Jan-Joost Rueb

✨ VERY SMALL PARTICLES ✨ That's what the three co-founders of VSPARTICLE – Aaike van Vugt, Tobias Pfeiffer, and Tobias Coppejans – have dedicated their last 10 years to. VSP is a once-in-a-generation Dutch company which has developed a unique nanoparticle printing technology to bring us high-performance materials for clean energy transformation. That's why together with my colleague Taiga Ueta, we at NordicNinja VC and in partnership with Sten Tamkivi and Plural Platform, are thrilled to fund this world-class founding team. In particular, VSP’s technology is enabling the mass production of catalyst-coated Porous Transport Layers (PTLs), which are the key components in electrolyzers and are essential to the production of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is essential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and power a more sustainable future for industries such as shipping, transport, heating, and aviation, yet the process currently relies on using scarce resources including platinum and iridium. Combined with AI-powered material discovery and computational chemistry, VSParticle and their network of partners are able to create the most complete database of materials in the world, which can serve as an input for building an economically scalable and a sustainable clean energy future. VSParticle's technology is material agnostic and comes with high precision nanoparticle control (at nm level), requires no wet chemistry, and allows for quick experiments & production. Looking forward to working with the whole team at VSP to bring this new technology to the world!

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Read more about our latest investment below 🙌!!

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Amsterdam-based telecom startup Firsty. app raises €5.1M in Seed funding led by Speedinvest. It has also partnered with Uber. Check out the article to understand why. Vince Vissers, Gauthier Thierens, DFF Ventures (Dutch Founders Fund), Jeroen Arts, Laurens Groenendijk

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Vijen Patel is the founding partner of The 81 Collection, a VC fund that invests in unsexy industries. Before that, Vijen founded Pressbox, a dry cleaning startup, in 2013 and sold it to Procter & Gamble in 2018. In our conversation, Vijen shared: → What defined his upbringing → Journey with Pressbox → Building The 81 Collection → Investing in Hard Industries → The Power of Patience and Purpose → India opportunity → Sports & family & much more! Listen now 👇🏼 Youtube: https://bit.ly/3XujEs2 Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Tjeah5 Some key takeaways: 1. Breaking the Mold: Coming from a family of physicians, I chose a different path—entrepreneurship. Sometimes, success means stepping out of the expected and embracing your unique journey. 2. The Power of Risk-Taking: American culture's risk-taking spirit played a crucial role in my career. Being the first in my family to venture into technology, I realized that risk is often the bridge between dreams and reality. 3. From Actuarial Science to Building an Empire: My entrepreneurial journey started with a failed attempt at being an actuary. Yet, that experience led me to finance and eventually to founding a dry cleaning startup that grew to 1200 locations. Don’t fear pivots; they might lead you to unexpected success. 4. Investing in ‘Unsexy’ Industries: While many chase the next big tech startup, I found value in overlooked sectors. Investing in what others ignore can yield the most significant returns, both financially and socially. 5. Purpose-Driven Success: For me, entrepreneurship isn’t just about profits. It’s about creating jobs, lifting communities, and making a lasting impact. When your work aligns with a deeper purpose, the rewards are far beyond financial. What risks have you taken that changed your life or career? Share your thoughts below! #investing #entreprenurship #indiandiasporas

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My newest column in Quote Magazine: Dutch Dynamism 🇳🇱 💡 Inspired by Andreessen Horowitz’ “American Dynamism” and the Not Boring newsletters of Packy McCormick about why tech is going to be much bigger, I realized there is a momentum in the Netherlands to become one of the European leaders to lead this new industrial revolution - if we double down. 💻 Historically, the Netherlands was strong in trade and banking. However, the country now leads in technology with companies like ASML, Adyen, and NXP Semiconductors as the top 10 most valuable companies, replacing former giants like Shell, Unilever, ING and ABN AMRO Bank N.V 💶 Fueled by capital, according to the latest report of Techleap; 48% Venture Capital investments in 2023 the Netherlands went to deeptech companies. 🤖 While the latest AI innovations have enhanced office jobs, the fusion of software and hardware, like physical robots, is set to revolutionize all types of labor, making tasks scalable and more manageable and cheaper. Two great examples of Dutch robotics companies are Monumental and family business Lely, that are automating less attractive jobs, like bricklaying and milking cows. ⚡ The insight is that the world's largest tech companies of the next decade will likely surpass today’s giants, and for the first time in a long time, tech companies have the opportunity to rebuild the world’s industrial base and tap into huge, existing pools of revenue at higher margins than incumbents can. Assuming the same revenue but structurally higher margins will create more valuable companies than the incumbent comps. 🇳🇱 In the Netherlands, we have access to incredible research institutes, top technical universities like Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research & University of Twente, (which has its own Robotics Centre University of Twente) - incredible talent and more and more hardware friendly VC funds, (incl the support of Invest-NL) and recently the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) with an office in NL, so I don’t see why we can’t punch above our weight and become one of the leaders to reshape the industrial foundation in Europe. Curious to hear your thoughts, what's needed to make this happen? Dutch Dynamism 🇳🇱 , het bekt toch lekker (Thanks Salar :-)). Link to article (for translation) in the comments. #HardTech #AI #Robotics #Innovation #DutchDynamism #AIRevolution #DeepTech #FutureOfWork #Netherlands #Technology

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We're doubling down! Join us for the Re-Industrialize Europe Meetup 👩‍🏭 We’re bringing together leading minds in HardTech, TechBio, and DeepTech to discuss what it will take for Europe to lead the next wave of industrial innovation. Learn more about: ➡ Farmless’ fermentation platform that allows for local protein production independent from climate and agricultural land, increasing food security. 🎤 Adnan Oner ➡ Cradle’s design platform that uses generative AI to help biologists design improved proteins and accelerate research and development, making it easier, quicker and more cost effective to create bio-based products for human and planetary health. 🎤 Jelle Prins ➡ Monumental’s AI-driven electric construction robots that are capable of building walls autonomously, solving the labour, cost and sustainability challenges crippling the global construction industry. 🎤 Salar al Khafaji ➡ ASML's involvement in the European startup ecosystem and the biggest challenges we need to tackle. 🎤 Evelien de Vries Connect, collaborate, and be inspired by ambitious founders shaping the future. Sign up here: https://lu.ma/de2uprl2 NP-Hard Ventures #FoundryMeetups #HardTech #Deeptech #TechBio #Founders #Hiring #Startups #Europe

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The trend is picking up. Investing in #deterrance & #defence to further support competitiveness and resilience of #European countries. This time Netherlands Ministerie van Defensie is joining other #EU MoDs and national development agencies to facilitate access to funding for #defence #DualUse and #security innovations. Our fund Coinvest Capital was the first in the region, fully authorised to invest in pure #defense already back in March 2023, shortly joined in April by Baltic Sandbox Ventures with #DeepTech focus and the launch of dual-use accelerators by ScaleWolf in October. Just our fund alone already coinvested 6.8mEUR in #aerospace and #defense, including one of the largest regional #VC rounds in Unmanned Defense Systems. Today we will be watching and supporting two teams from #Lithuania - winners of our joint prizes with DEPO Ventures - pitching on stage at #DefSec innovation challenge hosted by Dr. Kristina Soukupova with their solutions for #cyber #security and #drone enhancement, that enables all drone makers to get faster time-to-market. Wishing the best of luck and a solid pitch to the teams of AI Drone.Tech with co-founders Laurynas Česūnas and Domantas Brucas, winners of our prize at the defence #hackathon The Flaming Shield of Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga , and CBRX with co-founder Kazimieras Sadauskas, winners of our prize at the Startup Lithuania annual event #StartupFair

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I love this article from Ian Hogarth! The US has shown what's possible, but here in Europe (and especially in the UK), we have a tremendous opportunity to follow the American footsteps. That is why, in 20 years, I don't think I've ever seen such a good time to be investing: - the platform shifts we're seeing today operate at an extraordinary scale, and much of the fundamental innovation underpinning this is coming out of Europe - repeat, successful entrepreneurs are building again, at pace - society has become inherently entrerpreneurial ("starting a business" is now the top career choice for undergrads at many UK universities) - there is funding available now at all stages of a company's lifecycle - as was clear at Slush last week, the market is now 'back' - risk is back on, deals are being done, funds are being raised, - but valuations are sensible; good for investors but good for companies too as expectations are in check with reality - and the upside is considerable! 10 years ago, we couldn't have imagined there being even 1 trillion dollar company; now we have 7! A good time to be building, a good time to be investing, a good basis for optimism. AlbionVC, John Thornhill, Matt Clifford, John Taysom, Sherry Coutu CBE Max Bautin, Andy Phillipps, George Coelho, Tom Nugent, Brent Hoberman, Hussein Kanji, Chris Smart, CAIA

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Welcome ecoLocked to the Climentum Capital portfolio! We are proud to have led the €4M funding round together with Matterwave Ventures, and delighted to have existing investors Counteract, Startup Family Office, Sabancı Building Solutions, and VOYAGERS.io joining the round. The investment will support ecoLocked’s mission to revolutionize the construction industry with carbon-negative building materials. Concrete production accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions, making innovations in this field crucial for achieving net-zero goals. ecoLocked is leading the change by converting carbon captured from biomass into functional, carbon-negative building materials. This funding will accelerate ecolocked's efforts to turn buildings into carbon sinks, scaling their innovative biochar-based solutions and enabling 1Gt carbon removal by 2040. Doerte Hirschberg Morten Halborg Stefan Maard

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On today’s episode of the EUVC podcast, we have an inspiring, in-depth discussion on Data Driven Portfolio Modelling. And for this, we brought together: 👉 Joel Larsson, Founding GP of Pale blue dot 👉 Jon Coker, Founding GP of Eka Ventures 👉 Joe Schorge, Founding GP of Isomer Capital 👉 Anubhav Srivastava, Founder & CEO of Tactyc. Together, we discuss about: 👉 portfolio modeling 👉 fund forecasting 👉 portfolio construction 👉 the importance of maintaining a current fund forecast 👉 making adjustments based on real-world market conditions ... and more that we invite you to listen to on EUVC. | 🎧 Link in comments. #EUVCpodcast #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #europe

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I was glad to have attended the recent event hosted by our Plug and Play Netherlands team with AmCham. It was a real pleasure to meet so many interesting "innovators". I had a great time and engaging discussions. We saw a lot of interest in open innovation from companies across all industries aiming to innovate further, more efficiently and faster. Most of them are already collaborating with startups but are still interested in increasing their ROI from their open innovation activities. In terms of tech focus areas, the highest interest was in Sustainability and having AI impacting the business in a tangible way. 🚀 #PNPTCNetherlands #Sustainability

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This Monday, I kicked off a project to validate the Dutch market for Metris Energy, a London-based startup that’s reshaping solar asset management. Backed by VCs Octopus Ventures and AENU, Metris is building a powerful new platform that addresses a pain point in the solar industry. 🌞 Currently, many PPA funds and solar asset managers rely on Excel for tracking and reporting - a method that’s often slow, inefficient, and difficult to scale. 🐢💻 Metris is solving this problem with its software, automating key processes like monitoring, reporting, billing, and payments. Making solar asset management faster, easier and scalable. 📈⚡️ ️ With 240+ sites already live in the #UK, Metris is now looking to expand into new markets. And that’s where I come in. Over the next weeks, I’ll be: - Validating market demand - Assessing needs to support a potential entry 🇳🇱 Through targeted interviews and research, we aim to confirm a potential product-market fit and identify essential features for a potential launch. So, do you know anyone in the #solar asset management space? If so, tag them below or send me a DM - I’d love to connect! 💬

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🚀 Join Us Today in the SF FIDI at Club Quarters Hotels! 🚀 Are you a tech professional with vested stock from companies like Google, Amazon, or Apple? Curious how you can leverage those assets to become a Limited Partner (LP) in a venture capital (VC) fund? Join us for exclusive Office Hours today, where we'll walk you through converting your vested stock units into VC investments. Learn about in-kind securities, unique opportunities for Employee LPs, and how you can diversify your portfolio while backing innovative startups through VC investing with Musa Capital, bring your laptop, and #Colearn with us! 🌟 What You’ll Discover: - How to use vested stock as LP investments. - New opportunities for Employee LPs in VC. - Benefits of portfolio diversification in venture capital. - How Musa Capital is opening doors to venture investing for tech professionals like you. Whether you’re a VC newcomer or looking to maximize your equity, this event is packed with practical insights. Don't miss out on how your stock can work harder for you outside of tech! 💡 ⏰ Event Details:  RSVP https://lu.ma/68x9ydt9 now to start your LP journey today with Musa Capital.

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Since 2019 more than 250 startups and scaleups have prepared their company for raising external capital by doing The Investment Readiness Process by Beels®. Our data shows that no-one has chosen a smaller ticket size than € 5K. What consequences does the ticket size have for you as a Founder? AND what does it mean for you who are an Angel Investor? 💡 If you are a Founder and want to learn more on why it is more important than ever to plan you financial journey - watch our introduction video here: https://lnkd.in/djK-5VdA 💰 If you are an Angel Investor and want to elevate your skills on financial design when investing in startups - watch our introduction video here: https://lnkd.in/dMFjKDuM #startup #investments #raising

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💥 𝟵𝟬% 𝗣𝗢𝗖 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 That was achieved by Dutch energy corporate Alliander, and it's way higher than typical rates of corporate POC programs. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗣𝗢𝗖𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿? Running POCs is an efficient way for corporations to try external technologies before deciding whether to invest further resources into a new business. However, the challenges lie in coordinating internal corporate department such as legal, procurement and compliance. In this Masterclass, we will explore how we could overcome such challenges.  𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗢𝗖𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀  Date: 5 Dec 2025 Time: 12pm-1pm Singapore time Format: Online only 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 💡 How to stage POCs across a series of derisking steps 💡 POC Canvas - a tool for iterate POC design 💡 Case studies - past successful projects 💡 Discussions 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗚 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 12.00pm-12.05pm: Welcome 12.05pm-12.30pm: Background materials on corporate POCs and case studies 12.30pm-12.50pm: Discussions 12.50pm-1.00pm: Closing and Next Steps 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 Enterprise Singapore is sponsoring TradeSpark, a Startupbootcamp-powered POC program for multinational corporations to collaborate with global technologies in supply chain innovation.  Please visit https://lnkd.in/gS-VMwvB to contact us

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Let me tell you a great story of the perseverance and skills, of a younger Dutch founder with an AI company, whom I am helping to broker capital... To keep it vague, he was looking for an amount between 500k and 1 million eur. We met in the last days of October and started to work together at the beginning of November. He had a broker already, who had done some amazing work but things were taking longer than anticipated and they needed to move. The problem was: 🟣 Speed needed to move 🟣 Current investors were out, not investing further 🟣 Fractured cap table 🟣 End of runway was December 31st. 🟣 Buyout of all shareholders needed 🟣 A significant debt stack 🟣 Being a young, 1st time founder When he went by many VCs by himself, he noticed that was a problem, alltogether but the fractured cap table and buyout was the first hurdle. Now here's where the great story begins and I have seen this founder respond in a very remarkable and mentionable way. With such a fractured cap table, VCs but in general, all investors, found it uninvestable. He knew he needed to model a consolidation. He then rallied the investors who wanted out, to agree to a conversion to a loan instead of paying them out directly, which could then be paid off, over time. More so he convinced these investors to be bought out in cash but then to reinvest this amount as a straight loan. The creativity is simply brilliant. Because a buyout meant the money of new investors, wouldn't end up going for 50% to secondaries, which is money from one investor to the other, to buy up EXISTING shares, vs NEW shares (primaries). Investors often don't like that they want their investment to fund the business and growth, not a buyout. Noticed that still wasn't enough, because the second hurdle was the general debt stack of this venture. He then got to work by: 🟣 Talked to all creditors (all) and managed to agree they would drop the debt. 🟣 Got current investors to drop the extended loans and accept a discount on their shares when being bought out. 🟣 Discussed with the bank and they dropped their loan and related debt in full. 🟣 Team agreed to - with mutual consent - terminate some members so the company can continue within its current revenue structure. "It's a young founder," some told me. Honestly, this is some of the most elegant and brilliant things I've ever seen in my career so far - wow. I congratulated and applauded him for his coldbloodedness and resourcefulness, going so towards and beyond the end of the runway... And still being able to bring this home, by literally rallying EVERYONE behind him. All of this now means they need less than half of the original capital needed, which means they're fine with a couple of lower tickets (relative) to form that amount. We ended up with multiple of our capital partners being interested and meeting the founder. Where one party has committed to matching whatever is raised. This is why I broker. What a story. What a guy.

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Interesting post about the difference between the big upstarts in the US versus the EU. I think regulation is indeed one of the killers. I have been setting up some new startups in the Netherlands recently. Even before we set up an entity, I got nausea from the way the tax system works. Trying to tax 'value growth' of an early stage startup, making it practically impossible to transfer shares without paying taxes is not a great incentive. Another problem besides the regulations is the mindset of Europeans. I think we're simply lazier and more risk averse than the US. https://lnkd.in/gUjkrwPm

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