Robert Verwaayen

scale up: The Systematic Approach to Breaking Growth Barriers for High-Performing Companies Recently, I came across a post that questioned the innovation behind frameworks like the 4D Scaleup Framework. Here's a quick summary of the post: "The framework consists of four steps: Direction, Design, Delivery, and Development. While this sounds familiar — goal setting, strategy, execution, and continuous improvement — is this really innovative? I’ve approached challenges similarly before." I love this kind of discussion, so I wanted to share my take, particularly in the context of how we help companies at scale up. While the steps themselves may seem familiar, the real innovation lies in how we execute them at ScaleUp. Our approach isn’t just theoretical—it’s practical and designed to help already successful companies break through the barriers they face when scaling. We focus on: 1) Data-driven diagnostics to pinpoint exactly where the bottlenecks are and prioritize impactful actions. 2) Live interaction with experienced entrepreneur coaches who have faced the same challenges and provide real-world insights. 3) Turning strategy into daily operations, ensuring that it’s not just a leadership conversation, but one that’s lived by the whole team. 4) Building scalability into your core, making sure your teams, culture, and processes grow smoothly, without friction. Sustainable, long-term solutions, so you don’t just fix today’s problem, but create lasting growth without constant fire-fighting. At ScaleUp, we work with businesses that aren’t failing—they’re successful, but they hit a ceiling. Our process helps them break through that ceiling with a systematic and repeatable approach that works across industries. It’s not about intuition alone; it’s about executing growth through a structured, proven method.

5

2 commentaren

Anterra Capital and SaaS Masters Join Forces to Accelerate the growth of Anterra’s incubated businesses and portfolio companies Amsterdam, The Netherlands – 8th of January 2025 SaaS Masters and Anterra Capital are excited to announce a partnership focused on helping Anterra’s portfolio grow and succeed. This collaboration brings together Anterra’s experience in incubating and supporting SaaS companies with SaaS Masters’ hands-on expertise in tackling the operational challenges many startups face. Anterra Capital is known for incubating and backing companies at seed and Series A, like Smartwyre, ZebiAI, and Agryco.com and has been a strong supporter of SaaS businesses. With this partnership, Anterra is strengthening its commitment to helping its portfolio scale effectively and sustainably. SaaS Masters specializes in providing practical, fractional leadership through a network of experienced B2B professionals. By teaming up with Anterra, they aim to offer actionable guidance and support that addresses the everyday needs of growing SaaS companies. Maarten Goossens, Founding Partner at Anterra Capital, commented: “The partnership with SaaS Masters increases the access to talent for both our incubated businesses and portfolio companies. As a specialist VC we’ve been fortunate to work with great entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Now, with SaaS Masters, we can help them tackle day-to-day operational challenges as they navigate their way to long-term success.” Wolter Rebergen, Co-Founder of SaaS Masters, added: “A lot of the SaaS businesses we work with come to us while preparing for funding rounds or exits, looking for the expertise they need to stand out. By partnering with Anterra Capital, we can bring that expertise directly to their portfolio companies, helping them hit the growth targets and build the compelling stories they need to attract investors and buyers.” In 2025, SaaS Masters and Anterra Capital plan to co-host several SaaS-focused events to share insights, strategies, and tools with SaaS companies. Stay tuned for updates on this partnership and details about upcoming events.

61

9 commentaren

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

122

17 commentaren

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

36

1 commentaar

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

16

2 commentaren

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

5

1 commentaar

New name. New guts. More glory? You bet.   Today, we announce our new name and brand: DFF Ventures (Dutch Founders Fund) Ventures—or simply 'DFF' to most.   📍 We’ve been first-cheque partners for founders building marketplace or vertical SaaS/AI solutions across Europe and MENA since 2018. Over the years, our portfolio has grown to 36 companies, spanning 20+ nationalities. From Mehmet and Zeynep, who are building Turkey's leading trade-in infrastructure at Getmobil, to Sebastian and Rafael, creating a global recycling marketplace for scrap metal out of Germany and China, and Florian, developing an employee compensation OS much closer to home – we’ve always had an international focus. Our new name fits that global footprint slightly better 🤝   And although our name and brand might have changed, our ethos has not. We continue to invest in founders building digital solutions for non-digital industries with a 0-bullshit, all-in approach. We move at your speed: no jargon, murky terms or long-winded processes. Hopefully a quick 'yes', but otherwise a candid "no'. We tell it like it is. Just like founders, and just like the Dutch 🧀   👉🏻 Come and check us out at www.dff.ventures   w/ Laurens, Patrick, Hidde, Mart, Federico, 🤖Tom, Maarten, Maarten, Remco & Sjoerd

242

25 commentaren

VCLink's Daily Round Report (Part 3) 15. Vince Vissers's Firsty.app, a telecom startup, has raised €5.1 million ($5.4 million) from Speedinvest, DFF Ventures (Dutch Founders Fund), and prominent angel investors like Marcel Smits. The company aims to provide free mobile data globally, with coverage already expanded to 150 markets. https://lnkd.in/e5S8p79H 16. Socium, a Senegal-based HR-tech startup led by a team of innovators, has secured $5 million in seed funding led by Breega. The company plans to expand its AI-powered HR and payroll automation platform across more Francophone African countries. Partech, Orange Ventures, Chui Ventures, SONATEL, Outlierz Ventures, ⚡ SUPER CAPITAL ⚡, Evolem, and Techmind also participated. https://lnkd.in/ejNF6mrg 17. Benedikt Heuer's IonKraft, a spin-off from RWTH Aachen University specializing in plasma-based barrier coatings, raises €3.5 million ($3.81 million) in equity funding from M Ventures , TechVision Fund, and HTGF | High-Tech Gründerfonds to scale production for market entry. https://lnkd.in/eXK_JdiS 18. Greg Glass’s Fanstake, a fan engagement platform focused on athlete recruitment through NIL deals, has raised $3M in a pre-seed funding round led by Susa Ventures and Will Ventures. The platform aims to disrupt the sports industry by allowing fans to participate in athlete retention efforts. https://lnkd.in/epR3RmRk 19. Kelly Klifa's Heim, a healthcare technology company, has raised £2.2 million ($2.80 million) in seed funding led by Heal Capital, with participation from Form Ventures, Portfolio Ventures , and Houghton Street Ventures. The company aims to deliver healthcare services more efficiently at patients' homes. https://lnkd.in/eD2C-SW4 20. Bavovna AI, a Ukrainian startup led by innovators in autonomous navigation systems for drones, has raised $2.7 million to scale production. Presto Tech Horizons led the round with participation from Network VC, Allied VC, and other private investors. https://lnkd.in/eDhr68ke 21. Serviceform, active in Automotive and Real Estate tech, has raised €2.45 million ($2.65 million) from Virta Equity, BackingMind, Gorilla Capital, and angel investor Lasse Järvinen. The company is looking to expand into additional verticals and M&A opportunities. https://lnkd.in/ewkszYGc

5

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

7

1 commentaar

💥 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

16

1 commentaar

Netherlands based Innovation Industries recently launched their third fund to back deep-tech start-ups and scale-ups. 💸 €500M Innovation Industries Fund III, with backing from PME pensioenfonds, Pensioenfonds Metaal en Techniek ( PMT ), bpfBOUW, Pensioenfonds ABP, KPN, Pensioenfonds TNO, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Athora Netherlands, Rabobank, Oost NL, InnovationQuarter, Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), Wachstumsfonds, Invest-NL, European Investment Fund (EIF) and KfW Capital 💡 Innovation Industries Fund III invests in technology companies that offer innovative solutions to societal challenges, including #energysupply, #circularity, #healthcare, and #agrifood. The fund generally invests between €10 million and €30 million in each company over multiple funding rounds. 🌍 #Benelux and #Germany 📈 Innovation Industries has invested into more than 30 #deeptech companies including beeOLED, Battolyser Systems, EnOcean, Carbyon, Pharrowtech, Protealis, Onera Health, Axelera AI, among others. 💭 "Investing in deeptech is very attractive from various perspectives. Nevertheless, deeptech companies still face significant challenges in raising capital. With our third fund, combined with the Strategic Partners Fund, we are taking an important step in addressing this issue for Dutch deeptech companies." - Nard Sintenie, partner at Innovation Industries. 💭 “Our investment in the Innovation Industries Fund III underlines our commitment to highly innovative companies in the Netherlands.” - Nicolaas Heij, Senior Investment Manager, Invest-NL. 🗞️By Vigneshwar Silicon Canals - European Technology News https://lnkd.in/dabHmYQA 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 Chris I Harm I Nard I Sander I Caaj I Tom I Vincent I Pleuni I Margherita I Rogier I Tobias I Tom I Claire I Team Innovation Industries … #venturecapital #vc #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #funding #tech #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #Netherlands #dutch

52

Anterra Capital and SaaS Masters Join Forces to Accelerate the growth of Anterra’s incubated businesses and portfolio companies Amsterdam, The Netherlands – 8th of January 2025 SaaS Masters and Anterra Capital are excited to announce a partnership focused on helping Anterra’s portfolio grow and succeed. This collaboration brings together Anterra’s experience in incubating and supporting SaaS companies with SaaS Masters’ hands-on expertise in tackling the operational challenges many startups face. Anterra Capital is known for incubating and backing companies at seed and Series A, like Smartwyre, ZebiAI, and Agryco.com and has been a strong supporter of SaaS businesses. With this partnership, Anterra is strengthening its commitment to helping its portfolio scale effectively and sustainably. SaaS Masters specializes in providing practical, fractional leadership through a network of experienced B2B professionals. By teaming up with Anterra, they aim to offer actionable guidance and support that addresses the everyday needs of growing SaaS companies. Maarten Goossens, Founding Partner at Anterra Capital, commented: “The partnership with SaaS Masters increases the access to talent for both our incubated businesses and portfolio companies. As a specialist VC we’ve been fortunate to work with great entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Now, with SaaS Masters, we can help them tackle day-to-day operational challenges as they navigate their way to long-term success.” Wolter Rebergen, Co-Founder of SaaS Masters, added: “A lot of the SaaS businesses we work with come to us while preparing for funding rounds or exits, looking for the expertise they need to stand out. By partnering with Anterra Capital, we can bring that expertise directly to their portfolio companies, helping them hit the growth targets and build the compelling stories they need to attract investors and buyers.” In 2025, SaaS Masters and Anterra Capital plan to co-host several SaaS-focused events to share insights, strategies, and tools with SaaS companies. Stay tuned for updates on this partnership and details about upcoming events.

13

2 commentaren

Great insights into the shift towards focus on profitability in SaaS ✍   GP Bullhound's European SaaS Report 2024 highlights trends that we've noticed in the market over the last 2 years. Namely, companies are focussing more on profitability, next to revenue growth.   Even better, these trends align with what our vision has been for a longer time: namely, that for many SaaS startups, focussing on profitability is a healthier alternative than the blitzscaling 'all or nothing' path.   GP Bullhound's report is great in the way it provides nuance around this topic:   📈 ARR Growth and profitability have inverse trend lines: meaning that the more a company has ARR growth, the less profitable it becomes. Or does it? Looking closely at the data, it is interesting to see that the % of profitable companies is relatively the same (between 29%-36%), whether in the 20% growth range or 60+% growth range.   👀 Compared to that, it really is interesting that in the surveyed companies, 73% of startups in the cohort of 20% YoY growth or less, were profitable.. I would love to know which % of this cohort are true startups, or already more scale-ups? Since 56% of all startups surveyed are between 5-25m in ARR.   For the ones interesting in reading the report: check out the link in the comments below. Have a nice weekend! 😎

13

1 commentaar

✨ 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!

51

3 commentaren

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

132

6 commentaren

The European VC fundraising scene is showing a clear trend: experience matters. Let's unpack some data on this from The State of European Fundraising Report. 1/ Why track record matters. In a cautious market, LPs (investors) are prioritizing established funds with a proven history of success. Experienced firms captured 54.5% of the capital raised in 2023. 2/ New opportunities for LPs. This market shift presents a golden opportunity for LPs to build relationships with top-tier VC firms. Firms they might not have accessed before. 3/ Focus on creating value. Investors are seeking firms that prioritize building real value, not just hype. This is a great long-term trend for the industry. If you are en emerging fund manager, the time to build a strong reputation and track record is now. Focus on building a compelling value proposition and demonstrating a clear path to success to attract investors. Learn how to navigate the effects of the #TechReset. Get insights from The State of European Fundraising Report. ➡️ buff.ly/4aYglgi Delivered to you by EUVC | Isomer Capital | Floww. #EUVC #fundraising #venturecapital #industryreport

12

1 commentaar