Allez Startups

Claudia Colvin
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Behind-the-scenes interviews with Belgium’s startup founders, investors and local experts. I’m Claudia, a Talent and People advisor for startups and a former founder. When I moved to Belgium in 2022, I explored the local startup scene. It seemed small, fragmented, full of complexities and hurdles. Digging deeper, I realised Belgium is full of bold founders, scaling startups and an ecosystem that’s on the rise. But most of its stories remain untold, or only shared in local networks. This podcast aims to change that. I’m pulling back the curtain to spotlight Belgium’s startup founders, investors and local experts. They’ll share real, personal stories about what happens behind-the-scenes, the knowledge they built and lessons learnt along the way. Expect local inspiration and hands-on knowledge, in English, across regional barriers — so we can all learn from others' journeys.

  1. 2D AGO

    #12 Oper Credits with Geert Van Kerckhoven

    Summary In this episode I spoke with Geert van Kerkhoven, CEO and co-founder of Oper Credits, an Antwerp-based startup on a mission to fix Europe's broken mortgage process. Founded in 2019, they raised a Series A of €11 million in 2022 and now count around 40 employees, active across multiple European markets. Oper Credits sells to banks, not borrowers. Their technology sits behind the scenes, making the mortgage journey faster and smarter for everyone involved. The numbers speak for themselves: 81% faster mortgage decisions and a 90% boost in first-time right scores. This is Geert's second venture in the mortgate space — he joined the first one as employee #2, back when there was no startup community or ecosystem in Belgium. Besides his role as a founder, he's also an active member of Syndicate One. In the podcast we discuss the difference between building now and building 10 years ago in Belgium. What I found most compelling in the Oper Credit story was the AI pivot. Geert walked me through how they went from building digital onboarding tools to going all-in on Agentic AI, and why that was the natural next step towards their original vision of real-time mortgage underwriting. We also talked about building a distributed team across Antwerp, Vienna and Zurich, how European mortgage regulation actually made international expansion easier, and more.

    32 min

  2. 2D AGO

    #11 Start it @KBC with Lode Uytterschaut

    In this episode I spoke with Lode Uytterschaut, Co-Founder and CEO of Start it @KBC — Belgium's largest startup accelerator, with 9 locations in Belgium and 3 abroad, having coached over 3,500 founders since it launched from a single floor of an Art Deco tower in Antwerp. I cannot stress enough the monumental impact that Start it @KBC has had on the Belgian ecosystem. With no strings attached, no equity and no charges, the incentive to apply is strong, there is nothing for founders to lose and much to gain. Built from nothing, when there was no startup ecosystem in Belgium, it has created a flywheel of startups (eg. Conveo, Aikido, Loop Earplugs) and a thriving community. What struck me most was how Start it @KBC was built in the margins. When Lode joined KBC as an atypical hire, corporate life left him with more unstructured time than he was used to. He used it to go to events, meet people, and build relationships — which is ultimately how he found his two co-founders. How we use our free time can be a real differentiator for long-term impact. People who are hungry to build and learn do great things in their free time, they use it to push themselves, learn and create. We also talked about the flywheel effect the Belgian startup ecosystem has reached, the deliberate work Start it @KBC has done on gender inclusion and why it's still hard, what they look for in founders at jury stage, and why scaling a mistake is one of the most common ways startups fail. Chapters 01:00 From architecture to KBC — an unlikely pivot 05:00 Building in the margins: how the co-founding team came together 12:00 The first six startups and how the program was built from their feedback 20:00 Why Belgium sends more founders through accelerators than the rest of Europe 28:00 Gender inclusion: what works, what's still hard 38:00 Mental health, family and what founders take for granted 48:00 What Start it @KBC looks for: coachable, but not too much

    55 min

  3. FEB 16

    #10 Maurice & Nora with Thomas Butstraen

    Meet the deeply human startup whose product has been built entirely thanks to AI. In this episode, I’m joined by Thomas Butstraen, co-founder of Maurice & Nora, the Antwerp-based startup on a mission to become the “Uber for non-medical care.” Maurice & Nora connects seniors and busy families with reliable, vetted students who can help with everyday tasks, from gardening and companionship to after-school childcare and homework support. They’re tackling one of Europe’s biggest societal challenges: the growing care crisis. But what makes this story even more remarkable is how they’re building it. The entire platform was created using AI coding tools (without a traditional engineering team!) allowing them to move at extraordinary speed. We talk about: The personal moment that sparked the ideaWhy building B2C in Belgium is so hardHow they turned PR into a growth engineTheir bold B2B2C strategy, positioning care as an employee benefitWinning major recognition within their first yearWhat it really means to build a “societal unicorn”And the founder reality behind the ambitionThis is a conversation about speed, impact, and rethinking how we care for both older and younger generations: powered by AI, but built for humans. Keep listening to discover how Maurice & Nora plans to change the way Europe thinks about non-medical care.

    37 min

  4. 12/03/2025

    #9 Expert Legal Advice from Dups with Louis Vanheurck

    My vision for this podcast was always for it to be highly practical and operational, not just inspirational. This is why I’m pairing founder interviews with expert advisor interviews, who share knowledge and insights that are relevant to people building in Belgium.  This episode really delivers. It’s jam packed with practical, local advice, 100% tailored to startup founders building in Belgium.  Dups is a legal and financial advice firm specialised in startups. Their team, approach and pricing is founder-centric and it’s visible from this interview.  Check it out to learn:  Belgian specific dos and don’s for fundraising and exitsCommon mistakes seen in Belgian startup founders and how to avoid themImportant things to look out for in the term sheets, specific to Belgium And more... Check out their fundraising guide for a glossary of terms and for a structured, well-written read on the topic.

    47 min

  5. 11/02/2025

    #8 Conversation Starter with Rutger Bevers

    In this episode I spoke with Rutger Bevers, founder and CEO of Conversation Starter, a matchmaking platform helping event participants and communities meet the right people and have meaningful 1-on-1 conversations. He's also co-founder of several communities, including Steward Owned and Long Term Society. Based in Antwerp, founded in 2015, Conversation Starter is a Belgian startup born before the ecosystem had the support network it has now. I found Rutger inspiring and impressive. I’ve heard people say that “Belgian founders aren’t ambitious enough”, but Rutger is deeply defying this stereotype. He started coding and teaching before he was even legally allowed to start a company. He has unstoppable ambition and high standards and it’s from these extremely high standards, that Conversation Starter was born. He built for Hasselt's first TEDx event, which Rutger co-organised, and the rest is history. We talked about the tricky balance between working on vs working in your company. Rutger shared how he’s navigating that shift today, hiring his first salesperson, raising new funding, and trying not to get stuck in day-to-day operations. We also explored why communities are moving away from social media and into smaller, curated spaces. ResourcesConversation StarterSteward Ownedimec.istart

    44 min

  6. 10/11/2025

    #7 Dalton with Vincent Declercq

    SummaryIn this episode I spoke with Vincent Declercq, CEO and Co Founder of Dalton, a startup revolutionizing website optimization through AI. Vincent shares his journey from previous ventures to the inception of Dalton, emphasizing the importance of validation and learning from past mistakes. He discusses the appeal of marketing and growth hacking, the impact of competitive sports on his entrepreneurial spirit, and the significance of finding the right co-founders. The conversation delves into Dalton's innovative approach to website performance, including a case study showcasing impressive conversion rate improvements. Vincent also addresses the technical challenges of building the product, market positioning, and future directions, including pricing strategies and customer engagement. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Dalton and Its Vision01:23 The Journey to Dalton's Creation03:04 Lessons from Previous Ventures05:34 Vincent's Background and Interest in Marketing08:37 The Concept of Growth Hacking10:14 The Impact of Competitive Swimming on Vincent's Career13:34 Finding Co-Founders and Building the Team15:51 Product Overview and Case Study of Dexter21:17 The Technology Behind Dalton24:31 Challenges and Market Positioning27:22 Future Directions and Vision for Dalton30:34 Pricing and Customer Engagement

    35 min

  7. 09/18/2025

    #6 Altheria with Dimitra Manoliadis and Can-David Koycu

    The startup in focus for this episode is Altheria and I spoke with two of its co-founders, Dimitra, the CEO and Can-David or CD, the Chief Design Officer. Altheria provides immersive virtual reality safety trainings for blue collar workers and its product is actually saving lives and limbs, keeping employees safe all over the world. They gave me a deep dive into their product and its evolution, from fun stories of people walking into each other in the early days to the real impact its having on the ground reducing accidents and increasing learning speed. We talked about what it means to be too early in a market and we ended with a candid discussion on the challenges of being a female leader in a male dominant sector. Link to the viral reddit thread mentioned

    52 min

  8. 09/04/2025

    #5 Go Ocean with Marte Greefs

    Episode SummaryIn this episode I spoke with Marte Greefs, CEO and Co-Founder of Go Ocean, a sister company of Go-Forest, of which Marta was the first employee. Each company is a small team of 2 or 3 people, with restoration partners all over the the world and big ambitions for the future.  Go Ocean is on a mission to restore and improves the ocean’s health and biodiversity. They do this by offering  transparent and tangible restoration projects for companies to invest in, ranging from coral or mangrove restoration in the Global South to shellfish reefs and seagrass in our more northern waters. This helps companies compensate their CO₂-emissions, meet their sustainability goals, marketing and comms or even HR goals. I was deeply touched by the founding story behind Go Forest: a tragic event that led to a strong push for positive impact. Marte talked about the challenges of sales and fundraising as an impact business, some of the restoration projects they support, and them broader topics like when to move to an office what to delegate as a founder. She chose Go Forest over a role at the EU Commission (!) and she talked about what helped her make that decision. Founder help recommended by MarteGig and GrowNoaBelgium Startup Ecosystem (and Awards)Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Go Ocean and Marte's Journey05:44 Navigating Career Choices: Startups vs. European Commission09:45 The Early Days at Go Forest14:03 Business Model of Go Ocean and Go Forest18:31 How to do Sales and Marketing as an Impact Business22:34 A Different Take on the Carbon Credits Market26:51 From Tragedy to Positive Impact: The Story Behind Go Forest31:21 Current Projects and Future Directions of Go Ocean32:54 Restoration Efforts and Challenges35:24 Building Partnerships for Marine Restoration36:05 Engaging Employees in Ocean Conservation39:13 The Journey to Finding an Office43:01 Aligning Values with Investors46:02 Support Systems for Startups

    49 min
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About

Behind-the-scenes interviews with Belgium’s startup founders, investors and local experts. I’m Claudia, a Talent and People advisor for startups and a former founder. When I moved to Belgium in 2022, I explored the local startup scene. It seemed small, fragmented, full of complexities and hurdles. Digging deeper, I realised Belgium is full of bold founders, scaling startups and an ecosystem that’s on the rise. But most of its stories remain untold, or only shared in local networks. This podcast aims to change that. I’m pulling back the curtain to spotlight Belgium’s startup founders, investors and local experts. They’ll share real, personal stories about what happens behind-the-scenes, the knowledge they built and lessons learnt along the way. Expect local inspiration and hands-on knowledge, in English, across regional barriers — so we can all learn from others' journeys.

Information

  • Creator
    Claudia Colvin
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Claudia Colvin