At the same time, 30 to 40% of the surveyed businesses do have the potential to meet the conditions of capital providers.
In short, there is a world to be gained here. With that in mind, the BOM developed the investor readiness program last year. This 10-week program offers young companies all the tools they need to submit a successful funding application: from market validation and a team assessment to a risk analysis and development of the IP strategy.
The pilot started at the end of 2017 and the first companies have since completed the program. In 2018, we aim to support a total of 40 companies in this way. Below, two participants share their experiences. “We are now much better prepared when meeting investors.”
Case BioscienZ: 'I would definitely participate again with a next startup'
“At BioscienZ, we have a lot of experience in building businesses, but we rarely raise external funding. It's an arena where you need to find your way. And this program helps a lot with that.”
Speaking is Christian Koolloos from BioscienZ, a microbiological research agency from Breda. Koolloos is leading an innovation project for the production of microbial protein there. The idea is to use local vegetable streams for the cultivation of microorganisms, which in turn can be processed into a protein-rich ingredient for food products.
Pivot
When Koolloos started the investor readiness program, the project was in the middle of a pivot. In June 2017, BioscienZ received a cheque for a feasibility study as one of the winners of the New Food Challenge. This showed that there are great opportunities for the application of microbial protein in human nutrition, such as meat substitutes and other processed foods.
“Initially, the plan was to produce protein for animal feed, but the food case suddenly became much more concrete, so we continued with that,” says Koolloos. “This meant that a new business case had to be developed as soon as possible. Everything we learned during the investor readiness program, we were able to use for that right away.”
A true quality booster
Koolloos especially praises the sharpness of the program. “Our story made sense in our head, but for an investor, it might not have at all. The critical questions during the sessions regularly pulled us out of our tunnel.”
For example, the business developers at the BOM challenged Koolloos on his plan to first build a pilot plant. “To me, it was clear why we needed a pilot plant: to eliminate scaling risks. But then they went further: How many people do you need? What will they do? Do you have to build the plant entirely yourself? Because of those questions, we eventually decided to build less ourselves and rent more ready-to-use units.”
“It's nice to spar with people who understand how investors think. In a relatively short time, we received a lot of useful feedback to refine our plan, which allows us to approach investors much better prepared. With a next startup, I would definitely participate again. It really is a quality booster.”
No disadvantages
Meanwhile, the business plan is finished; now it’s time to look for funding for the development of the pilot plant. BioscienZ is basing this on the revised plan from the program. Koolloos is full of confidence and ambition. “In a few years, we will have a technology that allows us to produce proteins anywhere in the world. We do this with sugar beets, potatoes, or other crops that are locally available, resulting in a minimal carbon footprint. Additionally, we are adding nutritious proteins to the human diet, which is beneficial for public health. Our product actually has no disadvantages.”
Case Glanum Medical: 'Without this opportunity, we would not have come this far'
"The investor readiness program gave us hyperfocus. Our idea was a typical kitchen table discussion for years because we were busy with other things. The program put a huge motivator behind us. Suddenly, we had to make strides, and it brought us a lot."
Inge Sieben and Frank Everaerts, who are also partners in private life, want to offer a solution to a persistent problem in general practice care with Glanum Medical. Patients are still unnecessarily often referred to a cardiologist when arrhythmias are suspected. This is unpleasant for patients who sometimes wait months in uncertainty for an appointment, and it is costly as expensive secondary care is unnecessarily burdened.
Glanum wants to develop a comfortable and affordable ECG patch, which can monitor a patient's heart rhythm for 96 hours. Based on this, the general practitioner can make a better assessment, leading to fewer unnecessary referrals.
Unburdening the general practitioner
Since the investor readiness program of the BOM, the patch is only a part of Glanum's story. Sieben takes us to a brainstorming session early in the program. “One of the business developers from the BOM suggested: how will you get the patch to the general practitioner and the patient? A diagram was drawn on the board showing the entire route up to the diagnosis. Which parties are involved, from whom can you expect resistance? That’s when it clicked for me: this will only work if we can completely unburden the general practitioner.”
Since then, everything at Glanum revolves around developing a so-called primary care virtual diagnostic center. “The general practitioner only applies the patch. We read the results, input them into the system, our cardiologist logs in and makes the diagnosis, which we then forward to the general practitioner.”
Point 0
Meanwhile, the business plan is finished and Glanum, with guidance from the BOM, has applied for Early Stage Financing. With that money, the young company wants to conduct a feasibility study. This will be followed by the development of the virtual diagnostic center and — at a later stage — the patch. Everaerts: “A comprehensive plan for the next five years is in the making. Ultimately, we want to run more devices over the platform besides the patch, so we can fully unburden the general practitioner, and we are also considering internationalization. The foundation is there, the rest will follow.”
Sieben: “We are extremely positive about this BOM program. When we received the invitation, we were still at point 0. We knew we had a lot of things to address. But what do we prioritize, how do we build a business case, and how can we finance it? For every answer we got, ten new questions arose. And look at where we are now. Without this springboard, we wouldn’t have come this far yet.”