Finalists of Alkmaar will present their startups in an episode via NH Media every Tuesday of September

Plresent Your Startup is proud to announce the five finalists of PYS Alkmaar 2020 will show and pitch their bright ideas via NH Media every Tuesday of September. The episodes will be available at our website. Read more in the following article. 

After a successful halve-finale livestream, the best way to keep supporting the startups ecosystem and our entrepreneurs is to help them be seen and heard. Therefore, every Tuesday of September at 5 p.m., the finalists of our program Present Your Startup Alkmaar 2020 will present their ideas via NH Media explaining how their startups contribute to the society and their progress.

As audience, you will be able to vote for your favorite after every episode is transmitted. And at the finals of our program on October 6th, the startup who gets the most votes, will be awarded with the Public Choice Awards. In addition, we will present a jury panel from our network, who will listen to all the pitches and make questions to the contestants, after an individual and group evaluation, the jury will choose who becomes the winner of Present Your Startup Alkmaar 2020. 

Hereby, the schedule of the episodes:

September 1st: DeMonth

Gideon Boadu & Max de Groot.

DeMonth: “Your Period is Our Problem!”, stands for sustainable, convenience and luxury for the hard-working women of the Netherlands. This company of four men believe in a transparent production and products that contribute to a better world. This startup is already a finalist, selected as the people’s favorite and they are looking for an investment of €150.000 to develop their product further, create Native iOS & Android apps and build marketing campaigns.

September 8th: Airchip

Daniel van Drunen and Jan ten Kate.

Airchip solves waiting lines by rethinking the way people order and pay at events or venues. This startup has seven members and they believe that people shouldn’t waste time waiting. That’s how they created this app to top up your balance, order your products on the screen and pre-order for easy pick-up or even get it delivered, right on the dancefloor. They are looking for a funding of €500.000 to hire a customer success team and expand their engineering staff.

September 15th: Pepperfield

Maarten Strootman.

Pepperfield is a young, fast, reliable, securely growing web hosting provider that takes a different approach to turbulent growth. This startup takes over small web hosting providers who often struggle to survive, which have sky-high costs or do not have the required technical knowledge. Pepperfield has grown to a turnover of € 100,000 and 900 customers in 1 year and has three people on the team. They ask € 425K to finance 12 acquisitions.

September 22nd:

Circuvorm

Sander van Doorn.

Strict purchasing requirements and regulations mean, there are fewer circular interior products available for Government, Healthcare, Education and companies at home and abroad. Circuvorm intends to solve this by developing and distributing interior products. They have three circular project chairs and they are currently seeking funding for the Pluz-chair and the Rex-product series (chair & table).

September 29th: Aleeza

Selima Ajaoun.

It’s the first Dutch online customized skin care brand based on 100% sustainable and unique ingredients which come from plantations in Marrakech and support women's cooperations. This startup believes that everyone deserves a personal and transparent skin care product. The team has five members who are asking for a funding of €250,000. This investment would help them in their branding and marketing advertising, production of 15 products and team growth.

Present Your Startup (PYS) 

PYS is a program and competition event happening each year, enabling entrepreneurs to make a better future. Customized training, specific investor matchmaking and an innovative community are examples of the features the program offers.  

For this year’s edition in The Netherlands, we had 35 innovate startups in our Introduction Day in Alkmaar. Only 10 startups were admitted at the Academy, which took place in the Hotel Golden Tulip from the 2nd until the 6th of March. Our experts provided constant feedback, the entrepreneurs went throw evaluations and were able to practice their pitch. At the end of the week, they presented their business to a jury panel.   

Due to the corona situation, we decided to make the halve-finale livestream via NHNext. The entrepreneurs were able to pitch their ideas, they received live questions from the audience and also from a panel of jury members. At the end of the program, the jury chose the five finalists. If you could not watch this program, we have it available at our website, click here.

Afterwards, we organized an exclusive dinner between investors, experts from our network and the finalists of our program. They got to pitch and be listened, received feedback and proposals.

Now, it is time to show the best at the episodes and afterwards, at the finals of October 6th. We invite you all to be part of this great project listening to bright ideas every Tuesday of September.

Remember, you can support your favorite startup at the end of every episode. Follow us in our social media channels to get more updates!

THESE ARE THE 5 FINALISTS OF PRESENT YOUR STARTUP ALKMAAR 2020

Nederlandse versie staat hieronder.

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Present Your Startup is thrilled to announce the finalists of Present Your Startup Alkmaar 2020. The entrepreneurs presented their companies via livestream through NHNEXT. The 5 finalists will compete and present their business plans to innovate our society in the last stage of our program.

Our program
Since 2014, Present Your Startup helps startups through their accelerator programs and pitch competitions. So far, over 760 startups applied for the PYS program. After six editions in the Netherlands, four in New York, three on Curacao and one in Bonaire, it was the turn of Alkmaar. Present Your Startup is proud to organize the Alkmaar edition together with Gemeente Alkmaar, Rabobank, Actan adviseurs & accountants, Sophista, Twine, IT = Alkmaar, Creative, Triple, Betty Blocks, Tape and Cyso Group.

The PYS Alkmaar bootcamp was on February at the Golden Tulip Hotel. This bootcamp was an intensive training week which included masterclasses in different areas like business model, canvas, financials, between others. Our experts provided constant feedback, the entrepreneurs went through evaluations and practiced their pitch. At the end of the week, the PYS team and the jury panel selected a shortlisted number of startups to go to the next round, the Semi-finals.

Due to corona, we decided to launch a poll to determine which startup was the people’s favorite, winning a spot for the Finals. DeMonth was the leader of the poll and became a finalist. There were still four spots left.

The Semi-final took place at the NHNEXT set, which allowed people from The Netherlands and worldwide to watch it livestream. The host of the event was Mike Rijkers, Project Manager of PYS. The 8 semi-finalists could pitch their business in front of the jury panel conformed by Valerie Vallenduuk, Iris Goedhart, Gideon Nijemanting, André Scheirlinck, Wouter Beijer, Paul Bankert, Peter Vonk en Peter de Rover. We had the words of the Alkmaar deputy P.F. Dijkman. After a challenging evaluation, the jury chose the finalists.

To know more about the five finalists who will pitch at the finals, read the list below: 

Aleeza

It’s the first Dutch online customized skin care brand based on 100% sustainable and unique ingredients which come from plantations in Marrakech and support women's cooperations. This startup believes that everyone deserves a personal and transparent skin care product. The team has five members who are asking for a funding of €250,000. This investment would help them in their branding and marketing advertising, production of 15 products and team growth. 

Pepperfield  

Pepperfield is a young, fast, reliable, securely growing web hosting provider that takes a different approach to turbulent growth. This startup takes over small web hosting providers who often struggle to survive, which have sky-high costs or do not have the required technical knowledge. Pepperfield has grown to a turnover of € 100,000 and 900 customers in 1 year and has three people on the team. They ask € 425K to finance 12 acquisitions. 

Airchip  

Airchip solves waiting lines by rethinking the way people order and pay at events or venues. This startup has seven members and they believe that people shouldn’t waste time waiting. That’s how they created this app to top up your balance, order your products on the screen and pre-order for easy pick-up or even get it delivered, right on the dancefloor. They are looking for a funding of €500.000 to hire a customer success team and expand their engineering staff. 

Vandoorn Projects 

Strict purchasing requirements and regulations mean, there are fewer circular interior products available for Government, Healthcare, Education and companies at home and abroad. Vandoorn Projects intends to solve this by developing and distributing interior products. They have three circular project chairs. The team are seeking funding for a startup for the Pluz-chair and the Rex-product series (chair & table). 

DeMonth  

DeMonth: “Your Period is Our Problem!”, stands for sustainable, convenience and luxury for the hard-working women of the Netherlands. This company of four men believe in a transparent production and products that contribute to a better world. This startup is already a finalist, selected as the people’s favorite and they are looking for an investment of €150.000 to develop their product further, create Native iOS & Android apps and build marketing campaigns. 

Mike Rijkers, PYS Project Leader said: “At the beginning, I was a bit dissapointed because the event got canceled. But we kept everybody safe by respecting the measures and we found a way to turn it around, so at the end, it was positive and effective. Making a live stream helped us to reach a wider audience, which wasn’t limited by geographical or size constraints“.

The finals may take place in August- September. To know more about our program in Alkmaar and the startups, click below, at the end of the dutch version. And if you couldn’t join us live, you can watch the Semi-finals here:

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Dit zijn de 5 finalisten van Present Your Startup Alkmaar 2020

Present Your Startup is verheugd om de finalisten van Present Your Startup Alkmaar 2020 aan te kondigen. De ondernemers presenteerden hun bedrijven via livestream via NHNEXT. De 5 finalisten gaan de strijd aan en presenteren hun bedrijfsplannen om onze samenleving te innoveren in de laatste fase van ons programma.

Ons programma
Present Your Startup helpt startups sinds 2014 met hun acceleratorprogramma's en pitchcompetitie. Tot nu toe hebben meer dan 760 startups zich aangemeld voor het PYS-programma. Na zes edities in Nederland, vier in New York, drie op Curaçao en één op Bonaire was het de beurt aan Alkmaar. Present Your Startup organiseert met trots de Alkmaar editie samen met Gemeente Alkmaar, Rabobank, Actan adviseurs & accountants, Sophista, Twine, IT = Alkmaar, Creative, Triple, Betty Blocks, Tape en Cyso Group.

De PYS Alkmaar bootcamp was in februari in het Golden Tulip Hotel. Deze bootcamp was een intensieve trainingsweek met masterclasses op verschillende gebieden zoals business model, canvas, financials, tussen anderen. Onze experts gaven constant feedback, de ondernemers ondergingen evaluaties en oefenden hun pitch. Aan het einde van de week kozen het PYS-team en het jurypanel een genomineerd aantal startups om door te gaan naar de volgende ronde, de halve finale.

Vanwege corona hebben we besloten om een ​​poll te starten om te bepalen welke startup de favoriet van de mensen was en een plek voor de finale te winnen. DeMonth was de leider van de poll en werd finalist. Er waren nog vier plekken over.

De halve finale vond plaats op de NHNEXT-set, waardoor mensen uit Nederland en wereldwijd de livestream konden bekijken. De presentator van het evenement was Mike Rijkers van PYS. De 8 halve finalisten mochten hun bedrijf pitchen voor het jurypanel conform Valerie Vallenduuk, Iris Goedhart, Gideon Nijemanting, André Scheirlinck, Wouter Beijer, Paul Bankert, Peter Vonk en Peter de Rover. We hadden de woorden van de Alkmaarse plaatsvervanger P.F. Dijkman. Na een uitdagende evaluatie koos de jury de finalisten.

Lees de onderstaande lijst voor meer informatie over de vijf finalisten die bij de finale zullen pitchen:

Aleeza
Het is het eerste Nederlandse online huidverzorgingsmerk op maat op basis van 100% duurzame en unieke ingrediënten die afkomstig zijn van plantages in Marrakech en de vrouwencoöperaties ondersteunen. Deze startup is van mening dat iedereen een persoonlijk en transparant huidverzorgingsproduct verdient. Het team heeft vijf leden die om een ​​financiering van € 250.000 vragen. Deze investering zou hen helpen bij hun branding en marketingreclame, productie van 15 producten en teamgroei.

Pepperfield

Pepperfield is een jonge, snelle, betrouwbare en veilig groeiende webhostingprovider die turbulente groei anders aanpakt. Deze startup neemt kleine webhostingproviders over die vaak moeite hebben om te overleven, die torenhoge kosten hebben of niet over de vereiste technische kennis beschikken. Pepperfield is gegroeid naar een omzet van € 100.000 en 900 klanten in 1 jaar en heeft drie mensen in het team. Ze vragen € 425K om 12 overnames te financieren.

Airchip

Airchip lost wachtrijen op door de manier waarop mensen bestellen en betalen op evenementen of locaties te heroverwegen. Deze startup heeft zeven leden en zij vinden dat mensen geen tijd mogen verspillen met wachten. Zo hebben ze deze app gemaakt om je saldo op te waarderen, je producten op het scherm te bestellen en vooraf te bestellen om ze gemakkelijk op te halen of zelfs te laten bezorgen, rechtstreeks op de dansvloer. Ze zijn op zoek naar een financiering van € 500.000 om een ​​klantensuccesteam in te huren en hun technisch personeel uit te breiden.

Vandoorn Projects

Door strenge inkoopeisen en regelgeving zijn er in binnen- en buitenland minder circulaire interieurproducten beschikbaar voor Overheid, Zorg, Onderwijs en bedrijven. Vandoorn Projects wil dit oplossen door het ontwikkelen en distribueren van interieurproducten. Ze hebben drie circulaire projectstoelen. Het team zoekt financiering voor een startup voor de Pluz-stoel en de Rex-productserie (stoel & tafel).

DeMonth

DeMonth: “Your Period is Our Problem!”, Staat voor duurzaam, gemak en luxe voor de hardwerkende vrouwen van Nederland. Dit gezelschap van vier mannen gelooft in een transparante productie en producten die bijdragen aan een betere wereld. Deze startup is al een finalist, geselecteerd als de favoriet van de mensen en ze zijn op zoek naar een investering van € 150.000 om hun product verder te ontwikkelen, native iOS- en Android-apps te maken en marketingcampagnes te bouwen.

De finale vindt plaats in augustus-september. Klik hieronder voor meer informatie over ons programma in Alkmaar en de startups

Semi-finalists of Present Your Startup Alkmaar 2020 will pitch on July 1st

Present Your Startup is proud to announce the Semi-finals of the Program in Alkmaar via www.presentyourstartup.nl/nhnext this July 1st, from 14:00 - 16:00. Each of the 8 startups will present their business in front of a jury panel, who will ask questions to get the best of each of the entrepreneurs. Afterwards, there will be a deliberation of who goes to the final round and becomes a finalist. 

The program of Present Your Startup (PYS)

PYS is a program and competition event happening each year, enabling entrepreneurs to make a better future. Customized training, specific investor matchmaking and an innovative community are examples of the features the program offers. 

For this year’s edition in The Netherlands, we had 35 innovate startups in our Introduction Day in Alkmaar. Only 10 startups were admitted at the Academy, which took place in the Hotel Golden Tulip from the 2nd until the 6th of March. This intensive training week included masterclasses in different areas like business model, canvas, financials, between others. Our experts provided constant feedback, the entrepreneurs went throw evaluations and were able to practice their pitch. At the end of the week, they presented their business in front a jury panel.  

Due to corona, we decided to launch a poll to determine who was the people’s favorite, winning a spot for the Finals. The startup DeMonth was the winner of the poll and became a finalist, nonetheless, they will also pitch. There are still four spots left for the final round. 

To know more about the top nine startups who will be pitching this 1st July, read the list below: 

ICM Nanotechnology  

This company solves the global plastic problem. Their product is plastic degradable and compostable with nanotechnology, this means 4 to 5 times stronger, antibacterial and / or compostable through a process of biodegradation. ICM Nanotechnology has six members, who want to expand their business from a factory in Turkey to the Netherlands and all the continent. They look for a funding of €400,000 to expand the team, marketing and IP licensing. 

Aleeza

It’s the first Dutch online customized skin care brand based on 100% sustainable and unique ingredients which come from plantations in Marrakech and support women's cooperations. This startup believes that everyone deserves a personal and transparent skin care product. The team has five members who are asking for a funding of €250,000. This investment would help them in their branding and marketing advertising, production of 15 products and team growth. 

Pepperfield  

Pepperfield is a young, fast, reliable, securely growing web hosting provider that takes a different approach to turbulent growth. This startup takes over small web hosting providers who often struggle to survive, which have sky-high costs or do not have the required technical knowledge. Pepperfield has grown to a turnover of € 100,000 and 900 customers in 1 year and has three people on the team. They ask € 425K to finance 12 acquisitions. 

Green Up The City  

This startup focuses in organic urban gardening. Their product is the Urban Plant Kit, which is an organic plant package, delivered in a compostable plant tray the customer can place completely in the ground. This makes gardening easy and unlike plastic pots, there is no residual waste. This startup needs €100,000 for funding to start business operations, do the research and development of the product, get product stock, design an online store and a chat function. 

Airchip  

Airchip solves waiting lines by rethinking the way people order and pay at events or venues. This startup has seven members and they believe that people shouldn’t waste time waiting. That’s how they created this app to top up your balance, order your products on the screen and pre-order for easy pick-up or even get it delivered, right on the dancefloor. They are looking for a funding of €500.000 to hire a customer success team and expand their engineering staff. 

Vandoorn Projects 

Strict purchasing requirements and regulations mean, there are fewer circular interior products available for Government, Healthcare, Education and companies at home and abroad. Vandoorn Projects intends to solve this by developing and distributing interior products. They have three circular project chairs. The team are seeking funding for a startup for the Pluz-chair and the Rex-product series (chair & table). 

Gathers 

Gathers brings young adults together online and offline “Free to Gather, free to be alone'”. This startup has two co-founders who want to make a social impact by reducing loneliness among young adults, creating a community. They organize offline events where people meet others in an interactive way and their platform is available for all members via an app where they can see the upcoming events, organize their own “Gather” (small gathering) and possibly buy tickets for events organized through them. They look for a funding of €50,000. 

DeMonth  

DeMonth: “Your Period is Our Problem!”, stands for sustainable, convenience and luxury for the hard-working women of the Netherlands. This company of four men believe in a transparent production and products that contribute to a better world. This startup is already a finalist, selected as the people’s favorite and they are looking for an investment of €150.000 to develop their product further, create Native iOS & Android apps and build marketing campaigns. 

Don’t miss the chance to listen to bright ideas and watch the best pitch. Do you want to know more about us and the startups? 

Stay tunned to know more about the finals of august-september. Follow us in our social media channels. 

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Written by Claudia Flores Jiménez

Comments, questions, suggestions to: claudia@innovate.today

The impact of coronavirus in some industries

How is the Dutch startup ecosystem doing during COVID-19? Techleap.nl made a survey to 400 startups and scale-ups about their challenges and concerns regarding the effects of corona in their business. As a result, they found corona crisis is already causing a direct delay in funding for about a third of businesses since 50% of the startups have lost significant revenue. In addition, 66% of the consulted entrepreneurs said they urgently need money to bridge the next three months.

What actions have this startups and scale-ups taken to cut part of the costs? 85% said they reduced the operational costs, followed by postponing payments/investments/marketing. They strongly believe these two actions will help them get through the following months. And when they were asked abour  what need they had, 67% of the startups and scale-ups indicated they need to get funded, a short term capital to survive this corona times, until things go back to normal.

Another study about the Impact of the Corona Crisis on startups & tech from dealroom.co affirms travel, advertising, retail and mobility have been hitted hard. See the following chart:

Mobility

According to Dealroom.co, mobility is most affected. Nonetheless it seems that, for some startups of the industry, this may be an opportunity. We got to talk to Squad Mobility from The Netherlands, who develops new urban mobility concepts; Solar powered personal or utility mobility solutions that are both emission free as well as a solution to the urban congestion problem. Robert Hoevers, Squad Mobility founder and CEO, affirmed they have always worked from home and their presence online has always been there. They participated in the Dutch Mobility Awards, getting a cash award for reaching the finals, they also had the support from an angel investor and a subsidy. All of this helped them to keep up with the development phase, which has not stopped during corona. Robert said:

“People nowadays like personal transport even more than before, thinking about the social distance. Also, they do not want to stop to fill the tank, so our mobility concept based on solar power is very much what the clients look for. And another target are females, who rather have comfort and avoid harassment in public transport. Besides that, the affordable prices make our solution more interesting”

Travel

Travel is one of the most affected industries by the corona crisis. Le Grand Voyages, winner of Present Your Startup Caribbean 2019, creates travel experiences that highlight and share the exclusivity of their region's multicultural, multi-destinations, with their Dutch, French and British influences accented with Caribbean flair.

Cristal Le Grand, CEO and founder of Le Grand Vogayes, said during this pandemic it is difficult as the tourism had already taken a hit from the hurricanes of 2017:

“Even now, though digitalization is crucial to maintaining relationships and communications, the focus of leisure travel is obviously not anyone's primary focus. Now, it is not business as usual, but it is not worst, just different. And I believe that is key right now: being able to adapt and change as things progress”

Therefore, Cristal shared some decisions she has made for the business with us:

“Looking for area that we can provide our services to other industries. For example, we handle logistics, now we are applying those principles to the health sector in coordinating their events. And preparing for the future, we are looking at wellness tourism (as most reports indicate people well seek renewal after this and the family reunion sector (as reports also show these will be some of the first travelers after this pandemic)”.

Products

Tropical Nature from Bonaire: Sustainable company that provides hand-made, vegan, care products such as sunscreen, shampoo and lip balm to save the coral reefs and most importantly, protect the skin. Dorian Crespo, CEO and founder of Tropical Nature affirmed their main source of income were sales at cruise ships at the market of Bonaire, due to the crisis, cruises are not going anymore, there are no markets and therefore no sales. Another sources of income they had were sales in supermarkets and dive shops, with no tourists, these shops remain closed:

“Product turnover in supermarkets has been reduced to a minimum. In Bonaire there are around 20,000 residents on the island. We also have online sales in the USA, but when countries closed their borders, cargo shipments to the whole world were suspended, with the exception of Curacao and the Netherlands”

 Tropical Nature needs to adapt and therefore, Dorian has stablished three strategies:

“We’ll continue promoting our products to our clients. Also stimulate online sales through social media, focusing on markets where we can reach, such as the Netherlands and Curacao. And now is  time for R&D. We are researching and developing new products and improving existing ones, focused on our goal, which is to take care of human health and the environment and at the same time, have respect for animals”.

Borrow a Brand from The Netherlands: Making rental the norm within the fashion industry by making beautiful, quality clothing affordable and available to everyone. Megaidi Pinas, CEO and founder of this startup said:

“I’m in the middle of a pivot at the moment. So this Corona-thing gives me the opportunity to really think my strategy through before launching the new service. It’s not better or worse because there is no service yet. I had some appointments with brands in April. Brands that where interested in collaborating in the new fashion Rental service that I’m creating. These appointments are cancelled. So that’s unfortunate, but when the appointments are re-scheduled I will be more ready for it. And because of Corona I had the time to apply for a subsidy and think about my finance strategy. So I think it’s for the better. But not in terms of revenue because the service is not launched yet”.

So what are the challenges in these times? Startups and scales-ups need to prepare for further lockdowns, since a vaccine could take up to 18 months and anybody can be sure there will not be an outbreak. Therefore, preserving cash for this period is crucial.

Another challenge is changing valuations since the expectations must be realistic. It will not be so easy to ask to be funded in these times. Consequently, it may be worth waiting before raising money again since the pandemic is not over yet and the market could be unstable.

Remember good leadership is necessary always, but even more during corona. Showing empathy to the team, making people feel connected, having an open communication is as important as staying true to values and vision. Transparency and honesty about this situation is key to build trust.

Finally, pivoting the business model is something to consider now. Several businesses are changing the way they offer value to different customer groups during this crisis. Thinking about a lock down and what could you offer to your target, as offering value to new customers with possibly different characteristics is the key to success nowadays.

Are you a startup and you would like to share your experience? Do you need help to grow?   

References

https://www.techleap.nl/content/launching-the-dutch-tech-ecosystem-and-covid-19-impact-report

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Written by Claudia Flores Jiménez

Comments, questions, suggestions to: claudia@innovate.today

How digitalization has helped startups to overcome corona times

As COVID-19 has shocked businesses and societies in the world, companies have had to make changes in order to survive. Others who did not consider important having a digital strategy, now dip into it to maintain the continuity of their business. For those who did not migrate completely yet -during these times full of changes, new measures for living, studying and working- realized digitalization is key.

“This crisis has helped to underline the crucial role that technology plays in so many aspects of society and the economy”- Tom Wehmeier, Head of Research in Atomico.

Startups who have been working online all along, have confirmed they have not found difficulties during COVID-19. The future is already here and those who have not adopted digital tools yet, need to update for the demand of today since most people have been staying at home and ordering online more than before. Therefore, online stores have increased their earnings. Nowadays, businesses need to be ready to respond to the demand.

Dealroom.co and Sifted.eu, supported by the European Commission, presented a two years report “What does it take. Europe´s startup ecosystem navigating the COVID-19 crisis”, which sets the scene to provide a health check of the continent’s startup ecosystem looking at the impact of coronavirus. The report indicates that freelancers could benefit from remote working as would luruxy ecommerce. And startups as online groceries, food delivery, meal kits, collaboration software, telehealth, biotech, online education, streaming music/video and gaming are structural and cyclical positive, so they have more chances to keep their businesses running well and for a long time.

“At Crisp we experienced a surge in demand for delivery of fresh groceries: we’ve managed to triple in size in one month time. Digital adoption has definitely accelerated among households. The challenge is to manage growth, in a more volatile environment”- Tom Peeters, Co-founder & CEO Crisp.nl

Another report made by Dealroom and Google Finance shows a chart with different industries and how COVID-19 has affected converting startups into winners and losers:

We checked in with some startups from different industries to gain some insights on how they are dealing with corona. Keep reading if you want to know more about their experiences.

Online businesses

Pepperfield and DeMonth, semi-finalists of Present Your Startup Alkmaar 2020, have online strategies and they both have kept their businesses going very well during this corona times.

Pepperfield from The Netherlands: young fast-growing web hosting provider. They take over small web hosting providers. These small providers often have a hard time or they have very high costs, making them unprofitable. Sometimes, they do not have the technical knowledge required or it just takes the owners too much time. Maarten Strootman, CEO and founder of this startup, stated that now self-employed professionals and small business are finally aware that online business is a crucial part of their strategy, as they cannot rely on only their social network (i.e. the coffee machine) and small talk in the elevator for scoring their next assignment. Maarten said:

“They need to have an online strategy. At Pepperfield we see an increasing demand in support and new orders. We see people finally perform the overdue maintenance on their websites or launching new online initiatives to stay ahead of the competition. The Corona-crisis is the last blockade that held back the breakthrough of ecommerce. We help self-employed professionals and small businesses be successful online. Our customers are good in their business. We know a lot about doing business online. That's a great combination”.

DeMonth from The Netherlands: online platform where women can get their menstrual and sustainable femcare  products delivered to their doorstep or in their mailbox. Max de Groot, one of the founders of this startup said:

“Business is still good for DeMonth. Since we are fully online and not dependent on store visits we can still sell and deliver our product! Right now we are neither feeling a explosive positive or a negative effect of the situation. We are still growing and sales keep coming in”.

Airchip from The Netherlands: Solves waiting lines by rethinking the way people order and pay at events. Over the last 10 months, Airchip gained hands-on experience working with Bluetooth. And since events are not allowed until September 1st, they are working on the tech side to see what to come up with.

Now this startup wants to share their code and knowledge to help fight the spread of the Coronavirus. In the field, they got to two conclusions: The signal strength of Bluetooth is a bad indicator for close proximity and the big data analysis needs to be corrected for device and mobile phone operating system variations.

Airchip, along with 600 companies applied for the Dutch government Covid-app tender, where everybody needed to prove technical excellence in days.  Jan ten Kate, one of the founders of Airchip said:

“We strongly believe that our knowledge, experience and data could be of great value to the selected app developers, many of whom do not have any proven experience in the field of Bluetooth. We will gladly offer our insights and open source our codebase to whomever wants to help solve this crisis”.

Onechat bv from The Netherlands: One stop mobile payment platform for consumers and merchants that supports E-money, cards and instant payments. For consumers is one app for all everyday payments: Person to person transfers, M-commerce and in store purchases, communication tool. For merchants is increase sales, unique app in app feature that allows your store to be integrated right into the consumers app. Olaf Groenewegen, co-founder of this startup said:

“We are with ten full time employees, looking for angels now, it’s not as easy as before, we could have meetings in person, now everything needs to be online, but our idea has had angels and it has attractive capital. We have established a partnership with a company in Serbia and we are currently working on a pilot”.

Healthcare

Healsens from The Netherlands: Personalized preventive care designed to integrate your medical information into the longer course of life. Anna Barzakouskaya, CEO and founder, said that the current situation has had a positive impact on her business:

“First, quarantine and home isolation allowed us to focus on development and we have made great progress with our solution. Second, many people turned their attention to medical decisions, and it brought new interesting people to the project and new opportunities. Despite the fact that Healsens solution specializes in trans missive diseases (mainly chronic ones and those related to aging), our models could help with forecasting and diagnosing COVID-19 infection as well. Therefore, we respond with great interest to offers from different organizations that ask help with the global challenge”.

Nursability from Aruba: Offering outreaching, high-quality, high-attention healthcare to tourists, short-term residents and local residents wherever and whenever they want. Kimberly Hoo, founder of this business said before the target was tourists, but because of corona, there are no more visitors. Nonetheless, Nursability has grown right now in the local market:

“I thought this would have a huge effect on the company, but since I have expanded my team and offered new services I actually got new clients. Hopefully it will keep increasing and – when tourists are back on the island – we will have mire services to offer them as well. For Nursability it is important to digitalize because it would accommodate so many people. They would not have to leave their house to search for care. With a click of a button they can get all their questions answered through an online session”.

It will not be the same scenario for every startup, but let’s not forget some entrepreneurs will come up with great ideas and projects to keep their business going or improve it, or maybe they will create something new. In the past, some investors also see opportunities during hard times, when the entrepreneur’s commitment and concept is genuinely put to the test. This time it will not be the exception.

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References

Dealroom.co. Impact of the Corona crisis on startups & tech:

https://blog.dealroom.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Corona-vFINAL.pdf

EuropeanStartups.co by Dealroom.co. + Sifted:

https://blog.dealroom.co/what-does-it-take-european-startups-stepping-up-to-global-tech-leadership/

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Written by Claudia Flores Jiménez

Comments, questions, suggestions to: claudia@innovate.today