Northern Netherlands' event where innovative entrepreneurs er experienced investors are connected.
Suppose you are an entrepreneur. You have a great innovative idea, service or product. And you want to move forward. Because you're sure you can be successful. But for that, you need money. A good network. More knowledge. And experience. But how do you find the right investor? Someone who will really help you move forward? This is often a frustrating process. And that's where Flinc comes in. Flinc is part of NOM and has knowledge of the content, insight into the market and a network of funding parties. In this way it helps startups and SMEs in the Northern Netherlands to move forward. Every year Flinc organizes Flinc Pitch Camp, an event where entrepreneurs and investors are linked together.
Dragon's Den of the Northern Netherlands
'You can compare it a bit to the program Dragon's Den,' says Bjorn Redmijer. He is project manager at Flinc and organized Flinc Pitch Camp for the second time at the end of May. 'It is a pitch event, where we connect entrepreneurs and investors in the northern Netherlands. This year we had about ten applications, based on certain criteria we filtered out three companies. They were allowed to pitch their idea and plans to the jury and investors. Not live yet, unfortunately, but it was also possible virtually. About 50 potential investors watched, listened and participated, so you can understand that they tried hard.
Selected companies
The three companies that were allowed to pitch were:
- Orderli from Leeuwarden. They have developed a QR ordering app for the hospitality industry. Orderli QR ordering; less clicks, more ordering.
- Groningen-based Wavy Assistant. Wavy helps heart patients reduce their stress by providing insight into their symptoms and offers proactive relaxation exercises.
- Indiveo from Leeuwarden. They make "Divis: understandable patient education for patients, caregivers and loved ones. With these animation videos, Indiveo makes healthcare understandable for all patients.
The winner: Indiveo from Leeuwarden
After the pitches, jurors and investors are given the opportunity to ask participants questions. And these are always critical questions; investors obviously want to know who they are getting into business with and whether various issues have really been thought through. In the end, Indiveo won. They received a loan of € 20,000 from the NOM.
But it's not about money
As far as I am concerned, there was not one winner, all three companies were very interesting. The main thing is that they can present their ideas to a wider audience. And that they find an investor who really suits them. The networking after this event is therefore perhaps even more important than the pitch itself.
Frank Smit - VMSP, jury member
So is €20,000 enough for such a venture to really move forward? 'Probably not,' says Bjorn. 'But that's not necessarily the point either. The goal is to bring entrepreneurs and investors together. Investors are often (former) entrepreneurs themselves, who have an enormous amount of knowledge and a large network. They are eager to help interesting companies move forward. Sometimes it is only about money. But much more often it is about more. They know the market. Know how to grow a business. And know the pitfalls to watch out for.' So the Flinc Pitch Camp is primarily a networking event to bring the right parties together.
A stage for innovative entrepreneurs. What do you need as a company? What kind of investor are you looking for? Who fits you then? 'What happens after this day is therefore perhaps even more important,' says Bjorn. We have brought entrepreneurs and investors into contact with each other. And then we hope that beautiful collaborations come out of that.'
It's about helping entrepreneurs move forward. And that we point investors to the pearls of innovative companies in the Northern Netherlands.
Bjorn Redmeijer, Project Manager Flinc