NOM is a shareholder of Web-IQ: a company that provides services to municipalities and police organizations in the field of "open source intelligence. That means they use the Internet as a resource to enhance security and livability. "For example, we search the darknet for distributors of child pornography or watch for signals that point to human trafficking," CEO Eldert van Wijngaarden says. In this article you can read how the funding process with NOM went and what that experience was like for Eldert.
Old acquaintances
Eldert has worked with us before in the area of regional development. NOM had also been involved as a shareholder in Web-IQ's predecessor. In that company a product was developed that led to the start of Web-IQ: "The search technology for photo collections that we had developed had filters to block porn. When we found out that they also came across child pornography, we called the police. Our software turned out to be very suitable for detecting criminal activity on the Internet, especially the darknet. Then the step to Web-IQ was quickly made."
To establish and grow Web-IQ, Eldert was looking for investors. Because of our shared history, we were 1 of the first he approached. "What I find very cool about NOM is that they are focused on the long term. It's not about making money quickly, but about building something valuable. That might take years, but that's not a problem for NOM. Making something a little bit better every day is the most important thing, so you work together to achieve a great result."
When Eldert knocked on our door, he already knew the ropes a little bit. We asked him what he wants with his company, what the idea is, what he wanted to build, and of course we wanted to see his business plan. "While presenting the plans, critical questions are asked, but at the same time you feel a lot of confidence. I have also had to deal with other investors who really only looked at the financial picture. NOM is much more concerned with seeing if you can add something valuable as entrepreneurs. And we were apparently able to convince them of that."
Reliable and committed
Indeed, we made Eldert an offer, and now we are 1 of the shareholders. Together with the management and other shareholders, we are in a so-called one-tier board. This body is closer to day-to-day operations than an SB, which you encounter more often. "We came up with that together because we think that involvement is important. For example, we meet every two weeks to consult, not just once a quarter," Eldert says.
Eldert is only positive about the cooperation with NOM: "As a shareholder, I find NOM especially very reliable. Shareholders who are purely focused on money can sometimes let go of the bigger picture in order to make a lot of money quickly. That is not the case with NOM. We have set it up so that we are close to each other, we think that is important. And they give us the feeling that we are doing something cool and that they are proud to be working with us. You really don't find that with every shareholder!"
In conclusion
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