Michel Boerrigter

How I did MVP for my Hardware Startup? 21 Year me was not aware about this... A strategy, even a great one, doesn’t implement itself” —Jeroen De Flander 😀 Firstly Lets understand, What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? In a hardware startup or any startup an MVP is refers to the most basic version of a product that can be build to demonstrate its core functionality. My MVP consisted of the following key elements, 1- Core functionality 2- Feedback mechanism 3- Necessary hardware components 4- Purely made for usable prototype 5- Very basic design or material as possible 6- Usable prototype not very aesthetically beautiful I completed my first MVP using a wooden box, and it worked perfectly. To test different aspects, I created multiple MVPs. 1-One focused on functionality 2-Another on design mock-up 3-One for the UI, which involved mounting a tablet on a wall to simulate the screen. At that time, 3D printing options for the exterior were limited, and there were very few service agencies that could help. So, we opted for wooden boxes and got them made by a nearby furniture shop. Now there are so many was to speedup the process. During this phase, the idea of Makenica Product Manufacturing Hub came to us. 😎 What is your MVP story? Have a Hardware idea don't know how to start? #mvp #hardwarestartup #startup #bangalore #3dprinting

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🎧 Talking to Customers: A Founder’s Most Valuable Habit At Somnox, we live by the credo: Talk to your customers. Build your product. Repeat. That’s why I occasionally jump into our customer support inbox and answer the phone myself. It’s not just about solving immediate issues—it’s about understanding why customers call, what challenges they face, and what questions they have. These conversations are pure gold. They give us insights to improve not just the product, but the entire customer experience. Hearing firsthand how Somnox impacts people’s lives—and how we can make it even better—reminds me why we do what we do. To my fellow founders and innovators: When was the last time you spoke directly to your customers? The answers you need are only a conversation away.

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𝐈𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝗶𝐭? Just recently came across the mentioned post from Mads Oscar Haumann pointing out that nice little fact that scaling for profit as the sole goal is often shortsighted. Companies like VanMoof could have taken a step back to focus on product quality, customer satisfaction, and sustainability. Addressing not just profit but also environmental impact as well as customer needs, they might have had the chance to avoid a downfall and turn into a more long-lasting business impact and success. 𝗛𝗼𝘄? Prioritizing the triple bottom line - 🌱 planet, 🙌 people, 💸 profit - offers a more holistic approach towards business success, leads to greater resilience and focus on social and environmental impact. At Studio Y-si, we take that balanced TBL approach to create regenerative futures together with the brands and allowing them to thrive without endless growth. 𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙋𝙨? 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. #planetpeopleprofit #studioysi #regenerativefutures

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Is Monumental the hottest construction robotics company in Europe? Are they even a robotics company? 🤔 **Announcing - Super Series #2 with Monumental.** In this series we sit down with Salar al Khafaji, Sebastiaan Visser, Stijn van Krimpen, Wouter Gort and Lottie Liebling to dive deep into Monumental’s story. Episodes: 1. Salar’s Origin story 2. Why Construction Needs Robotics 3. How To Build A Robotics Company 4. Monumental’s Destination 5. Investing In Robotics w/ @Wouter In this series you will learn: ‣ How a software engineer with no construction experience is changing the bricklaying industry with robots that can lay bricks with sub-millimeter precision. ‣ Why investors initially shied away from this robotics startup, and how it's now poised to disrupt the $14 trillion construction industry. ‣ The unique "outcome as a service" business model that's allowing this startup to penetrate the conservative construction market faster than anyone expected. ‣ How this company is tackling the severe labor shortage in construction by developing robots that can work alongside human masons. ‣ Uncover the founder's ambitious vision for the future of construction - will we see fully automated building sites with robots constructing entire houses in just days? + So so so so so so much more Back to my question. Robotics company, or bricklaying company? Watch the series and decide for yourself. Mark your calendars! October 16th 2024.

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How to structure your venture studio SaaS portfolio company right from the start Venture studios are keen on creating SaaS portfolio companies. If structured right, SaaS companies can become profitable cash machines for venture studios. Combining fifteen years of experience with SaaS business models and researching venture builders for a PhD project, these are my five major learnings: 🔗As most SaaS products may be copied. Excellent distribution and long-term customer relationships are crucial. Long-term and strong relationships impact many important KPI's including ARR growth, Churn, NPS and eNPS. ➡️For venture studios, that means building on the existing network to creating legitimacy for the portfolio start-up. ---- 🚥A streamlined organization where everyone knows what to do makes recruiting during scaling much easier. Hiring too fast, before the need of more team members occurs, may hinder efficiency. Create job descriptions, routines and procedures for the organization open enough not risking losing founder mode. ➡️For venture studios, that means knowing what competence to look for in different states. Use accumulated knowledge timing and managing recruitment as best as possible. ---- 📈 Keep track on the blended CAC ratio. Inefficiency and high cost in acquiring new ARR will eat up your EBITDA margins. Most B2C SaaS gets scalable through higher numbers of customers. In B2B SaaS, expansion, cross-selling, and price increases are fundamental for fast growth. ➡️For venture studios, that means share customer databases, cross-sell as much as possible, and develop a value-based pricing structure as soon as possible. ---- 🔁 Having routines and procedures in place capitalizing from a management quality system (we used ISO) helps bringing your start-up from a healthy creative chaos to an efficient scale-up. ➡️For venture studios, that means creating a management quality system and put it in place in each portfolio company will help increase speed of development and growth. ---- 💻 An understanding that an intuitive and ‘friendly’ user interface with few bugs in the product, allow support and customer success to be part of the sales organization focusing on the core product, rather than being a business unit trying to help customers handle an in-efficient product to avoid churn. ➡️For venture studios, that means accumulate knowledge in software development in relation to user friendliness and learn from previous start-up attempts to avoid churn. From your experience, what other learnings should be added here? #venturestudio #venturebuilder #entrepreneurship #scaling #saas ________________________________ Did you like this post? Connect or Follow @john-erik hassel

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BACKENDER WANTED! About the job Looking for a talented Senior Lead Backend Python Engineer to join our new product studio in Amsterdam. Our studio only does internal ideation, we do not work for clients. Exploring the conversational fronteer of AI in both the physical domain (hardware) and online (apps/websites) in various experimental B2C executions, each tailored to different age-ranges. Our small team has already started building some pretty cool things behind the scenes, and we need someone who lives and breathes robust backend solutions and thrives in a fast-paced, innovative environment. Amsterdam (or nearby) based only – no remote from far-flung corners - please don't respond or apply if this isn't you - absolutely no exceptions - also no recruiters please. What’s in it for you? - Be part of a small, sharp-witted team working on tech that’s just as disruptive as it is exciting (hybrid role) - A startup vibe without layers of bureaucracy - Participation in every spin-out that you were involved in What we need from you: - Solid **Python** expertise is mandatory - Strong experience building and scaling **REST APIs** using FastAPI & Swagger - Knowledge of **Docker** for containerization and orchestration - Comfortable with **data validation** frameworks like **Pydantic** - Experience working with **Postgres** databases - An understanding of **sockets** to enable real-time interactions - Familiarity with **Flask** and similar frameworks - Experience with creating and maintaining unit tests & pipelines - Ideally, experience integrating or interacting with **LLMs (Large Language Models)** - Nice to have: some experience with IoT, micro controllers and hardware - Available ASAP, and could see yourself sticking around for the long haul What’s the work like? - Building up scalable backend systems and refining them to handle growth and complexity - Creating clean, maintainable code - Collaborating directly with frontend devs, other backend devs and AI experts so everything flows smoothly from button click to backend action - Problem-solving challenges that pop up when integrating data from multiple sources (and LLMs!) into a seamless user experience - We're currently looking for our new studio space in Amsterdam so we can have a place to call home - so while remote work is absolutely encouraged, we would also like to share a space together so we can feel like a team, so this is a hybrid on-site/remote role If you (or someone you know) would like to be part of a motivated, lean team working on cutting-edge tech, let's talk! Team members: Erik Borra Mark Hinch myself and a few more to be announced soon.

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Founders: want to know what your company is worth? 📢 ➡️ Tomorrow torq.partners is giving a Valuation 101 workshop at Crossroads 2024 by Startup Utrecht Region at Dotslash Utrecht. At 13.00 at the Frontspace stage we will be giving founders (and other interested parties) a quick run through of how investors and acquirers value companies. So: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝: 💰 Planning a fund raising round? 🤝 Thinking about your exit roadmap and curious what your company would be worth? 📈 Wanting to offer key personnel shares and in need of a market valuation for your business? We will provide you with a very practical "how to" and easy-to-apply valuation methods. So you can ensure that you will approach your fund raising round or exit well-informed and with confidence. Yori May Mitch Karsten torq.partners | Benelux #startup #fundraising #valuation #entrepreneurship #founders #venturecapital #capitalraise #exit #mergersandacquisitions

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Last week I attended Rewire's AI event "tomorrow is calling". AI is hot everywhere, but Rewire (formerly known as Micompany) has been on the forefront for decades now. And with a speaker line-up with Tom Goodwin, Stefan Leijnen, and amazing speakers from companies like Rabobank, ASML, Brenntag, Novamedia, and Dataiku, I was very excited. I went home impressed, challenged and with lots to think about. Here's what I took from it: - Companies are already moving the needle using AI in substantial ways. For example Brenntag showing a program with well over 9-figure profit contribution - Solid foundation is key and after years of digital transformation, there's still lots of work to do. Be it in upskilling employee data literacy and maturity, or building the right platform infrastructure for your data. Give it the attention and investments needed to get it right now and not get stuck later - We will be going through various phases while adopting GenAI. In the first half we simply "add" to our business. Like a patch to a broken system. But in the second half we "rethink", and this is where the magic happens - To get there, it's important to understand that it's about the depth of change to the core, about systems and integration (not UI) - Good at tech, or good at using tech? Technology and digital native companies have been getting lots of attention (and valuation), but recently the pendulum is swinging back to incumbents. Corporates are getting good at tech as well - A provocative statement: for true "rethinking" deep category expertise is getting more vital than tech. Incumbents are therefore well positioned What do you think about this? Are we indeed going to see incumbents rethinking and reinventing themselves? Or do you think that they will get stuck in the "adding" phase, and true rethinking will have to come from novel businesses? Happy to hear your thoughts. Thanks Folkert de Jong and Tamara Kloek for the invite. It was a great event.

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"You're like the Steve Jobs of AI"--Alexander Y., CEO of CCV Inc. With all due respect to the greatest innovator of all time I am here to revolutionize the way every business in every market On the planet operates Apple and every single business in the world is built upon the integration of people, processes, and technology aligned to its corporate and business strategies to develop competitive advantages. The central problem addressed by my research is the significant waste in global business operations caused by poor project management. According to the 2018 Pulse of the Profession® by the Project Management Institute organizations worldwide waste $1 million every 20 seconds due to ineffective implementation of business strategies, resulting in $2 trillion wasted annually. The current configuration of people, processes, and technology Results in over $2 trillion of waste every year "Waste is any step or activity in a process that doesn't contribute value to the final product"--GLSS (GoLeanSixSigma.com) In preparation for my Doctor of Business Administration I began searching Google Scholar🎓 For the topics of my dissertation and found out No human in history has created a research paper that contains all of the keywords of my dissertation. "Your search - did not match any articles"--Google Scholar🎓 Dissertation Chapters: 1) Integrating Advanced Technologies to Increase Revenues 2) Configuring Advanced Technologies to Increase Capabilities 3) Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Reduce Costs 4) Identifying Advanced Technologies to Drive Efficiencies and Sustainability 5) Implementing Advanced Technologies Across Business Functions My dissertation is rooted in real-world execution and experience where I held the following positions concurrently at BKFS: QI Product Manager VI Product Manager CI Product Manager Product Strategy Manager Marketing Manager Product Marketing Manager Product Operations Manager Exchange Platform Manager Business Process Manager Cross Division Integration Product Manager Business Integration Specialist Business Engineer A search for "Integrating" and "Advanced Technologies" yields 114,000 results. I show up to the PhD programs at MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Business School, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and the Executive Doctor of Business Administration program of Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. With a guaranteed ticket to making history And the backing of the institution that never made it Difficult for me to pursue the expansion of The foundation of my knowledge base Bachelor of Science, Information Technology and Software Engineering (3.47 GPA) Bachelor of Science, Business (3.66 GPA) Master of Business Administration (4.00 GPA) The University of Phoenix Who accepted me into their Doctor of Business Administration Program And enabled me to negotiate which academic institutions I allow to make history with me. Welcome to the genesis of Autonomous Operations

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🚀 Super Angels Wanted: driving the next chapter of Dutch innovation. My latest column in Quote why it's time for a new Golden Age in the Netherlands. Read on.. Recently, I read a LinkedIn post highlighting how easily we justify spending on things like student loans (€35,000), weddings (€5,000–50,000), or mortgages (€500,000). These debts are celebrated as milestones. But when it comes to investing in starting a business, the questions start pouring in: "What if it fails?" Despite our Golden Age history, Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions show that the Dutch score high on uncertainty avoidance—we like to save and avoid risky investments. Yet, I see a growing shift. Dutch family offices, entrepreneurs, and even pension funds are stepping up. Together with state investment fund Invest-NL, they’re recognizing the need to invest boldly in startups and scale-ups to safeguard our future. As a venture capital investor, I applaud this collaboration—it’s a win-win, and desperately needed. Having spent 7 years in San Francisco, I witnessed people grow wealthy in tech because they embraced early-stage opportunities. Some joined "rocket ship" startups with equity, while others became early investors. The truth is, we lack the kind of Super Angels that Silicon Valley thrives on—tech entrepreneurs who reinvest their success back into the ecosystem, at scale. Instead, the Netherlands boasts a wealth of highly successful family-owned businesses, with roots in manufacturing, industry, real estate, energy, and trade (think SHV, VDL Groep, Van Oord, Brenntag, Boskalis, Kloosterboer, Royal BAM Group and many, many others) My hope? That these family offices step up to the plate, embracing the role of Super Angels by exploring early-stage investing. Allocating even 10% of their portfolio to this asset class will unlock innovation, fuel the startup ecosystem, potentially become a great design partner early on in the startup journey and drive the next wave of Dutch entrepreneurship. The Netherlands is poised for a new Golden Age—one fueled by innovation, collaboration, and smart investments. The question is: Are you ready to own a piece of the future? 🌟 Would love your input how this is already happening in the Dutch tech startup scene & what you think is needed to accelerate this!

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AI predicts the results of Euro 2024, with startling accuracy, find out how. Ok, that’s probably not entirely true. It is probably as good as Ronald the Goat. Hopefully better. Time will tell. In this weeks newsletter (out today) discover 1. The prompt I used 2. How all the main AI’s performed doing this task 3. For the cost of a coffee an additional deep prompt walk through of using a data driven approach to try for a better answer. What’s the takeout. You can see in action some well formed prompts, that make use of research driven prompts and engineering to try to solve a problem, with a dash of fun. As opposed to a linked in post with a cheat sheet of 100 prompts that will ‘game change your business’… or link farm you for a data list. Let’s have a bit of fun together and use billions of pounds of technology to out smart a goat. 🐐 🔮⚽️ < 🤖🧮🔮⚽️ That’s the questions as pointless emojis. Ps also 38 previous issues of no 🐂💩 AI information

Some time ago, I was about to acquire 20% of an AI company with one of my best friends, a top Dutch CTO known for a very high-profile exit. Had the opportunity to optimize the business for 6 months and created a beautiful 2.0 story. With the team, I put that company on the map. Had rallied friends and top people around the concept. Operator and investor alike. This would be my moment and I had saved up all my contacts, for now. Got the current investors to also collectively fill 10% of the convertible because it would help to underbuild the business case to new investors. The moment those current investors one by one followed - was somehow very emotional to me. Because they invested in the 2.0 story I had created. The best UI/UX party, Pieter Van den Keybus/UFLOW. They turned that product (front) into something so beautiful and so user-friendly. Product-wise it was a game-changer and I knew I just had to call them to make it happen. More so I designed the convertible memo according to my template, again with help of some amazing people - and rallied my favorite VC: Johan van Mil of Peak. The shareholders had a conflict about going for the 2.0 story or not. Ultimately the opposers won. The deal exploded and I was shown the door. For 6 months that CEO became one of my best friends. I also lost a great friend. It happens - but it also led to the start of ADCR Capital: this is my founder story. Peak had invited me to their New Year's reception - or did I invite myself? Details. Stop ruining my nice founder story here. The moment I walked in Johan walked up to me and asked "What (the #%@&) had happened" because it was looking so great and he was looking so forward. That conversation then and there - and the things he told me were instrumental. Summarized, he pointed out that was nice work. Not as a CRO, but as a company builder who gets the multidimensional chessboard of the operational and strategic side of the business, of the board, and investors and looks at it like an investment product too. Me: "Can't I work for you Johan, also don't know what to do now" Johan: "No kid, but I'll tell you why: I think you're on to something here and I don't think working for me, or a VC for that matter, is something that best uses your potential". Oke, oke, this is a broad translation and summarization of what happened - and absolutely what I will be selling to Netflix. Just saying, folks. I realized then and there: I needed to do something with it. For 6 months I experimented, starting from my amazing 1st model "Hello, I want 20% of your business" - which was admittedly not my best idea. Up to what it is today. Operating partner offering COO/CEO/CROs as company builders that go LONG with you. And a Broker of Capital in 7 countries for companies between 0-100 mio euros, in 4 capital partner categories, being VCs, PEs, Business Angel Networks and Non-Dilutive Partners. Peak also became our very first Capital Partner, from day 1 ❤️.

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SB Commerce – Barbecues, Big Brands, and Building Confidence After a brief stint at Sanoma, which ended due to budget cuts, I found myself at SB Commerce BV, lead by Jorrit Steinz, managing traffic acquisition for some of the Netherlands' fastest-growing brands like vtwonen.nl, alongside gadgethouse.nl and other niche stores. This role came at a pivotal moment in my career, serving as a confidence boost after navigating a turbulent period professionally. On the eCommerce performance side, my mission was clear: optimize paid marketing channels like Google Ads and Meta Ads to drive traffic and revenue. I was determined to maximize online visibility for these brands, ensuring we hit all the right metrics and delivered measurable results. What really added a unique twist to this experience was the team dynamic and culture. SB Commerce had been acquired by Sanoma, a company rooted in publishing, and the eCommerce side was entirely new to them. We had to bridge the gap between editors, marketers, and designers who had built the brand through magazines, TV shows, and an online presence, and the fast-moving eCommerce team, who were all about testing and failing fast. On the team side, I drew from my experience at Springest, introducing tools like Slack and Asana, while embracing GTD methodologies to streamline workflows and improve efficiency. These changes helped the team adapt as SB Commerce transitioned into the Sanoma Home Deco cluster, reducing friction across the board. Balancing performance marketing and team optimization was a two-edged sword — driving results while making internal processes more transparent and functional. One of the biggest lessons learned? Building a marketing calendar isn’t just about offering discounts; it’s about creating themes and product fits that resonate with your audience. We achieved a record-breaking sale of Weber Barbecues, and it wasn’t just luck. It was all about seizing the right moments and positioning products perfectly for the season. (Fun fact: we stocked an insane number of barbecues in the office to be ready for BBQ season. As a Dutchie, we know those BBQ-perfect summer days can be rare! 😅 When the weather cooperated, those BBQ sales were legendary!) These experiences solidified my ability to make an impact, both in driving eCommerce growth and enhancing team collaboration. What’s your secret ingredient for creating a killer team or campaign?

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Using varnish enterprise with their magento offer, is a very good investment. One of the problems of magento’s varnish implementation, is its very conservative approach to clearing cache. For a busy website that will mean nothing ever remains in varnish cache. Varnish enterprise gives y-key based softpurge - or stale-while-revalidate. This means for a grace period, one can serve stale content when varnish gets the update content from magento.

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Too all Dutch AI founders in my network: Support your ecosystem! Te alle Nederlandse AI Starup in mijn netwerk: Steun je ecosysteem!

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Last week I was having a lively debate with Jeroen about whether founders are better served by focus on problems or focusing on opportunities. I want to turn that on its head a bit… How many founders are truly focused on outcomes as opposed to features? For example: ⚽ You run a startup whose focus is to improve long term health outcomes for men in their 40s who still want to pursue competitive sports. A feature request might be that an injured customer wants an aspirin. You could react and deliver that aspirin. - Does it really solve the customer problem? - Does it align with your vision? Mission? Goals? - How much of a pivot would it be to start distributing pharmaceuticals? Take the time to focus on the outcome for the customer and respond to his needs. Ask him: 1. Why do you need the aspirin? 2. What is the impact of your problem? 3. Why does it matter? 4. What does a good outcome look like? As it transpired, the customer has a sore leg. It's stopping him from training effectively so he can't play football to his full ability on the weekends. It would be great if he could get fit again. The 🙋‍♂️ feature request was an aspirin but as it turns out, the 🏃‍♂️ outcome is getting the customer up and running, playing competitively. So you might refer him for a scan on his leg and some very specific exercises which build long term strength and deliver the outcome. 💪 You have a happier customer than if you had just delivered his requested feature and you have a more aligned business. This is why outcomes always trump features: 💵 They're easier to sell: Imagine selling the concept of "better athletic performance" vs selling "an aspirin" or even "a set of exercises". People buy outcomes not features. 📫 They're easier to deliver: Not necessarily at a tactical level, but at a strategic level you can align your roadmap around outcomes to create a cohesive narrative. 👩‍🔧 They deliver a customer-centric approach: Outcomes align directly with customer needs and goals, ensuring the product delivers real value. 🧘‍♀️ They create flexibility in solutions: By concentrating on desired results, your team can explore various ways to achieve them, potentially leading to more innovative solutions. 📏 You can define a measurable impact: Outcomes are typically easier to measure and quantify, allowing for better assessment of product success. 📋 It helps with prioritisation: It's easier to prioritise work when you understand which outcomes are most important to customers and the business. 😮 You can avoid feature bloat: Focusing on outcomes helps prevent the addition of unnecessary features that don't contribute to core goals. 👫 It creates cross-functional alignment: Outcomes provide a clear direction for all team members, fostering better collaboration across departments. ♻ You're more adaptable: As market conditions or customer needs change, outcome-focused teams can pivot more easily without being tied to specific feature sets.

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