Experiences, best practices and recommendations from an entrepreneurial perspective. Sharing my experience in 5 startup ecosystems. By Benno Groosman MScBA, www.groosman.info at July 3, 2015 UNconvention.eu in Brussels

1. How incubation and acceleration
programmes (can) increase your
chances of growing and scaling
Experiences, best practices and
recommendations from an
entrepreneurial perspective
Benno Groosman MScBA
www.groosman.info
July 3, 2015
UNconvention.eu in Brussels

2. 1. Personal introduction
Motivation
www.groosman.info

3. Introduction
Benno Groosman MScBA
• MSc Entrepreneurship & New Business Venturing
• 10 years entrepreneur
• Involved in multiple startups and experience in multiple incubators
and accelerators
• Award winning health care company with 3 international patents
and multiple products, €1.4M funding and… a bankruptcy
Now:
• Director Base pre-incubation programme at Maastricht University
• Cofounder Surge-on Medical: patented innovations for (knee) surgery
www.groosman.info

4. Introduction
Agenda
1. Definitions and background
2. My startup and incubation
3. Five accelerators I work(ed) with
4. Success factors
5. What to look for in an incubator?
6. Questions
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5. Introduction
You?
• Entrepreneur, policy maker, other?
• What do you want to learn in this hour?
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6. 1. Definitions and scope
Business incubator
“An organization designed to accelerate the growth and success of
entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources
and services that could include physical space, capital, coaching, common
services, and networking connections.
A business incubator’s main goal is to produce successful firms that will leave
the program financially viable and freestanding.”
Robert C. MagGregor (2007), Small Business Clustering Technologies: :
Applications in Marketing, Management, IT and Economics , Idea Group Inc.
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7. 1. Definitions and scope
Seed accelerator
“Seed accelerators are fixed-term, cohort-based programs, that include
mentorship and educational components and culminate in a public pitch
event or demo day.”
Susan Cohen (2013), What Do Accelerators Do? Insights from Incubators and
Angels, MIT Press Journals.
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8. 1. Definitions and scope
• The terms incubator and accelerator are being mixed
regularly
• We now have incubators with acceleration
programmes or accelerators with incubation spaces
• I will be using these terms interchangeably in this
presentation for the above reasons
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9. www.startupmanufactory.com

11. 2. Salusion and startup process
Role of university acceleration
A number of universities contributed to the startup of my company Salusion:
education, inspiration, funding and incubation.
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12. 2. Salusion and startup process
Results during incubation
• €1.400.000,- total funding
• 3 products, 3 international patents
• 7 large institutional customers
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13. 2. Salusion and startup process
Social impact
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14. 2. Salusion and startup process
Awards and recognition
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15. 3. Your input
• What should an
incubator/accelerator offer?
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17. 3. Five incubators/accelerators I worked with
Which is a small selection….
“There are probably about
7,000 incubators worldwide.
The incubation model has been adapted to meet a variety of
needs, from fostering commercialization of university
technologies to increasing employment in economically
distressed communities to serving as an investment vehicle.”
source: www.startupmanufactory.com
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18. YES!Delft
Delft, the Netherlands
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19. 3. YES!Delft (the Netherlands)
Technology incubator
• Close collaboration with Delft
University of Technology
• Expanding network and
partnerships for funding and
startup services
• Space for >80 startups and a
complete package meeting
rooms, auditorium, co-working
hall, etc.)
• Structured education
programs for entrepreneurs
and students
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20. 3. YES!Delft (the Netherlands)
Early and late stage
• Offering fixed-term
entrepreneurship programs
(like Launch Lab), also open for
large companies and
individuals
• Start construction of extra
building for growth companies
(post-incubation), to keep
talent and companies in the
YES!Delft ecosystem
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21. SEED
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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22. 3. SEED (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
New accelerator
• Accelerator open for startups
from all the world
• Startup selection, funding (no
equity), mandatory 5 month
program, ends with Demo Day
• 37 startups is first round
• SEED organization is a large
team of government and
private contractors
• Focus on customer
development (inspired by “lean
startup”) www.groosman.info

23. 3. SEED (Brazil)
New accelerator
• 40 startups in second round
• 73 total in a 6 month start
• Some foreign startups stay in
Brazil, with visa support
government and funding of local
angel/VC investors
• Intention to follow up for at least
two more rounds of startups, but
programme is closed now
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24. Godollo
Rubik's Logicenter (concept)
Gödöllő, Hungary
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25. 3. Rubik’s Logicenter
My roadmap to incubation
Figure 1: Startup generation roadmap in 6 steps (source: Benno Groosman)
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26. 3. Rubik’s Logicenter
My accelerated roadmap to incubation
Figure 3: Adapted fast-track startup generation roadmap in 5 steps (source: Benno Groosman)
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27. Orange Grove
Athens, Greece
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28. LaunchBase
Maastricht, the Netherlands
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29. 3. LaunchBase
My Base pre-incubation programme
• Base: pre-incubation
• Individuals or groups
• No idea or startup needed
• 5-month inspiration and activation programme
• 24 months pilot: 4 rounds
• Launch: incubator
• Opening: October 2015
• 18 months pilot
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30. 3. LaunchBase Maastricht
My Base pre-incubation programme
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31. 3. LaunchBase Maastricht
My Base pre-incubation programme
Early stage talent selection and venture creation:
• Weekly lectures from experts (25 topics)
• Weekly networking
• Mentoring and coaching
• Free consultancy from experts
• Special activation days: design, pitching, funding, etc.
• Access to co-working space
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33. 4. Success factors
Discussion
• Which factors make a successful
incubator/accelerator?
• How to define this success?

34. 5. What to look for in an incubator?
Discussion
• What are the needs of your startup?
• Could an incubator/accelerator fulfill these
needs?

35. 5. What to look for in an incubator?
Some suggestions
• Match the focus of the incubator with your startup’s
goals and needs
• Check for a relevant network of mentors, experts and investors
• Chose a location close to your customers and key-partners or in a
new (geographical) market you want to open
• In case the accelerator takes shares: could you get this money for
better terms from an investor and simply buy the services?
• In case of tech startup: access to university patents and support

36. 6. Questions and discussion

37. Thanks for your attention!
Please feel free to contact me
Benno Groosman MScBA
Phone: +31 6 1253 2039
Email: benno@groosman.info
Website: www.groosman.info
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Benno_Groosman
Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/benno_groosman