Thomas Vles

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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You maybe never heard the backstory why I entered into the (c)VC industry as an ex-entrepreneur, intrapreneur & startup operator. I wanted to support amazing entrepreneurs, learn about new business models & technologies, invest in the companies that matched with the corporate mothership (insurance CVC) and help those businesses scale. But there is another reason .... ⚡ It's an industry wide-open for evolution and disruption by ... technology. Really? Yes ... "The VC investment process is broken It’s manual, inefficient, non-inclusive and biased." 💡 Excel has been the preferred tool for ages 💡 Human bias is all over the process 💡 Only the top 20% of VC's is datadriven (with a set of very advanced funds leading the pack like Moonfire, EQT Group, Redstone , ... ) ..... I have been considering the #VC industry as another industry that was in an urgent need for their 'digital transformation'. The acceleration of AI and GenAI was clearly THE momentum to leapfrog. 📢 "VCs need to become data-driven in search for efficiency, effectiveness, and inclusiveness" Over the last 4 days, I attended the first Data-Driven VC Summit 2024. A 4-day summit, +20 sessions and 600 investors/startups discussing the Datadriven VC across multiple domains and topics (sorry numbers are important 😎 Some (incomplete) snippets from 4 days packed with content:  * The different phases in the Investment process require different solutions & data (panel discussions) . No monoliths possible. * Getting the data and normalizing, maintaining, updating, ... them is a massive job (all sessions) * " I don't have to do every good deal, but every deal needs to be good" Mike Arpaia on deal quality versus adding sources * 'Buy or build' is clearly still a debate, with build taking the lead at the moment, with deal sourcing being an exception (buy)? Differentiation is a key motivation to build. * AI will have an impact on the investment process, but 'core people and leadership challenges' will be just as pressing (in scaling up) (Martin Mignot - Index Ventures) * Founder relationships and their impact on succes can be researched and evaluated using the same research on married couples (excellent insights by Prof. Dr. Theresa Treffers on conflict handling being the most predictive dimension) .... There was a LOT more content across all the talks, but hard to summarize here, even using #GenAI ;-) >------------- LET'S TALK 💬 If you consider upgrading your VC or CVC fund to become more data-driven (VC Platform roles), don't hesitate to reach out below to discuss: 💬 https://lnkd.in/e6kjakzF #VentureCapital #DataDrivenVC #GenerativeAI

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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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𝗔 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 ✨ Is your idea itching to become more than just a concept? At Builders, we know the questions (and pivots) that come with that journey. This afternoon, my partners Michael and Jelmer are hosting office hours—an open door for founders, dreamers, and anyone in between. Whether you’re a domain expert tackling a specific problem or just up for a good conversation, they’ve got you covered. 🗣️ 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻: Today, November 5, 5-7 PM CET 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘁? DM me 👋 If today isn't your day, don’t worry—I’ll be hosting the next office hours on the 18th. (I’ll drop the link to my slots in the comments.) The questions we dive into here aren’t just about solving problems; it’s about seeing the bigger picture, finding the root cause, and figuring out 𝙬𝙝𝙮 this problem exists in the first place. 🌍 It’s where impactful solutions are born. Ready to take that next step? Chat with Mike and Jelmer today, or mark your calendar to join me later this month. Let’s build something incredible together. 🤜🤛

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Fascinating data about the VC investments per capita by now in 2024 that Yoram Wijngaarde and his team at Dealroom.co brings. As we get stuck in our mindset on the big advanced ecosystems that are making lots of noise, there are incredible places where resiliency in terms of capital raised is remarkable. Singapore 🇸🇬 (Jacqueline Poh, YC Choy) is at the top of the charts followed by the UAE 🇦🇪, right ahead the US! Switzerland 🇨🇭 is the leading European country with the most VC money invested per capita, followed by Israel 🇮🇱 (Michal Freeman-Shor). My take is, watch for small countries that put tech, AI, startups and the private capital market in their priorities as a leading economic growth driver. Those are the tech exporters of talent, tech and capital and will attract investors globally. #capitalmarkets #privatecapital #venturecapital #startups #innovation #technology #AI #economy #growth #entrepreneurship #privateequity

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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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What an extraordinary Venture Capital Conference. I gained powerful insights of the investment and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the netherlands and europe. 🚀🍀 It is also great to be member of the Financial Study association Rotterdam (FSR). #Slinghot #FinchCapital #NosuchVentures #venturecapital

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Most startup founders want to build great products and a category leading company, but over 75% fail. They fail because (without realizing it) they've been brainwashed (harsh but true) to compete. For just 24% of the market. Because on average (in tech) the category king earns 76% of the total value created. So if you're not the category queen. You're f*cked. (Harsh but true) Success comes down to one simple, powerful, (very) controversial strategy choice. A decision that most founders, CEOs and creators never (even ) stop to consider. 1) CREATE your own category (be different) 2) COMPETE in a market category designed by someone else (be better) This different Vs. better decision makes the difference, that makes ALL the difference. Yet most founders (unknowingly) pick number one. You see, it turns out (almost) all business education is about competing .(better) There are over 20,000 business strategy books on Amazon. Over 100,000 marketing books. Mostly about competing. Our education system. About competing. Our sports. More competing. Almost nothing in our world is about creating. Our whole lives, we've been trained to fight over scarcity. Not to create abundance. Yet, every legendary entrepreneur, creator, or artist created abundance by introducing the world to something new. Something different. Yet, very few courses, books, podcasts, newsletters are about how to design a different future. (Isn't that weird 🤔) So before you make you're next move. Ask yourself. "Am I competing, or creating." Ps. This a sign 👇🏻 is from a pizza joint in Santa Cruz, California. There are many un-different pizza joints in Santa Cruz, fighting for the same customers. But their is only one place you can get "Inauthentic Detroit Pizza"... Bookies! Proving, in any market, there is always to create, not compete. 😎🏴‍☠️ (If you want to go deep on this different strategy, check out the link in comments 👇🏻)

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💡 I have asked the experts: what is the best piece of advice for us, the morphiq founders, in our early start-up phase? ✅ Anouk Moll: continuously adapt, be ready to change your (initial) business idea/s, tune into your customer needs; ✅ Julian Lange: consider/don’t discard pivoting, even in a context of already having a few customers. Seize opportunities that may arise down the road; ✅ Jan Miczaika: fuel your talent pool; be a few steps ahead of your needs. Good quality talent is scarce and not immediately mobilisable. Thank you! 🙏 Thanks Merantix for having invited morphiq.ai to attend the Fintech AI Breakfast (https://lnkd.in/eWmBpTAR). Thanks Janette Wiget for having greatly moderated the debate; here are my takeaways from it: 1️⃣ EXPERIENCE AND PATIENCE: building solutions for #regulatedindustries (such as the financial industry) is a massive challenge, not quite for impatient or industry outsider type of entrepreneurs; 2️⃣ EXPERIENCES vs. JUST AI: think of building new experiences, not just building an AI powered solution; look around, spot real needs/pains, address those; there's a lot that can be improved (e.g. customer interface, #personalisation, provide #real advice, #productivity increase at all levels etc.) ; 3️⃣ DATA vs. LLM: LLM commoditisation is a fact. Data, instead, is becoming critical, both for building new AI verticals (e.g. #hyperpersonalization, #riskmanagement etc.) and for ensuring models accuracy; 4️⃣ PREDICTIONS: we shall experience a series of incremental changes, already improving our lives, before a new cycle will bring fundamentally new AI driven experiences. For the entrepreneurs, there was a 🍒 on the 🎂: funding is available, for truly good ideas and strong teams. Otherwise, revenue is the best funding a start-up could aspire at. #ai #fintech #bigdata #aipredictions #startup #banking #llm #hyperpersonalization #algorithms #pivot #embracechange #stayalert

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When we started the FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank's first VC mandate, called FMO Ventures Program, in 2020, we did so because we believed in the large impact potential of technology and technology-enabled start-ups and scale-ups in emerging markets. As 4 years have passed now, we wanted to pause, take stock and provide meaningful insights in the impact that we achieved together with our portfolio and ecosystem partners. And as we have just launched FMO Ventures Program 2, we were also keen to identify, implement and share some lessons learned. We summarized both in the recently published "Impact Review & Outlook, Perspectives of a DFI in VC" report. See ⬇️ for a brief snapshot of the impact highlights. The full report you can find here: https://lnkd.in/eXjV6P2R We are proud of the impact achieved to date and it also made us realize there is so much more to do; we look forward to continue working with our partners to multiply this impact in FMO Ventures Program 2 🚀! Great thanks to Steward Redqueen for their support on the report and to the European Commission and the Dutch Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken for making the FMO Ventures Program happen in the first place! #fmoventuresprogram #technicalassistance #innovation #emergingmarkets Robert Haynie Charnez Jacobs Abigail Thomson Wouter Scheepens Hessel Meinderts Pauline Brunner

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TribeAngels is a small investor in Pitch59... Watch our overview of TribeAngels in 59 seconds. I get a lot of questions of what TribeAngels is ... ❌ We are NOT a group just interested in Startups ❌ We are NOT for people trying to raise money ❌ We are NOT a networking group, where the lead self promotes Here's what we ARE ... ✅ This is for Business Owners, Executives & Investors that ARE investing $50k - $1M in the next 12 months ✅ Relationships before Transactions ✅ If you don't GIVE-FIRST you probably aren't a fit ✅ You will get the chance to connect deeply with the other members #Landons_Thoughts #June27thEvent #WhatAreWe #TribeAngels #Pitch59 Jon Barlow, Haysam S., Kyle Hanagarne, Crystal Godfrey Bartlett We mean it Relationships over Transactions ... we mean it. COMMENT What you like most about this list? COMMENT if you watched the video

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When I was taping my podcast CEO versus CEO with Rogier Thewessen, founder of YoungCapital I asked him what his biggest advice would be for people who want to scale like him… His answer…. TEAM When I was CEO I would invest an enourmous amount of time in my people…. These are my 2 cents… 1. Character Over Skills: Skills can be taught, but integrity and compassion build trust and long-term success. 2. Interdependence: Success stems from harmony. Hire team players who thrive on collaboration. 3. Self-Awareness: Mindful individuals who learn from feedback and act with intention make better decisions. 4. Aligned Intentions: Choose those who share your vision and prioritize collective success. And 5…..decide what is your SUPERPOWER …… ….. focus focus focus on this and ….outsource the rest…. That is why when I invest in #hrtech I invest in companies that align with this vision…. I am super happy that I invested in HirePort, 10x.Team and Lepaya and a big thanks Angelique Schouten, René Janssen, Peter Kuperus, Alexander Leenaers, Remco van de Ruit and Bram Medema for listening to me saying the same thing many times over 😳 By focusing on values, mindfulness, and balance, you’ll not only build a high-performing team but also foster a culture that thrives on purpose and harmony. How are you applying these principles to your team-building efforts? #hrtech #investor #mentor #coach #ceo #podcast #scaling #team

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Ralf Hodgson, one of the Founders we invested in last year, is the perfect example of the type of founder we like to back. He started Tidal Services, a window cleaning service, after Googling: ‘How to get rich quick.’ There he came across a video from a YouTuber who talked about ‘How to make $500 a day washing windows’. The video was about the US market which asks for much deeper cleans than in the UK  but he realised he could make money cleaning windows in his local area, Darlington.  He spent £200 on some equipment and started. His first job was cleaning a whole house of Georgian windows… It took him 2 days. After a while he could see the business had legs and was making him more money than his current job. Soon he had a van and began to gain more and more customers. Then Ralf decided to put tech behind the business, to go from a business that uses tech, to a tech business that helps both window cleaners and people who need their windows cleaned (that’s where we come in !). Ralf had been out in all weathers cleaning windows himself for many years. This means he knows the problem, pain points and customer base inside out, plus how to talk to and resonate with other window cleaners. We love working with founders like Ralf who have built a “proper” business that can be scaled further with technology ! #funding #investment #digitaltransformation

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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀? (1/2) Builders partners with ambitious entrepreneurs to build stellar companies. But out of 1000s of applications, we can only partner with 12 each year. Let's dive into what it takes to become a founder at Builders! 𝗖𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴? You're someone who’s always hacking on a new project, building ideas late at night? If you can’t resist the call to build, you’re on the right track. 𝗕𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿? Entrepreneurship isn't just about finding a booming market; it's about that “spider bite,” that itch to solve a real-world problem that matters to you personally. You’re not here for a quick cash grab – you’re embedded in the field, and want to see it changed inside out.  𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲? We’re talking big-picture ambition. We’re here to build companies that track for $100 million in revenue, with unicorn potential We're not afraid to dream big and bold, and love to partner with founders who do the same. As we always say: 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.

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Onesurance.ai, a Dutch #InsurTech startup, raises their seed round led by Curiosity VC Onesurance was founded by Jack Vos, an insurance veteran and industry expert, and Dennie van den Biggelaar, an experienced data scientist and #AI engineer. They’ve built an AI-powered platform that enhances operational efficiency and decision-making for insurers, brokers, and intermediaries. Its modular design integrates seamlessly with existing systems, offering features like AI-driven policy acceptance and profitability tracking. “We believe AI is essential for the future relevance of the industry, enabling operational efficiencies through predictive and actionable intelligence that traditional software in the industry is unable to provide” says Jack Vos, CEO of Onesurance. The round was led by Dutch AI investor Curiosity VC with co-investment from a strategic angel investor. In addition, they were joined by Smarter Ventures who acquired a stake in Onesurance. Onesurance’s platform is already being used and trusted by many leading insurers and brokers across the Netherlands and Belgium, and continues to receive interest across wider Europe and the US. “Onesurance shows that the future of AI is not just about technological progress, but also about building relevant, industry-specific applications.” says Maurice Beckand Verwee, Partner at Curiosity VC. “Their innovative approach, combining AI with Insurance expertise, will significantly impact how insurance professionals work globally and increase efficiency and profitability in the industry.” https://lnkd.in/et4gb4tM

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What an honor for TAIWA® to have been selected by an independent jury as an #UnleashWorld Startup Award finalist in Europe. #Paris here we come. The #FutureOfWork is both collaborative and hyper-personalized. If you want a better way to reach, connect and support your people during these transformative times give TAIWA® a try. #humandevelopment #aicoaching #personaldevelopment #professionaldevelopment #organizationaldevelopment #nachaltigkeit #scale #futureofwork

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