Startup Pass-port

Startup Pass-port
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The Startup Pass-port by Econsulate podcast series will serve as a platform to spotlight the inspiring stories and insights of ecosystem partners in leading startup communities. During our first series, we will focus on the startup ecosystem in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Each episode promises to offer valuable perspectives and expert advice, further enriching our understanding of this thriving ecosystem.

  1. 2 days ago

    Purpose matters more than hustle

    Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 17 – Adriaan Jacob Brouwer, EY. Adriaan Brouwer, who leads EY Innovation in the Netherlands, discusses his role in connecting startups and scale-ups with the expertise and capabilities of a large services firm like EY. Drawing from his own experience as a founder, he explains how EY can support growing companies with its scale, expertise and flexibility, particularly as startups begin building the backbone of their operations across different markets. He also reflects on how his entrepreneurial background helps him understand founders, build trust and connect their challenges with the right people. Beyond EY, he shares how he continues building through two foundations, including a venture philanthropy initiative supporting an underserved patient group. The conversation explores his views on hustle culture, purpose and planning. Adriaan explains why he doesn't glorify grinding for the sake of grinding, why "purpose is way more important," and why letting go of the illusion of control matters. He believes the journey of working toward something matters more than simply chasing an end goal. He closes with two key lessons: working with founders means learning a lot, and "don't assume." He explains how assumptions about other people's intentions can lead us to misunderstand situations and miss opportunities.  This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise and the NL Startup Competition. T hese conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!

  2. 4 days ago

    A plastic alternative made from bacteria

    Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 16 – Pim Jansen, Chief Operating Officer of Plastilose.   Pim Jansen, Chief Operating Officer of Plastilose, discusses how the company is developing an alternative to the single-use plastic cups used in hospitals and nursing institutions. Made from bacterial cellulose, the cups are designed to replace the plastic versions currently used for patients receiving pills and liquid medication. Pim explains how bacterial cellulose is similar to the cellulose found in trees and can break down naturally.   Pim also discusses the challenges of bringing the product into hospitals, where cups are typically used once and then discarded because of contamination and medication residue. He explains why Plastilose designed its product as a drop-in replacement for existing hospital cups and how pilots are being used to optimize the product around hospital needs before a wider rollout.    The conversation also looks at the scale of the opportunity, with an average Dutch hospital using 200,000 to 300,000 cups a year and the Dutch healthcare sector using around 50 million annually. Pim shares Plastilos' plans to move from a first production line capable of producing 10,000 cups a week towards one million cups a week, while initially scaling in the Netherlands before going global. Reflecting on his journey, Pim also shares his preference for impact investors and his biggest learning so far: "we get done more together," emphasizing the value of combining resources and working together to achieve more.   This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise and the NL Startup Competition.   These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!

  3. 6 days ago

    Nine years until she starts her own company

    Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 15 – Liesje Goldschmidt, Erasmus Enterprise. Liesje returns for her third appearance to talk about what she sees working across the startups and scale-ups Erasmus Enterprise supports. Over five years the team has guided 1,245 teams. Roughly 500 of those startups are still operating, and 30% have stayed in the region. She's direct about where early teams struggle: many students are learning how to work at the same time as they're learning how to run a company, from guiding a team to building a process. Money becomes the problem later, once a startup starts to scale. On what makes a good entrepreneur: passion first, then solving a problem you can actually build the product for, then the team. And a fourth thing she credits to Ironman training - you also need to enjoy the bad days. Not every training session is a good one. This season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors, and ecosystem leaders, in collaboration with Erasmus Enterprise and the NL Startup Competition. These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them New episodes dropping soon.

  4. 7 Aug

    Hidden vessel data holds real value!

    Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 14 – Efil Bengisu Saygı, CEO and Co-founder of Gelectric. Efil says she was born around vessels - her father has run a traditional maritime maintenance company in Turkey for over 40 years, and she trained as an electrical engineer to work alongside it. She founded Gelectric in 2022 to fix a problem she had watched vessel owners live with for most of her career. Her estimate: a single vessel generates enormous amounts of data, and around 80% of it sits unstructured - text files, PDFs, emails, even photos. Gelectric's AI agents collect that material, analyse it, and turn it into something usable for performance analytics and regulatory compliance. The compliance side is where the stakes are clearest. Crews still file reports manually, which means what Efil calls fat finger errors - a typo, a wrong figure. Submit incorrect data, knowingly or not, and the penalty can run from €100 to a fleet-wide ban from certain ports. Most of these rules come from the IMO, so they apply to vessels everywhere, not just Europe. Efil also talks about finding the maritime industry in Rotterdam far more open to innovation than she expected from a traditionally conservative sector, why partnerships are the unlock for reaching customers at scale, and her plans to expand into Germany and Greece. Three and a half years in, Gelectric runs on around 30 vessels with a team of five. At the NL Startup Competition 2026 finale during Upstream Festival, Gelectric won the Frontwalker Digital Development Prize. This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, recorded in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise and the NL Startup Competition. These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!

  5. 5 Aug

    You have to fall in love with the founders

    Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 13 – Sjoerd van Berkel, Co-founder and Operator of Dutch Operator Fund. From building his own companies to becoming an angel investor, Sjoerd shares the experiences that shaped his approach to entrepreneurship and investing. In this episode, he explains why the team is always his number one investment criterion, why founders need grit and commitment to succeed, and why believing in the people behind a startup matters more than the idea itself. Sjoerd also reflects on the lessons he learned from building scalable businesses, the importance of finding the right co-founder, and how validating ideas early can prevent costly mistakes. He discusses how education helped him develop the network and skills that supported his entrepreneurial journey, and shares his perspective on why the Netherlands continues to be a strong place for founders to build innovative companies. This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, recorded at the Upstream Festival in Rotterdam in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise. These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!

  6. 3 Aug

    Residual wood can clean polluted water

    Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 12 – Guido Brugman, Founder of Hydrogenium.   Driven by the growing challenge of PFAS contamination in his hometown of Dordrecht, Guido founded Hydrogenium to develop a sustainable solution for removing harmful pollutants from waterways. In this episode, he shares how the company transforms residual wood streams into a bio-based filtration material that captures PFAS, helping to address one of today's most persistent environmental challenges.   Guido also discusses the journey from pharmaceutical sciences and chemistry to entrepreneurship, the importance of independently validating new technologies before scaling, and the lessons he's learned while building an environmental startup. He reflects on learning through mistakes, working alongside an advisory board, and his vision of expanding Hydrogenium's solution beyond the Netherlands to create a broader environmental impact.   This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise and the NL Startup Competition.   These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!

  7. 30 Jul

    Social capital is a massively underestimated asset

    Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 11 – Alexander Broekman, CEO of Superconnectors. As the CEO of Superconnectors, Alexander shares how meaningful connections can create opportunities that go far beyond financial investment. In this episode, he explains how Superconnectors helps founders identify their most critical challenge and connects them with people who have the network, expertise, and willingness to help solve it. Alexander also discusses why social capital is a massively underestimated asset, how one meaningful introduction can have a greater impact than funding alone, and why startup communities thrive when people genuinely want to help one another. He explains how Superconnectors combines community-driven events with technology to create purposeful introductions, track their outcomes, and empower cities to build stronger local startup ecosystems through collaboration and shared networks. This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, recorded at the Upstream Festival in Rotterdam in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise. These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!

  8. 28 Jul

    Using light to activate cancer treatment

    Season 07 of Startup Passport by Frontwalker continues with Episode 10 – Sebas Pronk, CEO and Co-founder of Lumox. A biomedical scientist turned entrepreneur, Sebas is on a mission to transform cancer treatment through precision medicine. In this episode, he shares how Lumox is developing a light-activated therapy designed to target tumors more precisely, reducing damage to healthy cells while improving treatment effectiveness. He explains how a breakthrough in academic research evolved into a startup with the potential to change the future of cancer care. Sebas also shares the journey of transforming breakthrough scientific research into a healthcare startup, from laboratory discovery and pre-clinical studies to preparing for human clinical trials. He discusses the realities of developing medical innovation, the importance of securing investment, and why bringing a new therapy to patients requires patience, collaboration, and long-term vision. Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Sebas explains why great science alone isn't enough, how storytelling became just as important as research, and why the support of the startup ecosystem has been one of his biggest lessons as a founder. This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, recorded in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise and the NL Startup Competition. These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!

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The Startup Pass-port by Econsulate podcast series will serve as a platform to spotlight the inspiring stories and insights of ecosystem partners in leading startup communities. During our first series, we will focus on the startup ecosystem in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Each episode promises to offer valuable perspectives and expert advice, further enriching our understanding of this thriving ecosystem.

Information

  • Creator
    Startup Pass-port
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Startup Pass-port