is why the HightechXL program has been fine tuned to the very specific needs of high-tech companies."

"We have had questions from companies who are specialising in software only. But in each case this software is somehow connected to a piece of dedicated hardware. Like a vehicle, or a specialised sensor, or a robot."

Together we'll build a world class business strategy

Bart shares some of the feedback that's been coming in during the first part of August. "We should stress that during the three months (Nov-Feb) we will not focus on developing your technology any further. Instead, we will use the time to fine tune the business model, validate the customer base, engage with lead customers, sign up pilot projects as well as prepare a world-class investor pitch for Demo Day in February. Others have described our program as building a real-world business strategy.

So why are we encouraging teams to apply early? 

It makes a lot of sense to sign up today because late comers often lose out! Not only do early applicants stand out from the rest, we want to reduce the last minute rush that other accelerators report. Our advice to teams is to apply early, even if they have not yet finalised everything (like getting a video pitch ready). 

Fill in what you can and consider applying for one of the on-line pitching sessions. That's a great chance to ask open questions to the program organisers and some of the lead mentors. They may come back with advice and suggestions that can improve the team's chances of getting selected. They still have time to tweak the application. 

Our team in Eindhoven is constantly watching the incoming applications and is already approaching teams for an initial conversation. Good luck - it is going to be a brilliant experience for everyone. 

Great innovation passes by our office at Hightechcampus

The Startupbootcamp HightechXL selection team is moving into the final lap for the selection of great high-tech startups. Even though we're in the middle of summer holidays, the hightech campus in Eindhoven is always buzzing with events. The Solar Team Eindhoven, who were featured in the launch of HightechXL in June, have now been driving around town - including right past our office on the Hightech Campus.



Great to see how this young team of student entrepreneurs has such a clear strategy - and a great drive to make it happen across Australia. They have everything going for them. It's refreshing to see how large companies here in this part of the Netherlands are quick to back people who take initiative and celebrate their success. May be because the history of NXP is also full of entrepreneurship as it was spun off from Philips. They have been there before and know how crucial this stage is the launch of a great company. 

Summer Pitch Days Are Coming to HightechXL

Global Pitch Days on August 29th & September 3rd – read on for details

The recent hot weather is no distraction for the great conversations we've been having with teams applying for the Startupbootcamp HightechXL accelerator program.

We're talking with teams all over the world and encouraging potential applicants to sign-up early. Now we’re announcing a chance for teams to pitch to a panel of HightechXL mentors – the perfect way to test whether you’re ready to accelerate your company – and your team.

Bart Answers the FAQ's

In preparation for our latest program ”Startupbootcamp HightechXL” we’re starting a series of Online Pitch Days targeted at high-tech companies in the early stage of their development. Our mentors are hand-picked from our extensive network of both local and international mentors. They have one thing in common – they’re the very best in their field. All mentors are active entrepreneurs with a wide range of skills and experience. They know what it's like to start a new high-tech company.

Bart Lugard (above) is in charge of our global search for teams.

"Of course, in high-tech, we’re looking for strong teams that have more than just an idea. The winning teams will start the program on November 11^th in Eindhoven with a proof of concept or technology proof of principle. Ideally, they should have a demonstrator or a working prototype…something we can see. Paper plans are rarely enough.

We have only software. Can we still apply?

"We have had enquiries from companies who are focussing their efforts on software only. Yes, our high-tech acceleration program may also be relevant to your company. Probably the software somehow enhances the performance of a piece of dedicated hardware or the supply chain. It may also make the object easier to use; like in a vehicle, a specialised sensor, or a robot."

What happens in the first three months of the program?

It is important to understand that during the three months we will not focus on developing your technology any further. Instead, we will use the time to fine tune the business model, validate the customer base, engage with lead customers, sign up pilot projects as well as prepare a world-class investor pitch for Demo Day in February 2014. Others have described our program as building a real-world business strategy.

So when can we pitch to you guys?

We’re announcing the first full day pitching sessions on August 29^th and September 3^rd which are open to any teams that meets our selection criteria. Interested in pitching? Here’s the link to the online application form. Remember, we’re focussed on 8 areas of high-tech technology that closely match the interests of researchers and investors in Western Europe. These are the areas.

Internet of Things	Machine to Machine communication. Networks of low-cost sensors and actuators used for data collection, monitoring, decision making and process optimisation. Includes intelligent lighting systems, personal entertainment, Micro Medical Systems & relevant Nanotechnology.
Advanced Materials	New materials designed to have superior characteristics, (e.g. strengths, conductivity, weight,) or extraordinary functionality. (like graphene).
(Near) Autonomous Vehicles	Vehicles that can navigate and operate with little or no human intervention. Examples include developments in sustainable personal mobility as well as robots that lay glass-fiber inside pipes, or drone-like vehicles that operate in zones too dangerous for humans.
Energy Storage	Devices or system that store energy for later use. Includes advanced battery technologies.
3D Printing	Additive manufacturing techniques to create objects by printing layers of material based on digital models. From spare parts for obsolete cars to high-grade medical human implants. This area is creating huge interest.
Renewable Energy	Generation of electricity from renewable sources, reducing the impact on climate. From solar cells to tidal power.
Advanced Robotics	Increasingly capable robots with enhanced intelligence, dexterity & senses. Doing things that humans find repetitive, difficult or dangerous.
Lifetech – Medtech	21st century healthcare, including the “quantified self”. Technologies to improve personal wellbeing.

How Pitch Day works

Startups with global ambitions are invited to give a 5 minute pitch before a panel of world class mentors picked from leading high-tech companies in the Eindhoven region. Our mentors are there to listen, analyse and then give constructive, confidential feedback. That usually lasts up to 20 minutes.

This isn’t ”Dragon’s Den” or ”The Apprentice”, where to goal is to entertain people watching at home. This is different.

Win- Win for Everyone

·        You want honest, constructive advice on whether you’re ready to be accelerated. What has great potential? What needs to be fixed? What needs to happen next?

·        We want to meet world-class start-ups and meet the raw talent we know is out there. We'd like to explain why our city of Eindhoven is clearly the best place for your team to accelerate. Confront us with your questions!

Signup here for pitch days.

Good luck from all of us
Jonathan Marks on behalf of 
The Startupbootcamp HighTechXL Team

www.HighTechXL.com