Unknown Stories

In this episode, Jurgen is joined by Giels Brouwer - Founder of leading sport performance analytics scaleups, SciSports and BallJames . These scaleups pioneered a data-driven approach to scouting football players, which was adopted by the world’s leading football clubs such as Olympique Lyon, Leeds United and Ajax. In recent years, SciSports have built a fully-automated solution that quantifies th...

New Unknown Group Chairman, Edward de Jager and CEO, Hendrik Halbe speak candidly about the motivations behind the merger between VenturesOne and Unknown Group, delving into what a Venture Engine is and how they envision it working to fuel founders of innovative solutions from all parts of the world. Both Hendrik and Edward have built numerous ventures from scratch over the course of their entrepr...

Giving raw materials a digital identity which enables them to become traceable is a game-changing solution for the recycling industry. One that led Circularise to the Get in the Ring The Netherlands - Impact Final. Mesbah Sabur, the founder of Circularise, built a decentralized platform that brings transparency to supply chains without comprimising confidentiality. Their innovative Smart Questioni...

(Zoom Session) The demand for protein is expected to double over the coming decades, as a result of the growing population and also a change in eating habits. Currently, the meat industry is responsible for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions around the world, but what about the moment when the demand will double? Dror Tamir, Co-founder of Hargol FoodTech, pursues an incredible difficult task - educat...

Brad Vanstone is the Founder of Willicroft, a sustainable plant-based cheese solution that aims to tackle global warming by providing a tasty alternative to dairy cheese. In two years, the finalist of Get in the Ring the Netherlands - Impact managed to put a whole range in the major supermarkets. But is it scalable? Brad joins Jurgen at the studio to touch upon Willicroft's to-market strategy and...

A water purification system driven by solar energy? One that can be rapidly deployed in times of crises, can bring relief to distressed communities and is wholly manufactured in Europe in-line with ESG frameworks? It's no surprise that Alexander van der Kleij's SolarDew were amongst the favorites of the Get in the Ring The Netherlands - Impact. Our host, Jurgen is joined by SolarDew Founder to tou...

"Innovation is not only about taking risks, but is about exploring in a structured manner before you decide to build something." Suzanne Charlotte Vos is the Innovation Coach & Consultant at ING Labs APAC in Singapore, and her main role is to scale disruptive solutions. She joins Jochem at the studio to discuss entry strategies for startups in Asia, further going into how innovative entreprene...

(Zoom Session) Starting an A.I.-powered solution that reduces the need for lawyers in the legal industry, an industry that is infamous for their slow adoption of new technologies -- it seems crazy until someone actually does it. And that's precisely what Shashank Bijapur, Co-Founder of Indian legal-tech innovator Spotdraft did!  In this Zoom session with the student entrepreneurs of the Globa...

[Zoom Session] From being the Global Winner of Get in the Ring 2013 with his company EyeVerify (now ZOLOZ), to being acquired by Ant Group for $100 million three years later, saying Toby Rush has some valuable insights to share is an understatement. He sat down for an AMA session ealier this year with students of the Global School for Entrepreneurship to detail his journey. At Get in the Ring, we'...

In this new parallel series, every month our Host, Willem Knaap (Director of Corporate Venturing at Unknown Group) aims to understand how corporate industry leaders act upon opportunities, innovation and disruption. In the inaugral episode, he is joined by Sake Algra, the Managing Director of T-Systems. "Is innovation a threat or an opportunity" is where we begin, before the episode navigates to t...

Paul Nizet is the CTO of SneakMart , the first peer-to-peer marketplace dedicated to streetwear. He joins Jurgen and Noortje at the studio to explain the cultural phenomenon of streetwear and high fashion collaborations. Paul is a student entrepreneur at the Global School for Entrepreneurship and he explains how his education allows him to fully-focus on growing SneakMart.   About Unknown Sto...

Finalists of Get in the Ring Netherlands in 2016, Edorado Marine make fast-moving premium electric powerboats, matching sustainable charging docks as well as tailor made marina development and management services. This way they aim to offer what nobody else can - a complete zero emission water sport experience; from the powerboat to the dock.   Their Founders, Godert van Hartenbroek and Giel...

[Zoom Session] In 2014, Gibran Huzaifah won the Get in the Ring Global Startup Competition with his innovative smart fish feeding system, eFishery. Winning Get in the Ring catapaulted eFishery to stardom. Over the years, eFishery has blossomed into a leader in the global fish farming industry, capturing the market with their range of products and services. Earlier this year, Gibran was happy to sp...

Will crickets and grasshoppers become a key source of protein in a conscious and circular European's diet by 2030?  De Krekerij (dekrekerij.nl) certainly think so! To spark this revolution, they have been innovating with their cricket-based burgers, meatballs and sausage rolls - all loaded with protein, all delicious and all without insect legs.  In a special Impact Fest 2020 edition of Unknown St...

The world is going solar and SolarMonkey has the ambition of guaranteeing the energy yield of solar panels by using their software to disrupt solar panel installation. Check out the highlights of the latest episode of Unknown Stories, where our host, Jurgen Nieuwenhuijsen is joined by Jan Pieter Versluijs, CEO of SolarMonkey. Intrigued by solar energy business models, shirtless car repairs and dis...