Startup Pass-port

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 32 – Meron Mekonnen, Investment Associate at LUMO Labs. Meron Mekonnen discusses what investors look for in a short startup pitch, highlighting the importance of starting with a personal story or connection, clearly presenting the problem and solution, and showing the "magic" that gives a venture its competitive advantage. She al...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 31 – Sharon Mullen, Senior Account Manager at Rotterdam Square. Sharon Mullen discusses Rotterdam Square's role in positioning Rotterdam as a location for health and tech and in connecting the healthcare ecosystem with businesses and entrepreneurs. She explains how the organisation works with scientists, researchers, and clinicia...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 30 - Tamara Elmore, Patent Attorney at V.O. Patents & Trademarks. Tamara Elmore discusses the role of patents and intellectual property for entrepreneurs, and why the important question is not always when to file, but when to speak to a patent attorney. She explains that entrepreneurs can start with a conversation without immedia...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 29 – Iselde van Beurden, Talent Lead at Achmea Impact Ventures. Iselde shares how Achmea moved from an internal ideas factory to a fully fledged startup studio. Instead of focusing only on innovations connected to Achmea's core products, the studio builds independent startups where Achmea can add value and where there is societal...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 28 – William Vuijik, Venture Lead at BlueCity.   William Vuijik, Venture Lead at BlueCity, discusses how BlueCity is a hub for circular innovations in Rotterdam, with around 60 impact entrepreneurs working on technologies including solar technology, solar panels and new building materials with mycelium. He explains his role in ma...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 27 – Robin Hempel, Start and Scale Up Banker at Rabobank. Robin Hempel discusses how startups can combine different forms of funding, including equity and bank financing. He explains that while startups may initially turn to equity, bank financing can become an option once there is a proven market or customers in place. He also i...

Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 26 – Bernadeta Karpavičiūtė, Scale Up Lead at Up! Rotterdam. Bernadeta Karpavičiūtė, Scale Up Lead, at Up! Rotterdam, discusses Upstream's separation from Up! Rotterdam and why the festival needed "the freedom that independence brings" to serve its target audience of founders and continue evolving. She explains how being part of t...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 25 – Remco Molendijk, Account Executive at Qonto. Remco Molendijk, Account Executive at Qonto, explains why starting entrepreneurs are where the French fintech makes "most impact." Invoices, a bank account, debit and credit cards all land on a founder in the first months of a company, and Qonto puts them in one place so there's "...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 24 – Bart Lubbers, Co-founder of Fastned. Bart Lubbers, Co-founder of Fastned, describes building a European network of fast-charging stations in years when, as he puts it, there were hardly any customers. He explains how Fastned handled the "chicken and egg problem" - "no chargers, no cars, no cars, no chargers" - by winning lon...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 23 – Paul Musters, Founder of Emaho. Paul Musters, Founder of Emaho, discusses how the company helps people and teams work better with AI by combining personality profiles, AI usage and personalised AI agents. He explains why becoming more effective with AI is not only about individual productivity, but also about understanding y...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 22 – Arezoo Shajiei , Founder of MicroHealth . Arezoo Shajiei, Founder of MicroHealth, discusses how the company is developing an AI-powered preventive health platform that combines microbiome functionality with lifestyle information to provide personalised guidance on diet, sleep, stress, exercise and supplementation. She explai...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 21 – Vilmar Bliekendaal, Co-founder of My Jewelry. Vilmar Bliekendaal, Co-founder of My Jewelry, discusses how the company entered the traditional jewelry industry through direct-to-consumer e-commerce and benefited from the rapid growth of the online market. He reflects on how the business adapted as e-commerce became more compe...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 20 – Jouke Goslinga , Program Manager at the Port of Rotterdam. Jouke Goslinga, Program Manager at the Port of Rotterdam, discusses how the Rotterdam Makers District, formed by RDM and M4H, is creating an environment where young talent and startups can develop solutions for a more sustainable port. He explains how the district pr...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 19 – Jaap de Bruin, Founders Associate at Mila Health.   Jaap de Bruin, Founder Associate at Mila Health, discusses how digital healthcare can work alongside the existing GP system, offering a complete service from medical intake and doctor consultation to prescription and delivery, supported by 24/7 customer care. He explains ho...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 18 – Ieva Palubeckaite, Founder and CEO of Akin Solutions. Ieva Palubeckaite, Founder and CEO of Akin Solutions, discusses how the company is tackling rubber waste, with around 87% of rubber waste currently wasted and tires making up around 70% of that waste. She explains how Akin is developing enzymatic technology to break shred...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 17 – Adriaan Jacob Brouwer, EY. Adriaan Brouwer, who leads EY Innovation in the Netherlands, discusses his role in connecting startups and scale-ups with the expertise and capabilities of a large services firm like EY. Drawing from his own experience as a founder, he explains how EY can support growing companies with its scale, e...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 16 – Pim Jansen, Chief Operating Officer of Plastilose.   Pim Jansen, Chief Operating Officer of Plastilose, discusses how the company is developing an alternative to the single-use plastic cups used in hospitals and nursing institutions. Made from bacterial cellulose, the cups are designed to replace the plastic versions current...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 15 – Liesje Goldschmidt, Erasmus Enterprise. Liesje returns for her third appearance to talk about what she sees working across the startups and scale-ups Erasmus Enterprise supports. Over five years the team has guided 1,245 teams. Roughly 500 of those startups are still operating, and 30% have stayed in the region. She's direct...

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 14 – Efil Bengisu Saygı, CEO and Co-founder of Gelectric. Efil says she was born around vessels - her father has run a traditional maritime maintenance company in Turkey for over 40 years, and she trained as an electrical engineer to work alongside it. She founded Gelectric in 2022 to fix a problem she had watched vessel owners l...

Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 13 – Sjoerd van Berkel, Co-founder and Operator of Dutch Operator Fund. From building his own companies to becoming an angel investor, Sjoerd shares the experiences that shaped his approach to entrepreneurship and investing. In this episode, he explains why the team is always his number one investment criterion, why founders need...

Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 12 – Guido Brugman, Founder of Hydrogenium.   Driven by the growing challenge of PFAS contamination in his hometown of Dordrecht, Guido founded Hydrogenium to develop a sustainable solution for removing harmful pollutants from waterways. In this episode, he shares how the company transforms residual wood streams into a bio-based f...

Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 11 – Alexander Broekman, CEO of Superconnectors. As the CEO of Superconnectors, Alexander shares how meaningful connections can create opportunities that go far beyond financial investment. In this episode, he explains how Superconnectors helps founders identify their most critical challenge and connects them with people who have...

Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 10 – Sebas Pronk, CEO and Co-founder of Lumox. A biomedical scientist turned entrepreneur, Sebas is on a mission to transform cancer treatment through precision medicine. In this episode, he shares how Lumox is developing a light-activated therapy designed to target tumors more precisely, reducing damage to healthy cells while imp...

Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 09 – Robin Hoogstraten, Co-founder of Upstream Festival. As the co-founder of Upstream Festival and an ecosystem builder, Robin shares how thriving startup ecosystems are created through collaboration, founder-first thinking, and meaningful connections. In this episode, he reflects on Upstream's journey to becoming an independent...

Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 08 – Maarten Tobias, Co-founder and CEO of Luxene. A serial entrepreneur with three startups and multiple successful exits, Maarten is now focused on transforming road safety through innovative road-marking technology. In this episode, he shares how Luxene identified a critical visibility challenge on roads during adverse weather...