Start your software company with us
- Follow a guided process
- Meet your co-founder
- Discover your business idea
- Start your own software business
- Receive funding
We focus on B2B SaaS startups.
Register for one of our webinars to learn how you can be part of Holland Startup.
Find startup entrepreneurs:
A skilled co-founder
A strong business idea
Access to capital
and much more at the Holland Startup Studio
Holland Startup Studio
We are a studio that builds Startups
We are always looking for special, talented and driven people who want to realize their future as an entrepreneur.
Do you belong to that? Then we help you with the match for a co-founder, an idea, funding and guidance and support. Not only in the initial phase but until your company becomes a scale-up.
You get access to capital, network and the community so you can build a cutting-edge startup.
Our startups grow faster and achieve more success than “regular” startups
This is because we strategically use the following things to set up and grow your startup as quickly as possible:
- Community
- Venture Developers and Coaches
- Data-driven construction processes
- Funding capital
- and a professionally relevant network
Our venture developers, coaches, and the overall startup ecosystem ensures maximum support for you and your startup from day one, until the company grows to the point of seed capital seeking and even through to Series A and beyond.
We focus on B2B Tech SaaS startups. But don't worry, you don't need to have a tech background to become part of Holland Startup. We accept people from diverse backgrounds because we believe that diversity is where innovation comes from. All our startups are built with a proven step-by-step process and have a significantly lower failure rate than startups that start on their own.
Sign up for our webinar: Meet Holland Startup
Every month we host a live webinar explaining the details of the program. It is the perfect opportunity to learn more about Holland Startup, get to know founders who are already part of our team and discover our portfolio of successful companies and their milestones. Prepare for an interactive event in which we will even start speed networkingOur proven step-by-step process with which we build startups:
Team & idea
structured program- Meet co-founders to find your perfect match
- Team match support
- Structured method to generate business ideas
- Investor feedback on team and idea
- Shared office space
- Team coaching
Discovery
Funded startup- Funding for up to 7 months of the runway
- Venture Building support to design your perfect company
- Business Model centered approach
- Sales training & coaching
- Team coaching
- Shared office space
- Finance & Sales admin support
- MVP development guidance
Pilot
First revenue- Funding for up to the next 10 months of the runway
- Strong focus on business model validation
- Sales training & coaching
- Team coaching
- Shared office space
- pitch training
- Finance & Sales admin support
SaaS
recurring revenue- Funding for up to the next 10 months of the runway
- SaaS sales support & management
- pitch training
- Fundraising support
- Finance & Sales admin support
- Team & personal coaching
- Shared office space
- Access to our fundraising network
Curious what the next step is?
1. Information Webinar Meet Holland Startup
Before you actually start at Holland Startup, you naturally want to learn everything about our program. An information evening is the perfect opportunity for this. Are you at the next one?
2. Register for our webinar on "deal structure"
In this webinar we tell you everything about the Dutch investor and venture builder landscape. We also explain everything regarding our startup studio program, the investment conditions and other general terms and conditions
3. Interview & test
After you have officially registered for our program, you will be invited for an interview and some tests. In the interview we will talk about your experience, your drive and your motivation for starting a startup. We also immediately discuss any issues you want to address regarding your startup idea and team structure, and there is room for any other questions you may have.
You will then be informed within 10 working days whether you have been admitted to the “Selection Days”
4. Selection Days
The last step in our selection process is a two-day assignment, in which you get acquainted with the theme of entrepreneurship, carry out assignments and work closely with the other candidates. This select program gives you the ideal opportunity to get to know the Holland Startup program even better, to get a feel for how things work at our place, and to meet a potential co-founder.
You will then be informed within 5 working days whether you have been admitted to the Holland Startup program.
5. Become part of Holland Startup!
As soon as you are officially admitted to Holland Startup we sign all the necessary paperwork and start building your startup full-time as entrepreneur in residence at Holland Startup.
What our entrepreneurs say
Where is the Holland Startup Studio?
This video gives you a nice glimpse of the atmosphere at our office in Utrecht, only 25 minutes from Amsterdam.
Start your software company with us!
Struggling to start your software business?
For aspiring entrepreneurs who want to build and scale a software Startup who:
- are willing to commit full time
- have an affinity with SaaS solutions in technology or sales
- are a resident of the Netherlands
Our Startup Studio helps aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a software company
Our Studio provides:
- A structured approach to startup building, to keep you on track.
- A community where you can meet your co-founders and that will support you.
- All the experienced venture developers and experts you need.
Start your software company with Holland Startup
Your benefits:
- Work on the business instead of on the "hassle"
- Have access to over 1M in funding.
- A community where you can meet co-founders and that will support you.
- All the experienced venture developers and experts you need.
Who is in the Holland Startup team?
Robbert Jan Hanse
Father-of-two | Serial Entrepreneur | deal maker
As a serial entrepreneur, Robbert Jan enjoys developing disruptive data companies for old, rigid industries. Robbert Jan has in-depth personal experience in online marketing,
Rene Roskamp
René is a COO with a strong technical background. With more than 20 years of experience as a Software Developer, but also as an IT manager and CTO of startups. He started his first venture in 1987.
Jeroen van der Lugt
With my more than 30 years of sales and coaching experience (as an ICR registered coach), I help our startups with all the steps that determine their commercial success. From concluding their first pilot contracts to setting up a professional sales organization.
Marc Boers
As your Early Stage Coach, I help you create an environment that stimulates your creativity. As an experienced entrepreneur, I help you structure and coordinate ideas,
Iselde van Beurden
Iselde has nearly a decade of experience recruiting for start- and scaleups, particularly within SaaS and Medtech.
She has worked with several venture studios.
Irma Borst
RSM Erasmus PhD
DD for investment banks (UBS & MeesPierson)
Founder of 'Matching Wings' an angel academy & syndicate
EC reviewer
Steve Klop
Experienced chairman of the supervisory board with a proven track record in financial services. Skilled in Innovation Management, Accounting, Strategy Creation, Strategy, and Change Management. Strong entrepreneurship professional graduated from NivRA.
Jesse van Os
After having owned a marketing and web design agency for 5 years, Jesse sold his company and now works with entrepreneurs to solve marketing issues.
FAQs
Questions about the application procedure
You must meet the following criteria to join Holland Startup
- At least a Bachelor's degree (HBO/WO) in a relevant field;
- Fluent in English, written and spoken
- 2-8 years of relevant work experience;
- You live in the Netherlands, preferably within reachable distance from Utrecht, or you are in a position to relocate at short notice;
- You are legally allowed to work in the Netherlands for at least 6-12 months from your start date.
The best start is to meet us at our Meet-Holland-Startup webinar. This is completely free and without obligations.
If you want to know more about the deal structure, or about the program, come to "What the deal"
If you have more questions, please send us an email, or use the contact form.
Financial questions
We use fixed term sheets for all our startups. Our share ranges from 25% to 45% depending on the number of rounds we fund.
You, as co-founder, are the driver of the startup and in principle have full control. However, there is a list of reserved matters, for which you need approval. This is necessary to protect our investments. We discuss all this in our webinars
Questions about the Startup Studio
Our investments are limited to software companies, in particular with a SAAS business model.
We prefer B2B, but we also support B2C initiatives.
Essentially, you have to meet the milestones set in the "stage gates". If this fails, you can submit a new business idea and registration to Holland Startup, but the success of this will depend on the situation.
Our network and all legal templates are based in the Netherlands. We use the Netherlands as a test market. Starting activities in another country is therefore unlikely.
Our investment thesis is not limited to one sector, but we do limit ourselves to software.
Our portfolio mainly consists of FinTech, EduTech and HRTech startups, but we also see "smarter business" as an interesting sector.
The group of founders at the start of the program will range from 10 to 20 "Entrepreneurs in Residence".
We invest in aspiring entrepreneurs, not startups.
For traditional financing, you would first have to have a product and a market, for which you need the financing.
We break this vicious circle by investing in the person behind the startup.
Yes that is possible. We will be opening registrations for very early stage startups and teams soon.
Contact us to find out more!
The startup owns the IP from the Discovery stage.
Visa questions
Yes, you must be legally allowed to work in the Netherlands for at least 9-12 months from your start date.
Depending on progress, we can assist with a Startup Visa, after the first 4-6 months of the program.
No, you are required to participate in the program full-time from the start.
No, you can build the startup anywhere in the Netherlands, but some aspects of our program are face-to-face and require your physical presence in Utrecht.
You are always free to use our shared office space during the program.
Not ready for action yet, but want to learn more?
Download our Startup White Paper
Are you working on a startup? Or thinking of starting a business? In our whitepaper you will learn the succes factors of a startup and get answers to all kinds of questions on how investors look at startups.
Download it right now and start working on your software business idea today.
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Sign up for our newsletter and we will send you all interesting new information about Holland Startup once a month such as webinars, events we organize, pitch days other relevant information for entrepreneurs who are interested in Holland Startup.
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