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Azumuta at Hannover Messe 2026

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:42:25 GMT

Azumuta at Hannover Messe

Azumuta showcased its shopfloor-first platform at Hannover Messe, demonstrating how manufacturers can move beyond paper-based workflows, complex ERP screens and fragmented operator tools.

Link

Video

AI in the Coming Years

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:20:48 GMT

AI in the coming years

AI is everywhere. Students use it while studying and, teachers use it to prepare tests or scorecards. People write outreach emails with it, others reply with it. LinkedIn posts, Reddit comments, internal company notes… the list goes on. You can keep finding new, surprising and sometimes strange ways in which AI is shaping our daily environments.

With this article we want to offer a relatively simple way to look at the current evolution of AI. This article mostly focuses on LLMs (Large Language Models). That does not mean other types of AI tasks (categorization, prediction, etc.) are less valuable. It is simply that the current buzz is around LLMs (and the hype is somewhat justified), so that is what we focus on here.

Previously we wrote a piece comparing the current AI boom with earlier technological shifts and we also touched on AGI then. If you haven’t read that article yet, it might be a fun follow-up.

LLMs

Let’s start with a very abstract way of thinking about LLMs and why the current boom is happening. We will avoid technical depth as much as possible and keep the jargon limited.

At the core, a large language model is a neural network that predicts the next word in a sequence. That’s it.

But it turns out they are extremely good at this and they even exhibit some “emerging” properties that surprised everybody. Much better than previous architectures AI engineers used in the past, such as RNNs (Recurrent Neural Networks, a different type of neural network). LLMs turned out to be much more scalable in terms of inputs, the amount of text you can feed into the system, thanks to clever design choices and mathematical optimizations.

Computers obviously do not “read” words. They operate on numbers, often called tokens. The translation from words to these numerical representations is handled in a very thoughtful way in modern LLMs, which allows them to capture meaning and context surprisingly well.

Then additional elements and steps were added.

First came web search capabilities, giving these systems access to the same information you would retrieve through Google. Then access to documents, apps, and other contextual data, making the answers much more personal and relevant.

And finally: chaining the models together.
An LLM might first rewrite your question, then generate a plan, then produce the answer, then summarize it.

Stack enough of these steps together and suddenly a “next word predictor” begins to feel like some sort of super-intelligent know-everything system. Extremely useful, and probably one of the biggest shifts in technology and user behavior of the 21st century.

Yet there are clear limitations.

As discussed in earlier articles, the way current AI works cannot really be called general intelligence.

This is why researchers like Yann LeCun (Meta’s former Chief AI Scientist) remain skeptical. In the 1980s, while at AT&T Bell Labs, LeCun originally developed CNNs (Convolutional Neural Networks), another type of neural network architecture, which the revolutionized image recognition. These models first helped the US postal service recognize handwritten digits for mail routing. Later the same ideas allowed computers to recognize almost anything: dogs, objects, vegetables, you name it.

Despite being one of the architects behind modern AI progress, LeCun recently raised more than $1B for a new venture, AMI Labs, precisely because he believes the current generation of LLM models will not get us close to true general intelligence. Instead, he is betting on world models: systems that learn how the real world works and use that structure as a basis for reasoning and planning. That is a topic for a next article. (More info )

Humans in the Loop

The following statement is difficult to make with complete certainty:

Humans will remain in the AI loop.

It’s not a crazy claim, but one could argue the opposite. And there is probably truth somewhere in between.

Many jobs and processes will change dramatically. Some might even disappear entirely. But fully automated AI systems that run complex business processes end-to-end without human involvement seem unlikely.

Think about processes like recruitment, procurement or legal review.

If you break these large workflows into smaller sequential steps, which is exactly how (AI) systems tend to operate, every step introduces a small error.

Take a hypothetical example: suppose each step has a 1% error rate.

If the AI needs to perform 100 steps, the probability of the final outcome being correct becomes:

0.99¹⁰⁰ ≈ 37%

That is a terrible outcome.

This is of course very difficult to measure as you could have an agent that performs 1% better than a human, is that than 101% accurate?

And the more complex the process becomes, the more steps get introduced. Even if models improve significantly, they will always remain below 100% ‘accuracy’.

Of course humans also make mistakes, and businesses are full of inefficiencies. But my intuition is that humans will remain in the loop, just not in the way most people currently interact with systems like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.

Today interaction is very action-reaction based: you type something, the model responds.

In the future it might look different.

Processes will run continuously in the background and occasionally “come back” to the human when decisions are required. (for inspiration, read about neural timing.)

A good metaphor is a golf ball slowly rolling down a gentle slope toward the hole. Every few seconds you give the ball a small push to keep it on track. Because you constantly nudge it in the right direction, the chance of reaching the target becomes much higher.
Humans are so to speak ‘on the loop’.

This leads to one of the questions we often ask founders building AI agents:

“Where exactly are the human decision points in the system?”

That question often reveals three things:

the actual product experience;
the depth of the founder’s understanding of the problem;
and the long-term vision for their space and market.

Long-Term vs Short-Term Thinking

A well-known observation about technological change is the following:

People tend to overestimate the short term and underestimate the long term.

This pattern has repeated itself through most societal shifts, and AI is no exception.

In the short term there is a lot of noise around LLMs and AGI. Some people genuinely believe that a kind of technological singularity will suddenly arrive and transform everything overnight.

But tomorrow the sun will still rise.
You will still be human.
And Belgian beer will still outperform most other nations.

Some things simply remain true.

The more interesting question lies in the long term.

Is everyone underestimating it? Not everyone, but probably most people are.

It is almost impossible to imagine the number of tokens that will be used in the future.

Read that again.

Now try to picture a world with “a lot” of AI usage. Multiply that by 100, and you’re probably still not close.

The amount of LLM usage coming in the next decade will be enormous.

And that scale will trigger a series of changes that are easier to discuss.

Agents and AI for Everyone

Every department will eventually have its own small army of AI agents.

Every business process will have AI somewhere inside it.
Every person will have personalized agents and sub-agents.

Anywhere where words are used, an AI will likely be involved.

A future company might even be optimized around things like:

compute availability
token usage efficiency
token cost ratios

It sounds strange today, but these metrics could become normal operational variables.

The AI Department

Just like companies developed IT departments in the 1950s and saw them explode in the following 80 years, we will probably see the same with AI. Although this evolution will be faster.

The “IT guy” fixing your laptop might become the “AI guy” fixing your agent pipeline.

Organizations will have:

AI audits
AI managers
AI infrastructure teams
AI governance roles

It sounds strange today, but these metrics could become normal operational variables just as energy use and efficiency for instance is used today.

Changes in Services

Last year we wrote a paragraph in our article Interesting Ideas for the Future about service companies. The argument still stands, below is a reworked version:

Many service industries are essentially built around moving text around.

Recruiters, consultants, law firms, translators, marketing agencies, a large part of their work involves handling information and communication.

Some industries have strong marketplace dynamics (for example recruitment: you cannot hire a hallucinated CV…). But still, much of the work revolves around managing text and information flows.

Service businesses have traditionally been difficult to scale. Automation might change that. (more insight )

The cost of building AI software is dropping quickly, which means these industries could be disrupted in three ways:

AI-native tools for service providers – software that helps existing firms automate repetitive tasks.
Software for insourcing – platforms that allow companies to bring these functions in-house.
Service-as-a-Software – entirely new service firms built on automation rather than human labour.

The last category is the most ambitious.

Instead of building software for lawyers, why not build an AI-powered law firm?
Instead of selling recruiting tools, why not create an automated recruiting service?

By capturing a part of the service value chain, often at higher margins, these companies could become very large without needing global dominance.

AI in Education and Cognitive Decline

This topic is slightly strange, because the early signals are still subtle.

If humans increasingly stop thinking themselves and delegate most cognitive work to AI, it is reasonable to assume that human thinking patterns will change. (+language!)

Whether that change is positive or negative is hard to predict.

At the same time, education technology presents a massive opportunity. As discussed in our earlier article, the combination of AI capabilities and existing inefficiencies in education makes it a very interesting space.

That said, many founders avoid it due to heavy regulation and complex market dynamics.

Change in Work

Knowledge work will change, that part seems obvious.

But the big question remains: what stays?

The answer is probably not “nothing.”

The more human parts of work: creativity, conversation, collaboration. Will likely remain important.

But again the short-term versus long-term paradox applies here. It is difficult to see exactly where things will end up.

Automation of repetitive tasks is already happening, but that probably represents only the tip of the iceberg.

A Strange Reference to Primates, Adam and Eve.

To end the article, let’s make a slightly unusual reference.

Most human progress ultimately comes from curiosity.

Across more than 50 years of research communicating with apes using sign language, apes have never asked humans a spontaneous question. They can use signs to request objects or describe things, but they rarely ask things like:

“What is that?”
“How does this work?”

Those kinds of questions seem deeply human.

Animals do show curiosity in the physical world. A cat pushing a glass off a table or a primate playing with a mechanical puzzle are examples of this. But they rarely demonstrate information-seeking curiosity.

And yet this type of curiosity has driven some of the biggest changes in human history.

Someone at some point wondered what would happen if seeds were placed in the ground. Agriculture emerged.

Louis Pasteur became curious about microscopic organisms in water and blood. That curiosity eventually led to vaccines, pasteurization, and modern microbiology.

Now the Adam and Eve reference.

In the story of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve live comfortably with everything provided for them. But Eve becomes curious about the fruit of knowledge, despite being told not to eat it.

She does anyway.

That curiosity ultimately leads to their expulsion from the garden and a completely different human existence, one defined by work, survival and continuous searching.

Curiosity changed everything.

And in many ways, the current AI moment might be the same, we are very curious about everything and that changes the way we live in unthinkable ways.
That change may feel disruptive or unsettling at first, but over the longer term it often converges toward a better future for everyone.

Feel free to reach out:

Ruben Pauwels

Investment Manager

Angelwise

e-mail: ruben@angelwise.be

Accurat.ai active in Germany

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:59:05 GMT

Accurat is active on the German market.

Read their first public media post and data insight here:

handelsblatt

derwesten

Supernova 2026

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:04:57 GMT

In March 2026, the Benelux tech ecosystem came together in Antwerp.

Three days of pitches, intros and keynotes, wrapped up with an evening featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Angelwise was proud to be a partner for the third year in a row, and we’ll gladly keep supporting this great initiative.

Authic continues to grow

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:02:53 GMT

Authic is live in 27 countries

Authic continued to grow internationally and is now live in 27 countries, available in more than 20 languages. Expanding across markets brought new perspectives and confirmed something they see everywhere: businesses want loyalty solutions that are clear and easy for customers to use.

More information on: Info

website: Authic

Angelwise portfolio event

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 14:10:42 GMT

On Wednesday 3 December, we gathered Angelwise advisors and portfolio companies at Koolputten in Waasmunster for an inspiring morning and lunch focused on sales insights.

With practical talks from Kurt Verellen, Koen Vandaele, and Dave Goethals, followed by roundtable discussions, the session delivered hands-on perspectives on sales fundamentals, partnerships, and scaling what works. Thank you to all speakers and participants for the strong engagement and open conversations.

Newsletter 10

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 13:36:27 GMT

Azumuta Raises €8M in Series A Funding

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 09:18:37 GMT

Azumuta Raises €8M Series A to Accelerate Digitalization and AI-Supported Work Instructions in Manufacturing

Azumuta has now raised €8M in Series A funding to expand internationally and accelerate development of its platform for AI-supported digital work instructions, quality control, and workforce training and skill tracking.

Artificial (general) intelligence

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 13:34:10 GMT

Artificial (general) intelligence - A(G)I

Intro: A comparable for the AI boom?

In 2017, one of the best papers in statistics and machine learning was written, reaching +200.000 citations. Eight years later, we’re way past that point, and the market feels like it’s boiling over. In this short piece, I want to map out a few ideas about the dynamics and forces at play. I highly appreciate you giving the attention for reading this, it is all I need.

To start, I want to go back to the years 2005 to 2010. Think about the products that were launched in that short period: YouTube, Twitter, WhatsApp, Google Maps, Google Docs, Gmail, SoundCloud, Reddit, Facebook. Quite a list, right? You probably still use (half of) them today. Many people see these years as the unfolding of the web2 application layer. So it’s natural that current AI changes are often framed in that context, through metrics and strategies comparisons.

If there’s one high-level product insight to make about those years, it’s that these products had massive network effects. They spread like oil stains. Using them pulled in more users, which pulled in even more. These companies grew insanely fast (growing and maturing the internet as a result), all chasing one thing: attention (or using a word with a more positive connotation: usage).

What’s funny about that era is how little the products themselves changed. Gmail, for example, completely outclassed every other mail provider when it launched, offering a gigabyte of storage and a search-focused interface that redefined webmail. After that, it didn’t need to evolve much. Its core utility was clear from the start, and it stayed that way. The same was true for most tools of that time: they solved a core problem so effectively that people were happy, the products worked, and their essential job was done.

Even in B2B software, the pattern was similar. HubSpot, Zendesk or Workday: sure, they evolved, but there’s only so much innovation you can get out of a CRM or ERP in the pre LLM period. Besides a better UX, what do you really add?

Now fast-forward to the ChatGPT era. Is it the same this time? Not really. For two big reasons.

First, LLMs spread faster than anything before. By mid 2023, everyone in tech knew what they were. Now almost 3 years in, we’re at over a billion weekly users. Distribution isn’t a problem anymore.

The second difference is deeper. Users aren’t satisfied. They want more: more tokens, faster answers, better outputs.

Everyone seems hungry for more power. That’s completely different from 2005–2010, when people were content once something worked. Now, “good enough” doesn’t exist. The result is high churn, exploratory revenue, and paper-thin margins for many AI application startups. If we multiplied today’s compute capacity by ten, we’d probably max it out immediately. More, faster, better. That’s the loop. This never-ending need for such an essential resource isn’t new, it’s similar to how earlier core technologies were built up.

A comparison with the distribution and buildout of the energy structure or internet are much more in place. Both innovations made users dream about the applications it would yield: motors, light, toasters, remote resource sharing, file transfers and later during the dotcom bubble: universal stores, instant information, seamless transactions or personal pages.

So the AI market hype makes sense, right? More is good? More energy was good and more internet has yielded some great things.
Or maybe that logic starts breaking down soon. Let’s talk about latency, AGI, and a small dose of doom.

AGI: Et alors, boom or doom?

This brings us to the big, and often uncertain, question of AGI. But before we can speculate on boom or doom, we need to face the major technical challenges standing in the way of human-like intelligence. The first of these is a problem of experience: latency.

Take voice-based LLMs as an example, think automated recruitment calls or outbound sales bots, still don’t feel real. The uncanny valley is alive and well. Nobody can know what the real answer will be. The answer probably isn’t in bigger models run in a central data center, but maybe smaller ones running locally. Imagine saying, “Hi Zora, make my coffee, check the weather, and give me some input on what to make for lunch.” And then actually having a short, natural conversation without those awkward pauses.

That might only happen when inference happens at the edge. Small, task-specific models running on cheap chips. But I don’t see this arriving soon, partly because I don’t drink coffee. Edge AI will shift ROI calculations and make big centralized compute investments trickier. The ROI math gets a lot harder when the smart answer needs to run on a $20 chip in your phone...

Now to the fun part: AGI.

The term is old (20 ^th century old...). OpenAI used it from the start in their missions statements and communication. Microsoft made it famous when it popped up in their investment clauses used in financing OpenAI. ChatGPT will tell you AGI means “exceeding human-level cognitive abilities across virtually any task” which sounds nice until you start wondering what “human-level” even means.

If you break it down, humans do three interesting things very well: we anticipate others, we’re aware of our surroundings, and we have instincts.

Current LLMs don’t anticipate humans or other AIs. If they did, they’d already outperform us. But that would require an insane amount of compute. Not 10x more, probably 1000x. That’s not happening in the next few years.

Awareness is harder. You know where you’re sitting right now, what’s behind the door, and where you’ll sleep tonight. You can picture it. For a robot to have that, it would need eyes and ears everywhere. Technically possible, let’s be honest, who actually reads the terms and conditions before giving a device microphone and camera access? The computing bill is here again a complete nightmare, but as most of the sensors in the world have some sort of structured meta data I would guess that could lead to smarter optimization. Making the complete picture feasible.

And then instincts. Humans have three: safety, procreation, and social connection. Robots don’t. And unless a machine develops its own version of these drives, we probably can’t call it AGI. We could define them artificially, sure, but that’s not the same thing.

Still, imagine it. A robot-human program, super smart, instant, self-aware software ‘thing’. The singularity that effective accelerationists talk about. Besides full blown crazy stuff where all of mankind would be warped into a black hole I would suggest a simple example: the implications on the financial markets. If such an entity started trading stocks, it would probably cause a market implosion (or explosion). The market and stock trading facilitators already installed extra fiber cables to add milliseconds to hinder quant traders, what would regulators do to ‘protect’ the markets from our super quant?

And since I promised a small doom scenario: do you know which public LLM actually has ‘access’ to money? Grok, the one from Elon Musk’s xAI, has around $620,000. Not in a bank account, but in a crypto wallet. (0xb1058c959987e3513600eb5b4fd82aeee2a0e4f9)

I’ll let you imagine what happens when AGI meets coded internet money.

The future is already here. It just hasn’t finished loading yet.

End and final word:

To finalize, I am not very sure that we will ever reach AGI with the current tech stack. This is mostly linked to the points discussed above but also to a more philosophical questions what a human really is. For the more religious people in my audience I want to make a reference to Genesis 32, as it gives a glimpse of what might be the potential future of the AGI believers and disbelievers. Jacob wrestling with the unknown, deceiving, believing and fighting; eventually blessed. That might be where AGI ends up: a struggle for meaning and positioning before the unfolding of a new future (for humans).

I take a very simple approach: I mostly don’t know but I am sure about the following things:

· AGI will not be achieved in the coming 3- 5 years.

· Yet I think that the current evolution is an exciting time to be alive and that a future (industrial) revolution is upon us with a horizon so distant it is difficult to fathom.

To bring this back to the founder audience reading this, if you are building in some sort of verticalized space and don’t know how to handle all the big AI evolutions and hype. Firstly I hope that this unstructured essay gave you some insight into the market and secondly I would advise you to push back against the “more, more, more” mindset.

Be deterministic in how you use LLMs. So avoid the UX chat box rectangle, as this often invites either no usage or abuse. Instead start embedding LLMs where you have structured data of your clients (where context exists or is created).

That’s where the real leverage lies.

Feel free to reach out:

Ruben Pauwels

Investment Manager

Angelwise

e-mail: ruben@angelwise.be

Angelwise at Luxembourg Venture Days

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 13:44:57 GMT

Angelwise - Luxembourg Venture Days

Belgian Venture Capital has strong momentum. Private Capital Belgium, Smartfin, imec.istart, Angelwise and Noshaq presented the excellent performance of Belgian venture capital in the nice setting of the Luxemburg Venture Days.

Angelwise invests in Powerhouse

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 10:52:10 GMT

Powerhouse raises €750,000 to drive
European growth in branded real estate

Powerhouse, the Salesforce-native platform for student housing, co-living and senior residences, has raised €750,000 in seed funding to accelerate its European expansion and integrate AI across its platform.

The future of real estate

As real estate portfolios evolve toward mixed-use and service-driven models, Powerhouse helps operators manage everything in one place: simplifying administration, automating payments, and improving communication with residents.

“Powerhouse is leading the shift as real estate moves from bricks to brands, where service and experience define value. Built on Salesforce, our platform makes this experience scalable for operators across Europe.”

Floris Lauwerier - CEO Powerhouse‍

From niche solution to European player

What started as a billing solution for senior residences has grown into a fully integrated platform that supports operators across co-living, student housing and senior housing. Powerhouse aims to manage more than 100,000 units in the coming years and become the standard for branded real estate in Europe.

Introducing STAY – the tenant app with built-in AI automation

Powerhouse is launching STAY, the resident app that transforms renting into a seamless experience. From building access and payments, to events and community updates, everything is unified in one intuitive app.

Behind the scenes, native AI automation handles the heavy lifting – from contract updates and deposit payouts to reminders and maintenance requests – so operators can scale effortlessly while residents enjoy instant service.

Already trusted by 3,000+ residents, STAY proves how technology can deliver both happier tenants and leaner operations.

Investment round

The seed round of €750,000 was led by Aconterra, a venture capital fund specialized in proptech and smart living. Additional backing came from Angelwise and seasoned business angels.

Aconterra is a venture capital fund investing in European early-stage technology companies that drive building innovation and energy transition. We finance and support founders and teams that enhance building intelligence, energy efficiency, safety, and comfort. As an open-ended ‘evergreen fund,’ we focus on long-term value and impact.

About Powerhouse

Powerhouse is the #1 platform for shared living.

From student housing and co-living to senior residences, the platform powers operations, finance and tenant services in one place. Built on Salesforce and trusted by operators in 10,000+ homes, Powerhouse helps the next generation of real estate portfolios scale, while doubling down on community engagement.

More info on: https://www.usepowerhouse.io/

Angelwise investeert in DeltaBlue

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:40:51 GMT

DeltaBlue haalt 3,3 miljoen euro op
om commerciële expansie in Europa te versnellen

Hasselt , 19 Juni 2025 – DeltaBlue, onafhankelijke Belgische aanbieder van hybride cloud infrastructuur en managed services, haalt 3,3 miljoen euro groeikapitaal op. De kapitaalronde werd onderschreven door het eigen management, bestaande aandeelhouders en nieuwe investeerders zoals de Limburgse investeringsmaatschappij LRM, Angelwise, de broers Schaefer, ervaren ondernemers in technologie en e-commerce.

DeltaBlue, gelegen op de Hasseltse Corda Campus, helpt bedrijven hun cloudreis te vereenvoudigen. Zo maakt het met haar krachtig platform cloud-native beheer sneller, slimmer en efficiënter. Dat maakt van hen een interessante partner voor (digitale) agentschappen, applicatiebouwers en MSP’s (Managed Services Provider).

Bram Pieters, oprichter van DeltaBlue : “Voor veel organisaties is cloud infrastructuur vandaag een bottleneck. Niet alleen qua technologie, maar ook qua governance en kostenbeheersing. Met DeltaBlue bieden wij een oplossing op maat van Europese bedrijven die willen innoveren, zonder in te boeten aan controle of compliance. Zo ondersteunt ons platform bedrijven bij het sneller lanceren van digitale producten, zonder IT-complexiteit. Het is ook ideaal voor het behouden van datasoevereiniteit, want data en workloads blijven binnen de EU. Verder garanderen we met DeltaBlue een veilige, betrouwbare en voorspelbare cloud omgeving én wordt vendor lock-in verminderd dankzij open standaarden. Op die manier evolueert IT dus van een kostenpost naar een echte groeiversneller voor business.”

Om haar commerciële expansie in België én Europa te versnellen, rondt het IT-bedrijf nu een kapitaalronde van 3,3 miljoen euro af. Bram: “In een tijd van snelle innovatie binnen cloud en AI is DeltaBlue uniek gepositioneerd om in Europa het verschil te maken als onafhankelijke cloud provider met betrouwbare next-gen infrastructuur. We hebben gerichte investeringen gedaan en zijn nu operationeel winstgevend. Met de kapitaalronde schakelen we een versnelling hoger in onze go-to-marketstrategie en Europese uitrol.”

Gesterkt door strategische klanten

Dat het innovatieve platform succesvol is, wordt alvast bevestigd door heel wat klinkende namen. “PrestaShop selecteerde exclusief DeltaBlue voor haar nieuwe Europese PaaS-aanbod. Ook Dynapps, de grootste Odoo-integrator in de Benelux en Twizzit, een SaaS-platform voor sportclubs, behoren tot ons klantenportfolio. Verder hebben we een partnership met Monotote, de AI e-commerce technologiepartner van o.a. Nike. Een andere referentie waarop we trots zijn is Take The Lead, expert in digitale transformatie”, licht Bram toe.

Hybride cloud zonder compromis

Samengevat zit de kracht van DeltaBlue dus in de eenvoud waarmee complexe IT-infrastructuur beheerd wordt via haar cloud platform (app.delta.blue). Voor bedrijfsleiders betekent dit: sneller op de markt, minder risico en volledige controle over digitale groei. “Bedrijven hoeven zich niet langer zorgen te maken over provisioning of complexe cloud architectuur. Ons managed cloud platform is ontworpen om IT-teams te ontlasten én bedrijfscontinuïteit te garanderen. Van ontwikkelingsomgeving tot productie, alles is veilig, schaalbaar en EU-compliant. Dankzij standaardcomponenten kunnen nieuwe producten sneller live gaan en wordt kostbare ontwikkeltijd bespaard”, aldus Bram.

“We zijn verheugd DeltaBlue te kunnen ondersteunen in hun verdere groei. DeltaBlue heeft met zijn unieke technologie een mooie opportuniteit om een belangrijke speler te worden in de snelgroeiende en veranderende Cloud markt,” volgens Jan Vorstermans, Managing Partner bij Angelwise.

Over DeltaBlue

DeltaBlue biedt een vendor-neutrale hybride cloud infrastructuur, waarmee organisaties workloads kunnen beheren over:

- on-premise omgevingen

- private cloud-oplossingen

- hyperscalers zoals AWS, Azure en Google Cloud

- én Europese aanbieders zoals IONOS, Leaseweb, OVHcloud en UpCloud

Bovendien verlaagt DeltaBlue dankzij zijn gestroomlijnde orchestration-model de operationele overhead bij het beheren en verdelen van cloud toepassingen. Zo realiseren klanten een optimale Total Cost of Operations (TCO) zonder in te boeten op flexibiliteit of veiligheid.

Over LRM

LRM is een rendement gedreven investeringsmaatschappij, die in en vanuit Limburg duurzame economische groei ontgint en stimuleert. LRM is de stuwende kracht in een uniek regionaal ecosysteem en stelt risicofinanciering en expertise ter beschikking aan bedrijven en projecten, die zorgen voor welvaart én welzijn in Limburg en Vlaanderen ( www.lrm.be ).

Over Angelwise

Angelwise is een early-stage investeringsfonds dat zich er vooral op richt om startups en jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen naar een volgende fase in hun groei, liefst samen met business angels of andere early-stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Flanders, de fondsmanagers en meer dan tachtig business angels. Het fonds is opgericht in 2021 en heeft ca. € 20 miljoen opgehaald om een ecosysteem van bedrijven te bouwen dat de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kan realiseren. Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be .

Angelwise celebration event

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 09:57:34 GMT

Angelwise celebration event: Angel Awards

On June 12 2025, we welcomed our investors, founders, and partners for an evening of connection and celebration at the beautiful offices of Cresco Advocaten in Antwerp.

We shared recent successes, looked ahead to exciting opportunities, and honored standout founders with our Angel Awards.

A heartfelt thank you to Cresco for hosting us, to Inés from The Beacon for her inspiring talk on innovation in Antwerp, and to everyone who joined us in building the Angelwise community.

Onwards

Frank Staut joins Palmki

Fri, 16 May 2025 13:12:30 GMT

Perfect-ID, the company behind Palmki, proudly announces the appointment of Frank Staut as its new Chief Technology Officer. With his extensive background in technological innovation and digital transformation, Frank will lead the strategic and technical development of Palmki’s biometric solutions. His arrival reinforces Perfect-ID’s ambition to establish palm vein technology as a secure and user-friendly international standard for access and transactions.

More information on: Info

Selling to corporates as a tech startup

Wed, 14 May 2025 16:01:24 GMT

Selling to corporates as a tech startup

Selling a product to corporate clients as a tech startup can be challenging. You get questions about your ability to support, and even whether you will still exist next month. Our advice is not to pretend you are an established player, but to position yourself positively as a startup.

Demonstrate your startup commitment: Show the corporate that you are nimble, innovative and agile. Highlight your passion, dedication, and willingness to go the extra mile. Emphasize your team truly cares about solving their problems.

Build Trust: Commit to build a long-term partnership. Be transparent and collaborative every step of the way, involve the client in shaping future features but don’t forget to sell what you currently have. Provide regular updates on progress.

Build Credibility: Highlight the backgrounds of your founders, key team members and (advisory) board members. Partner with established companies or industry leaders for integrations or go-to-market.

Show the strength of your product: Emphasize your value proposition and competitive advantages. Offer a paying pilot but make sure you define clear success metrics for the pilot. Call this a Proof of Value rather than a Proof of Concept: the implication being that you do not need to prove your product works, you show a customer it brings value to them.

Know your customer: Make sure you know the corporate’s business and challenges. Articulate clearly how your product will save them money, increase efficiency, or drive revenue, by presenting data or case studies showing ROI. Use real data for this as much as possible. Offer contract terms that cater to their business models.

Provide Strong Security and Compliance Assurance: Ensure your product meets the corporate’s standards for security and compliance and communicate this clearly. Invest in this early on. Don’t forget to define your availably and support service levels.

Understand the procurement process: Corporate sales cycles can be long so make sure you know who participates in the decision process and cater to the specific concerns of each person in the decision chain. Follow up regularly without being pushy and keep them engaged. End every interaction with a clear call to action. But do not forget that at the end of this process, the price can be re-negotiated, so do not give your best offer too soon.

Address the "Risk" Perception Head-On: Corporates perceive startups as risky, address these concerns directly and proactively by sharing your funding status, revenue growth, backing from reputable investors. If your product is used in business-critical situations, customers may demand more legal risk mitigation measures in case your startup fails.

In summary, do not hide you are a startup, but show the customer the benefits of doing business with you and the commitments you are willing to make. Invest time in understanding your potential customer, including connecting with all people in the decision process. Be patient, but at the same time, you will need to gauge if the corporate is just sniffing or has a real intent to collaborate with you.

Jan Vorstermans

General Partner

Angelwise

e-mail: jan@angelwise.be

Angelwise portfolio event: Finance

Thu, 01 May 2025 12:55:12 GMT

Angelwise finance event

Yesterday we gathered CEOs and operational leaders from our portfolio at Let’s Meet Elewijt for an Angelwise event focused on startup finance.

The program included practical keynotes, open roundtable discussions, and peer-to-peer exchanges on managing startup finances, working with a board, and preparing for Series A fundraising.

Thank you to Batist from Azumuta, Lemar from Authic, and Stefan from Chili Publish for sharing their experience and lessons learned.

We wrapped up over lunch, where founders continued the conversation and shared stories.

Thanks to everyone who joined.

Pleevi x VMA: AI-Driven EV Charging

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:06:26 GMT

VMA and Pleevi partner on AI-Driven EV Charging

Brussels, Belgium – April 22, 2025 – VMA, a leading provider of industrial installation services, and Pleevi, an innovator in AI-powered smart charging solutions, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership aimed at transforming electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across Europe.

This collaboration combines VMA's extensive experience in complex multitechnical projects with Pleevi's cutting-edge AI technology to deliver cost-effective and sustainable EV charging solutions for businesses and facility managers. By integrating Pleevi's smart charging APIs into VMA's energy management system VManager, clients can expect optimized charging schedules that consider factors such as local solar energy production, building load, connection constraints, grid peak penalties, and dynamic energy prices.

More information on: Info

Pleevi
Wout Lagae
Co-founder & CEO
wout.lagae@pleevi.ai

Angelwise at Supernova

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 13:00:35 GMT

Angelwise is an official partner of Supernova 2025

SuperNova 2025 in Antwerp was one for the books!

Our booth was buzzing with energy, Oprah’s keynote gave us goosebumps, and from reverse pitches to sofa sessions and late-night investor dinners, the momentum never stopped.

Massive thanks to Leen Anthuenis, the SuperNova crew, and all the partners who made it happen.

Interesting Ideas for the Coming Years

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:53:32 GMT

Interesting Ideas for the Coming Years

The world isn’t static. It’s an ever-changing mix of markets, technologies, and geopolitics. Each paradigm shift—whether the internet, mobile computing, or AI (quid AGI)—introduces new problems to solve. The latest wave of technology is no different.

As AI reshapes industries and legacy systems struggle to keep up, the window for innovation is wide open. Now is the time to build. Here are some of the more interesting areas worth exploring.

Industry specific

1. Education Technology

Education has adapted slowly to past technological shifts (Smartboards, PC’s, internet, tablets, E-learning, …) and is thus an overlooked field by many entrepreneurs. The internet and search engines made knowledge more accessible, forcing schools to rethink their role. The rise of laptops and tablets introduced new formats for learning. Now, with LLMs capable of generating high-quality explanations, problem sets, and even entire lesson plans, education faces a potential major shift.

There’s an opportunity for startups to build the missing pieces, better AI tutors, automated testing tools, or even entire learning platforms that function outside traditional education systems. You should be hyper aware of your role compared to the traditional stakeholders: teachers, schools, content providers, parents, students, governments…

2. Recruitment: A Broken System

Recruitment is one of those industries/processes that feels outdated. If you talk to recruiters, job seekers, or hiring managers, they all describe the same frustrations: outdated platforms, inefficient processes, and a general sense that hiring is more painful than it should be.

LinkedIn, the dominant platform, has seen rising prices and diminishing value, leaving an opening for something better. AI can help with better matching and automation, but the real opportunity may lie in rethinking the entire hiring process from the ground up. A company that figures this out successfully could build something huge.

The solution isn’t just slapping AI on resumes or polishing the same old process. It’s burning the playbook. Think: platforms that ditch job posts, or hiring pipelines that feel less like a tax audit and more like a dating app. Or a career platform that does the boring application / search process for you, turning people into the product. Sound familiar? It should.

3. B2B services: Automation at Scale

Service businesses—marketing agencies, law firms, recruiters, translators and consultants, have traditionally been difficult to scale. Until now: automation is changing that. The cost of building AI-powered software is dropping, which means many of these businesses could be disrupted in three ways:

AI-native tools for service providers – Software that helps existing firms by automating repetitive tasks.
Software for insourcing – Platforms that allow companies to bring these functions in-house.
Service-as-a-Software – Entirely new service firms built on automation rather than human labor.

The last category is the most ambitious. Instead of building software for lawyers, why not build an AI-powered law firm? Instead of selling recruiting tools, why not create an automated recruiting service? By taking a stake in the service value, at a higher margin, these companies could become immense without the need for global domination.

4. Note

These industries are not waiting for another point solution, their tech stacks are already bloated, building on top of this might be good in the short term but will be catastrophic in the long term. With a point solution you will see direct traction and even PMF like metrics. Yet, these industries will be rewritten in the coming decade. So ask yourself the following questions: What is the final vision? What value streams can be captured? How will the future look? What steps are needed to take towards this new future? What do others overlook? What should the focus be of the product roadmap? All questions the winner will need to have the correct answers to…

Focus on the broad B2B market

1. Geopolitics: Manufacturing and Security

The world is more fragmented than ever. The U.S., China, the EU, India, Russia—everyone is prioritizing national interests. Trade wars. Friend-shoring. Semiconductor arms races. The 20th century called—they want their Cold War back. Generations alpha and beta we present you: protectionism, fractured supply chains, and shifting security priorities.

For startups, this chaos means opportunity. Manufacturing is moving closer to home. Companies are aiming to secure their supply chains. Governments are looking at any strategic opportunity for ways to reduce foreign influence.

Hard tech, semiconductors, energy, defense, ..., will be the most obvious winners, but software will be just as critical in helping industries navigate the shift.

2. Vertical SaaS: Software for Specific Industry

Find an industry. Find its clunky, 1990s-2005s software. Build a better version. Profit.

Yes, it’s niche. Yes, scaling is hard. Yes, corporate adoption often comes with resistance. But for founders who can execute? It’s a cash cow, grazing, (still) waiting to be milked.

Focus B2C market

1. Social media - Scrolling

Look around. Everywhere you go, people are hunched over screens, scrolling through endless feeds. These social media platforms are everywhere, who in turn monetize their user’s attention. If it is free, you are the product …

Generative AI has flooded platforms with ‘blend’ slop—posts, images, comments, it is all becoming very gray and boring. Most of the social platforms are becoming a direct communication channel with LLM API calls. This doesn’t seem sustainable, as most people are experiencing an active aversion and detachment towards these platforms. Humans crave connection, not ad consumption.

Clubhouse showed promise with its live voice-driven spontaneity, but couldn’t hold their momentum. BeReal is a second example, that seems less subject to generative AI, with its daily dose of real life.

This evolution will, hopefully, make people more aware of their smartphone usage. This creates an opportunity for new social media platforms. We have no idea how the winner will look like, but most likely it will be designed for humans, not advertisers.

Final note

We’re sector-agnostic. If your business model is cost efficient, and built to scale, we’re in. Don’t hesitate if your idea is not in this list, most of our portfolio companies are not in this list. This isn’t a prescription; it’s inspiration. Find your own path, build your plan and vision, execute, and go. The rest is noise.

If you'd like to discuss further or explore how we can collaborate, feel free to reach out:

Ruben Pauwels

Investment Manager

Angelwise

e-mail: ruben@angelwise.be

Angelwise invests in Salvus Health

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:05:44 GMT

Belgian platform for pharmacists Salvus Health raises €500,000 to improve patient services

Antwerp , 4 March 2025 – Belgian startup Salvus Health, the smart service platform for pharmacists, has raised €500,000 from a group of Belgian investors. This funding will accelerate its expansion in Belgium, support the recruitment of commercial talent, and lay the groundwork for its European rollout.

Reducing pharmacists’ workload

“Pharmacists have valuable expertise and play a crucial role in society due to their proximity to patients,” explains Philip Van den Bergh, co-founder of Salvus Health. “European governments recognize their importance and support them by reimbursing services such as vaccinations and medical consultations. However, in practice, pharmacists often lack the time to take on these additional responsibilities alongside their daily tasks. Some vaccinate up to 1,500 patients in just two months. On top of that, many still rely on outdated software and struggle to fill job vacancies, which only increases their workload.”

Salvus Health helps pharmacists reclaim precious time and refocus on their advisory role. The platform automates repetitive tasks, such as scheduling appointments and sending reminders. Its integrated CRM system enables more targeted communication with patients—whether it’s displaying inhaler usage instructions on a tablet or tracking medication adherence. The software is designed to integrate seamlessly with third-party platforms, ensuring a smooth and efficient user experience.

Rapid growth

Founded in Antwerp in 2020, Salvus Health already serves over 150 pharmacies and approximately 100,000 active patients. Last year alone, 50,000 vaccination appointments were booked through the platform. The company was launched by Philip Van den Bergh, a biomedical engineer, and Salvador Severich, a serial entrepreneur from Catalonia. In 2013, Severich co-founded Signaturit, a Barcelona-based e-signature company that grew into a business with over 100 employees.

Until now, Salvus Health had been self-funded. With this new €500,000 investment from private Belgian investors and funds, the company is entering a new growth phase. “We wanted to bring in sector experts such as Georges Verpraet (pharmacy.brussels), Yves Berquin (Matrix Requirements), and Jurgen De Baerdemaeker (IQVIA),” says Salvador Severich. “At the same time, the market is evolving rapidly. That’s why we’re looking to hire commercial and marketing professionals to seize new opportunities.”

In the short term, Salvus Health aims for a 20% market share among Belgium’s 4,500 pharmacies. In the medium term, the company plans to expand into neighboring European countries. With around 160,000 pharmacies across Europe, the potential for growth is significant.

List of investors:

- Georges Verpraet (pharmacy.brussels)

- Yves Berquin (Matrix Requirements)

- Jurgen De Baerdemaeker (IQVIA)

- Angelwise

Ban Flanders helped raise the round.

Learn more about Salvus Health: https://www.salvus-health.com

Angelwise invests in Pleevi

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 07:21:23 GMT

Greener, cheaper and frustration-free: Pleevi revolutionizes workplace EV charging

Brussel, 30 Januari 2025 – Electric vehicles (EVs) are on the rise, especially as company cars. Employees and visitors alike charge their cars on company premises. This charging is highly diverse: ranging from short to long periods, with varied charging demand during times when green energy availability and cost fluctuates. Pleevi, a spin-off of VITO (partner in Energyville), has developed AI-driven software that not only facilitates greener and more cost-efficient charging sessions, but also seamlessly integrates other energy sources, such as solar energy and stationary batteries. In addition, the system goes beyond real-time input, leveraging weather forecasts and the predicted background energy consumption.

With the goal of achieving emission-free mobility and the European requirement that 87% of all consumed electricity must be renewable by 2040, the bar has been set high. Mobility is a significant part of this challenge. While substantial efforts have been made to make EV charging infrastructure ‘smart,’ these systems often only prioritize cost and energy savings.
Pleevi goes further by prioritizing both driver comfort and charging reliability at the forefront as well.

Pleevi's crystal ball

Pleevi’s platform considers not only local energy generation and dynamic pricing but goes much further.

“The unique aspect of Pleevi is that our entire charging process is not only based on real-time information but also incorporates what the next hours will bring,” explains Wout Lagae, Co-founder and CEO of Pleevi.

“By forecasting energy flows 24 hours ahead, Pleevi’s AI-driven optimisation ensures efficient energy usage without overloading the grid. For instance, on a sunny morning, we can account for abundant solar energy expected later in the day, as well as wind energy forecasts. Our algorithm also factors in the energy needs of the main building on a given day. This helps determine how much energy will be available for charging infrastructure. On a Friday, when many employees work from home, the capacity will differ significantly from a busy Tuesday when high energy demand is required both in the parking area and the building. This allows us to offer not only cheaper but also greener charging sessions.”

Pleevi’s technology is already operational at sites in Belgium, Germany, and France, demonstrating its scalability and effectiveness across diverse markets through partnerships with major players such as Phoenix Contact and VMA (part of CFE Group).

Investors believe in Pleevi

Pleevi has set ambitious goals, aiming to manage 25,000 charging points by 2027. Investors are already convinced of its potential, contributing €1 million to scale this innovative technology across Europe.

Marc Mommaerts (Managing Partner Angelwise), Chairman of the board, shares: “Pleevi’s smart EV charging tackles a critical energy challenge. It optimizes renewable energy use, strengthens grid stability, and prevents overloads. With top-notch technology Pleevi delivers strong ROI while solving a clear societal and energy problem.”

“As the energy transition accelerates and the world embraces rapid electrification—driven largely by electric vehicles—flexibility in our power systems is becoming essential. Pleevi positions itself as a crucial enabler by providing cutting-edge APIs that empower charging point operators to deploy innovative solutions faster and more effectively. Their technology is a key driver of the smarter, more sustainable infrastructure we need for the future. I'm happy to be part of the story and look forward to it.” – Loïc Bar, investing Business Angel.

The Pleevi team

Wout Lagae - Co-founder & CEO

Robin Vanderschueren - Co-founder & CTO

For more information please visit:

https://www.pleevi.ai/

Contact

Wout Lagae

Co-founder & CEO

+32 479 27 61 89

wout.lagae@pleevi.ai

Sidestory: A spin-off from VITO

As a leading Flemish research institute, VITO developed advanced, intelligent algorithms that form the backbone of Pleevi’s solutions. These algorithms enable Pleevi to tackle complex energy challenges by optimising EV charging with minimal energy costs, ensuring both sustainability and efficiency. Drawing on its expertise in energy optimisation, VITO also played a key role in validating the technology.

Angelwise : Angelwise is an early stage investment fund that mainly focuses on supporting startups and young companies in the next stage of their growth, preferably together with business angels or other early stage funds. ( www.angelwise.be )

Seeder Fund : A venture capital fund accelerating early-stage financing for promising digital entrepreneurs. ( https://www.seederfund.be )

Noshaq Energy : A public investment company driving regional economic development in the energy sector. ( https://noshaq.be )

QBIC : Qbic is a sector-agnostic seed and early-stage venture capital fund, focusing on creating impact through the transformation of technological breakthroughs into sustainable business. This operation benefits from support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund. ( www.qbic.be )

Loïc Bar (Business Angel): Founder and CEO of Opinum, a leader in energy data management, contributing expertise in data-driven energy optimization.

Obsessed founders: some observations

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 19:44:02 GMT

Obsessed founders: some observations

One recurring theme in early-stage tech is that the team is the single most important factor in pre-seed and seed investments. But ask a dozen VCs what distinguishes Team A from Team B, and you’ll get a dozen different answers. Some focus on founders with troubled pasts, others look for hyper-intelligence, or deep market experience. But one trait consistently stands out: obsession. While passion can drive a founder far, it’s obsession that propels them to win.

Obsession might not cover everything investors look for, but it captures the essence of what makes the best founders stand out. Here’s what I’ve observed:

Obsessed founders were always obsessed

Obsession doesn’t start with the founding of a company. It doesn’t appear in their first job, or when they graduate from school. It starts way earlier.

You can often spot it in their childhood or teenage years. Obsessed founders tend to latch onto things with intense focus: chess, online games, collecting (postage stamps, soda caps, you name it), organizing school plays, excelling in sports, music, or dance. It doesn’t matter what the activity is—what matters is the drive.

Here’s an example: I recently met a founder who ranked at the top in a Settlers of Catan national tournament while still in high school. That level of focus and competitiveness doesn’t just appear later in life; it’s always been there.

Obsessed founders are hyper-ambitious (and competitive)

There’s a popular idea that “competition is for losers.” But in my experience, obsessed founders love to win. This doesn’t mean they copy competitors’ product or mimic others’ marketing campaigns. Instead, they aim higher: they don’t just want to change the market—they want to become the market.

To get there, obsessed founders choose their battles carefully. They know the key players in their space. Ask them who they need to beat, and they’ll name names without hesitation. They understand their market’s dynamics better than anyone else.

And while their vision is long-term, they’re impatient when it comes to execution. Why wait when there’s so much to do? Their journey is a series of battles: acquiring their first ten customers, saving the company after a failed pivot, raising from skeptical VCs, hiring (and firing) the right people. The road is long, but they’re always looking for ways to accelerate.

Does this mean obsessed founders are tyrants, demanding everything gets done yesterday? Not necessarily. The most successful ones balance their intensity with an awareness of the “human touch.” They know when to push and when to pause.

Obsessed founders are always “on”

Whether they’re networking, team-building, or even relaxing, obsessed founders never really switch off. They’re like a dormant Amazon Alexa: always listening, always aware, waiting for the right opportunity to jump into action.

Picture this: you’re at a casual reception, chatting about nothing in particular. An obsessed founder hears someone mention they know a potential investor or a key contact. Instantly, they’re engaged: “How do you know them? Could you introduce me? How does that work?” The hustle is instinctive.

This doesn’t mean they never unplug. Obsessed founders can enjoy family dinners or weekends with friends. But they’re also willing to sacrifice personal time when the situation demands it. They’ll relocate, skip salaries, or work absurd hours to ensure their startup succeeds.
What others might view as excessive is simply their default mode.

If you'd like to discuss further or explore how we can collaborate, feel free to reach out:

Ruben Pauwels

Investment Manager

Angelwise

e-mail: ruben@angelwise.be

Angelwise portfolio event: Tech & Product

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 11:41:42 GMT

Angelwise product and tech event: Keynotes & networking

Yesterday, Voizine was buzzing with energy as we hosted an exclusive event for technical and product leaders from our portfolio startups. The day was packed with insightful keynotes, engaging roundtable discussions, and valuable networking opportunities over lunch.

Bart Adams (xyzt.ai), Valéry Mainjot (Cikisi), and Tim Vandecasteele (ex Silverfin & die van de boekhouding) took the stage to share their expertise on product management, scaling teams, and implementing RAGs (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). Their real-world experiences sparked meaningful conversations and left attendees inspired to drive innovation within their own organizations.

A big thank you to everyone who joined and contributed to making this event a success! Stay tuned for more exciting gatherings as we continue to foster growth and collaboration within our community.

Telemar x Sealution: support plug-and-play data collection

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 11:27:56 GMT

Telemar announces agreement to install and maintain Sealution’s shipboard data collection technology

11.11.2024 –Telemar, the leading provider of smart maintenance and remote access technologies, has signed an agreement with Sealution to support plug-and-play data collection for vessel operators.

Sealution’s Connectivity System combines the reliability of the existing cabling used on shipboard fire detection and alarm systems with an onboard gateway to collect and transmit data, improving the robustness of onboard networks and enabling granular data collection from a wide array of equipment and IoT devices.

Under the terms of the agreement Telemar will offer installation, service and maintenance of Sealution’s Type Approved solution.

Telemar already provides data collection from bridge navigation technology for maintenance and analytics. The partnership with Sealution creates the possibility to gather data from propulsion and other critical systems for maintenance and troubleshooting.

Telemar specialises in Smart Maintenance and management of bridge electronics, providing proactive remote and in person support with focus on mitigating risk and reducing down-time. Its engineers can access onboard systems to diagnose performance issues and perform a higher number of first-time fixes using remote access without the need to wait for the next port call.

More information on: Info

Exciting news from dScribe!

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 13:58:47 GMT

Documentation within any browser-based application

DScribe, a leader in documentation solutions for BI reports and datasets, is marking a significant milestone in its mission to provide "documentation anywhere."

Founded three years ago with a clear goal to help organizations document their business intelligence (BI) efforts more effectively, dScribe has continually evolved to meet customer needs. Last year, they introduced a browser extension that allowed users to embed documentation directly within BI reports, which led to rapid adoption across organizations.

Building on this success, dScribe is now expanding the capabilities of its browser extension. Soon, users will be able to integrate documentation seamlessly within any browser-based application, including ERP systems like SAP S/4HANA, MS Dynamics 365, various cloud solutions, and custom-built applications. This new feature aims to simplify onboarding, support, and guidance for users across multiple platforms.

For those interested in experiencing these new capabilities, dScribe is offering a beta version this August. To get started, organizations can book an onboarding session by contacting support@dscribedata.com .

Newsletter 6

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 10:22:29 GMT

Azumuta expands to the U.S.

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 13:11:18 GMT

Ghent-based Scale-up Azumuta Expands to the U.S.

Ghent-based tech scale-up Azumuta is opening its first office in the US. In the prestigious innovation hub Newlab in Detroit, founded by car giant Ford. Azumuta develops digital environments for the manufacturing industry: workers see digitally what they have to do and are guided during their work. The American manufacturing industry is recovering after difficult years. The U.S. is therefore a huge growth market for Azumuta.

Azumuta Enters US Market

The Ghent-based tech scale-up Azumuta is opening its first office in the US, situated in the prestigious innovation hub New Lab in Detroit, which was founded by automotive giant Ford. Azumuta specializes in developing digital environments for the manufacturing industry, enabling workers to digitally see what tasks they need to perform and receive guidance during their work.

The American manufacturing industry is recovering after several challenging years, making the US a significant growth market for Azumuta. The company’s expansion into the US this fall was further solidified when Azumuta was unexpectedly selected for a spot in the prestigious New Lab, a business hub founded by Ford and Google.

Connected Workforce Solutions

Azumuta’s core offering is connected workforce solutions—software that assists and corrects workers during the production process. Operators on the factory floor receive instructions on what to do, along with support in quality assurance, competency tracking, digital checklists, and similar tasks. This approach is designed to increase factory productivity without adding extra pressure on workers, making companies more resilient to rapid market changes.

CEO Batist Leman emphasizes, “You need support to keep up with quickly evolving production methods. Companies without a connected workforce solution will cease to exist. Companies that do have it, can strengthen their competitive position. Instead of taking eight months to reorient production, they can do it in a few weeks thanks to Azumuta.

"This expansion came a bit sooner than we expected. On one hand, we followed our international clients to support them. On the other hand, we gain lot of interest from American companies that approach us. To capture that interest, we needed an office closeby. That this new office now comes under the wings of Ford and Google, is an extra confirmation of our software’s strength." Batist Leman Founder and CEO Azumuta

International Clients

This technology has already gained traction in Belgium, where companies like Atlas Copco and brewery Duvel-Moortgat are using Azumuta’s solutions. The move to the US, according to Batist Leman, was driven by both the need to support international clients and the growing interest from American companies. Leman notes, “This expansion came bit sooner than we expected. One one hand, we followed our international clients to support them. On the other hand, we also see a lot of interest from the US, from companies approaching us there. To capture that interest, we needed a closer office. That the new office now comes under the wings of Ford and Google is an extra confirmation of the strength of the software.”

In Detroit, New Lab is part of the Ford Billion Dollar Campus, where Ford has made significant investments to create a comprehensive technology campus focused on manufacturing. Google, as a major technology player, is also involved in this project, further validating the importance of this manufacturing and technology hub.

Azumuta plans to primarily house sales and support services in its US office, while development will continue to be based in Ghent.

See the video on Kanaal Z: https://trends.knack.be/kanaal-z/z-nieuws/bekijk-gentse-scale-up-azumuta-breidt-uit-naar-de-vs/

Get in contact with Azumuta: https://www.azumuta.com/

Angelwise investeert in Accurat

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 06:20:17 GMT

Gentse retail startup Accurat haalt 1 miljoen euro op om Europa te veroveren

Gent, 6 augustus 2024 – Het Gentse Accurat heeft met succes een kapitaalronde van 1 miljoen euro afgerond. Het bedrijf is gespecialiseerd in data-analyse voor fysieke winkels en zal met de extra middelen hun data-intelligentiesoftware Europees commercialiseren. Het Accurat-platform, gebaseerd op consumentenlocatiedata en artificiële intelligentie, biedt vandaag al Benelux-retailers in diverse sectoren precisie-inzichten om strategische beslissingen te nemen en hun prestaties te verbeteren.

80% van alle retailomzet gebeurt vandaag nog altijd in fysieke winkels. Ondanks de aanhoudende groei van e-commerce, draagt een aankoop op locatie nog altijd de voorkeur weg van de consument. Net dat kanaal laat zich moeilijk meten. Of beter: liet zich moeilijk meten. Dankzij het Accurat-platform kunnen retailers diepgaande analyses uitvoeren over verschillende aspecten van hun fysieke locaties.

Denk aan het beter begrijpen van klantprofielen, het opstellen van een concurrentievergelijking, het bepalen van de locatie voor een nieuwe vestiging of het meten van de effectiviteit van marketingcampagnes. Door miljoenen datapunten te verwerken met geavanceerde algoritmen genereert Accurat zeer nauwkeurige inzichten die retailers helpen om hun strategieën te optimaliseren en vooruit te plannen. Grote namen zoals Delhaize, Lidl, Brico, Lunch Garden, Burger King of vanHaren verbeteren hierdoor ondertussen hun verkoopcijfers.

Buikgevoel bevestigen

Bart Muskala en Steven Van Canneyt, die Accurat lanceerden in 2019, benadrukken het belang van deze financieringsronde voor hun groei en marktpositie. Bart Muskala, CEO van Accurat, legt uit: "Dankzij deze investering kunnen we onze positie in de markt verstevigen en onze groei versnellen om retailers in heel Europa betere beslissingen te laten nemen op basis van diepgaande data." Steven Van Canneyt, verantwoordelijk voor de Accurat-technologie, voegt toe: "Ons product beantwoordt vele vragen van retailers. Dankzij Accurat kunnen ze hun buikgevoel voortaan bevestigen of, even vaak, ontkrachten. Met deze financiering kunnen we ons platform verder ontwikkelen en onze klanten nog meer antwoorden bieden."

Marktonderzoek op steroïden

Wat Accurat uniek maakt, is de snelheid en granulariteit waarmee analyses mogelijk zijn. En dat in tegenstelling tot traditioneel marktonderzoek. Bart Muskala benadrukt: "Als een supermarkt een BBQ-actie doet kan hij op maandag al bevestigd zien of die actie van het voorbije weekend aansloeg, terwijl deze informatie bij onze concurrenten vaak pas na 4 tot 6 weken beschikbaar is." Bovendien zijn onze analyses gebaseerd op effectief gemeten gedrag bij een groot aantal mensen, in plaats van gedeclareerd gedrag bij een kleine groep. Een klant van ons noemde het lovend "marktonderzoek op steroïden". Het aantal domeinen waarop een retailbedrijf inzicht verwerft is breed, blijkt uit de oplossingen die het Gentse bedrijf biedt. “Zo kunnen onze klanten op permanente wijze de evolutie van hun klantentrouw, bezoeksfrequentie in de markt en hun aandeel daarbinnen opvolgen”.

Europese uitrol versnellen

De financieringsronde, geleid door Angelwise en ondersteund door PMV en de bekende Gentse investeerders Lorenz Bogaert en Toon Coppens, die ook al in een vorige investeringsronde instapten, zal Accurat in staat stellen om de internationale groei en de verdere ontwikkeling van het product te realiseren. Ook retailondernemer Jonas Deprez en de nieuwe COO Bart Putteman (ex-C&A) stappen mee in het kapitaal. De investering zal worden gebruikt om de aanwezigheid in Europa te vergroten. Bart Muskala concludeert: "Het succes van deze financieringsronde bevestigt het vertrouwen in onze visie en ons product. We zijn verheugd om onze klanten te blijven ondersteunen met geavanceerde data-oplossingen die hen helpen om succesvol te zijn in een steeds veranderende markt."

Marc Mommaerts, Managing Partner bij Angelwise voegt toe: “Accurat valt op door zijn combinatie van retail-expertise en het doelgerichte gebruik van geavanceerde algoritmes. Deze sterkte op twee domeinen zien we ook terugkeren in het founder-team. We zijn enthousiast over de toekomst van Accurat en zijn ervan overtuigd dat ze een leidende rol zullen spelen in het transformeren van de retailsector."

“Efficiënte data-analyse wordt dé hoeksteen van succesvolle retail en de basis om te overleven in een nu al zeer concurrentiële omgeving. We zijn er dan ook van overtuigd dat veel retailers de Accurat-software met veel enthousiasme zullen onthalen en in het voetspoor zullen treden van de grote klantennamen die ze nu al in hun portefeuille hebben.”, aldus Roald Borré, Groepsmanager Equity Investments bij PMV.

Meer informatie over Accurat. ai en de kapitaalronde? Neem contact op:

Bart Muskala, CEO via bart@accurat.ai of bel +32 486 13 91 62

Bart Putteman, COO via bart.putteman@accurat.ai of bel +32 474 37 38 11

Over Accurat

Accurat is een Belgisch big data bedrijf dat retailers helpt slimmere beslissingen te nemen. Door het in kaart brengen van het real-world gedrag van consumenten genereert Accurat waardevolle inzichten die ingezet worden door klanten als Delhaize, Lidl, Brico, Jumbo of vanHaren. Op die manier nemen ze onderbouwde beslissingen voor zowel tactische als strategische uitdagingen.

Website: https://accurat.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accurat-ai/

Over Angel wise

Angelwise is een early stage investeringsfonds dat zich er vooral op richt om startups en jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen naar een volgende fase in hun groei, liefst samen met business angels of andere early stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Flanders en ruim negentig business angels. Het fonds is opgericht in 2021 en heeft 20 miljoen euro opgehaald om een ecosysteem van bedrijven te bouwen dat de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kan realiseren. Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be .

Over PMV

De Vlaamse investeringsmaatschappij PMV geeft de toekomst van de Vlaamse economie vorm. PMV financiert beloftevolle bedrijven van bij de prille start, tot en met de groei en internationalisering. PMV biedt financiële oplossingen op maat aan alle ondernemers met een goed businessplan en een sterk managementteam. Zij doet dat met kapitaal, leningen en waarborgen. Daarnaast realiseert zij met en voor de overheid, en andere partners, projecten die belangrijk zijn voor de welvaart en het welzijn in Vlaanderen. PMV beschikt over een portfolio met 1,8 miljard euro in beheer. Meer info via www.pmv.eu

Vers kapitaal voor Perfect-ID

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 13:15:42 GMT

Vers kapitaal voor technologiebedrijf Perfect-ID, dat met Palmki™ Europees specialist is in biometrische authenticatie met de handpalm

Palmki™, toonaangevende leverancier van biometrische technologie en oplossingen voor onder meer toegangscontrole in gebouwen en op events, tijdregistratie en geïntegreerde betalingen, haalt kapitaal op bij de bank, bestaande aandeelhouders en de Limburgse investeringsmaatschappij LRM. Daarmee wil het bedrijf uit Hasselt verder opschalen en internationaliseren. In België en Nederland wist het al heel wat grote bedrijven te overtuigen met zijn technologie, waaronder o.a. de Europese instellingen, voetbalclub KAA Gent, Fortuna Sittard en KAS Eupen.

Lees het volledig artikel: link

CEO of Qollabi has written a book

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 10:27:06 GMT

The Partner Operating Model

Frie Pétré, CEO of Qollabi, has written a book on indirect sales partnerships and everything related. It is welcomed with great enthusiasm by sales directors.

Interested? Click below.

Read the full article here: Link

Link to website Qollabi: https://www.qollabi.com/

Authic launches Perks

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 13:33:34 GMT

Perks: Next-gen loyalty solution

Authic Labs has been at the forefront of customer loyalty innovation for a while now! This means that they have been working on a plug-and-play solution for businesses from a wide variety of industries that want to create and design their own customer loyalty programs. As a result, Authic is excited to announce Perks . Perks is an innovative loyalty app that will change how businesses interact with their customers.

So, which features can you expect with Perks?

Data Management: Simplify how you collect and analyze customer data with our user-friendly app. Consolidate all data into one app and receive weekly analytics to enhance your customer experience.

Memberships: Customers can easily claim your business’s membership card via the app and unlock exclusive rewards. This not only fosters loyalty but also encourages repeat business.

Point Collection: Reward your customers for repeat purchases and let them collect points through simply scanning a QR code. This approach not only incentivizes repeat visits and higher spending but also provides immediate gratification.

Quests: Go beyond transactions by inviting customers to participate in interactive quests. This increases social media engagement , broadens your online presence, and fortifies customer relationships, all while they earn more points and rewards.

Connect, Reward, and Grow with Perks. To see how Perks can transform your customer engagement strategy, book a demo today at www.authic.io

Watch this video: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/authic_perks-by-authic-labs-activity-7234532880775798784-Nn_k?

or contact Authic: https://authic.io/contact-us

First-time fundraising from VC Funds

Wed, 15 May 2024 09:14:01 GMT

First-time fundraising from VC Funds

By: Jan Vorstermans and Stefan Vandenbussche

For a startup founder it is not always easy to understand the behaviour of VC investors. This Insight Article is aimed at founders who plan to start fundraising from VC funds for a first time and aims to provide some guidelines that will help you navigate the muddy waters of finding the right VC investor.

Fundraising trigger. The best way to fund your company is with money from your customers. If you need more money and time to establish the proof points for your business, you will most likely have to turn to friends and family, grants, business angels, loans, etc. Once you have the proof points established, you might need VC money to help your startup grow faster. Do not raise money if it does not accelerate your business. If you try to raise money before you have a convincing proposal, you will waste your time, and your reputation.

Be in fundraising mode or not. If you decided to raise funds, appoint one founder to take the lead. There is enough time later to get the other founders and key people involved when you get a positive response from an investor. Fundraising is a big distraction from growing your company, you cannot afford this distraction for long. So, when you decide to start fundraising, give it your full attention, and decide upfront on the KPI’s to stop the process. Get it done, so you can go back to what matters the most, building your business.

Make your plans. Most investors will ask for your plan, and how much you will need to implement it. But you do not know if there will be a match between your estimated financing need and what you will be able to raise. It is perfectly acceptable to have multiple plans, which depends on how much money you will raise. Just be open and transparent about it, talk about what you will achieve depending on the level of investments. You will also be in a stronger position if your plans include one that can make it to cash flow break-even without financing.

Make your plans as realistic as possible, make sure you are honest to yourself as well, don’t under- or overestimate costs and revenue, keep it realistic. Build your plan up year over year for a period of 3 to maximum 5 years, and link the assumptions and drivers to the outcomes. A VC will want to see how your insights translate to your plan.

Research the investor landscape. Make sure you know the VC landscape, who is investing in what type of startups. Make sure you research the VCs you want to approach, how they operate and the people you get a meeting with. If you are seen as an experienced founder, with successful exits in the past, you can probably dictate terms. But if not (and you are part of the large majority of founders), the best way to pitch your startup is simply tell investors what you are up to. Ask your connections for an introduction to investors, a recommendation always helps.

Manage your VC interactions. In the VC world, networking and getting to know each other is of high importance. An introductory call should be seen as a first touchpoint, to see if there could be a fit in the (near) future, don’t expect an offer after a first contact. Make sure that you ask the VC what is important to their fund ( (e.g. growth rate, EBITDA positive or not, minimum revenue, …) and agree on the timing for the next check in. Make a brief note of every interaction, so you are not lost if the VC takes a bit of time, or replaces the contact person during the process.

Know your facts and figures. When talking to investors, make sure you know the data about your company, your market, your customers, your traction, and the competition. It is likely that the investor you are talking to has already seen startups in your space and will have some analysis on the market. Not knowing major data points is a sure thing to scare investors away.

Make a clear pitch deck. You have only one chance to make a good impression. Translate your story in a clear pitch deck, it will make first meetings so much easier. The first meeting is not to convince the investor to invest, it is aimed at getting them interested in your company. Do not put up too much detail, there is plenty of time for that later, when you have gauged the interest of the investor.

Have the right mindset. Fundraising is like selling, you will get a lot of rejections. The key is to stay positive and professional during the process. Do not behave as an experienced founder if you are not, as this will come over as very arrogant. Be open and honest, also on your own strong and weak points.

Take feedback and move on. Investors are unlikely to decide on the spot, so it is important that you ask them what their decision process is, and whether you can help them get to a decision with additional information. Try to get as much feedback as you can and judge what you will take onboard. Adapt to feedback from every meeting and consider pausing fundraising to re-evaluate and incorporate necessary changes. When an investor declines to fund you in this round, do not forget that they might be back in the next round if you do well. So, accept rejection with grace, and ask where you can do better, learn from their insights into your company, product, market and/or growth plan.

Do not optimize for valuation. Many founders think that valuation is the most important parameter in the fundraising process. It is not, the most important thing is to find the right amount of investment to help your startup over the next hurdle, with the right investors that can help you in this round and ideally also in the next one. Of course, valuation matters, but mostly in terms of what share percentages the founders will have after the first investment round(s). Make sure that you as founder(s) & other early investors, are aligned on the dilution you want to take for this round. Understand that there are many ways to crack this nut and come to a win-win situation with your investors. And beware if you get a too high valuation too early, it can set an impossible target for a next round.

Get commitments. You should treat investors as not committed until they say yes unequivocally, preferably in the form of a (signed) term sheet. This can be cumbersome but has the advantage that all parties have a mutual understanding, not only of the valuation and investment size, but also of the most important terms and conditions. Having a term sheet from one (leading) party also helps in completing your round, as this can be seen as a key factor for some investors to decide if they want to participate in this round (if the lead investor agrees on adding more investors in the round).

Close the deal. The success of a deal cannot be guaranteed until the money is in the bank, and founders should not rely solely on soft commitments or term sheets, which are often not binding. Even in the best deal, surprises can pop-up quickly: a major company launches a solution that competes with yours, your co-founder might quit, the market can suddenly change, etc. So, once you have the commitments, close as quickly as you can, and get the money in your account.

Post-closing. Make sure you continue to involve your investors, as coach or mentor, market expert, for commercial introductions, or for whatever helps the business. This is where your investors show their real worth, other than in providing financing. Make sure you keep them up to date, and not only on the good things. They will have experience in a lot of companies, so they will not panic when you update them on more negative topics. On the contrary, they might even help you to not stress too much when something is not going as planned, due to their experience.

What about bootstrapping. Do not forget that there are non-dilutive ways to fund your business (e.g. your savings, grants, loans, paying customers). This way you can bootstrap your business and generate more proof points that show you are becoming successful, which increases the chance that you will find good investors. You basically buy time to build the foundations for your business and to prove its viability through customer acquisition and revenue generation. It will also leave a larger portion of the shares in your hands, which is important for future investment rounds.

But bootstrapping your business also has disadvantages, it probably will result in a slower pace of product development and company growth. This could mean that you are potentially missing market opportunities due to limited resources and that better funded competitors can take market share, even if they have an inferior product.

Success is … Understand that the success of a startup is not measured by the amount of money raised, or the number of investment rounds and not even by the valuations of these rounds. Startup success is measured by rapid growth, both in revenue and bottom line (this could be net income, EBITDA or cash flow).

Azumuta on the cover of Trends Magazine

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 14:23:41 GMT

The Ghent-based scale-up streamlines work instructions, training, and quality controls.

Written by Joris Hendircks

Brussels, Dec. 14 – Recently Batist Leman, CEO Azumuta, had an interview with the Trends Business Magazine. There, Batist shared his views on the most significant challenges to our modern-day manufacturing scene, such as the skills gap issue, increasingly tight regulations, and unchecked international competition.

To address these challenges, Batist conveyed his “disruptive innovation” solutions and how using Azumuta’s one-stop manufacturing software will alleviate even the most complex challenges.

The original article was written in Dutch, translated below:

Azumuta has developed an integrated platform that helps the manufacturing sector to streamline work instructions , training, and quality controls – with better employee versatility and productivity as the main impact. This is something that the manufacturing sector urgently needs: the Ghent-based scale-up, with clients such as Atlas Copco, Novy, and Nitto, has recently raised EUR 2,8 million to speed up its international growth – as explained by the CEO Batist Leman

“Any production process is becoming more complex due to the increasing quality requirements and regulations. This, combined with a tight labor market, a lower-qualified workforce, and rising competition from abroad, makes digitalizing the production processes a must for any manufacturer who wishes to survive.”

“The increasing complexity makes it challenging for shop floor operators to know precisely what they’re supposed to do. As a result, quality issues will emerge, and operators will take a long time to be properly trained. Therefore, our system offers a digital assistant for shopfloor operators, something that’s often overlooked even today.”

Disruptive innovation

“In the era of digital transformation and industry 4.0, where technological advancements bring ground-breaking changes for manufacturers, a critical element is often neglected: the role of operators. This is where Azumuta steps in.”

“Our software knows well the unique potentials of all operators and fully integrates them into the digitalization process. While many companies focus on large-scale technological upgrades, Azumuta offers a new approach by emphasizing the crucial human element. Such software is more relevant than ever, as proven by the strong demands from domestic and international clients, ranging from small & medium-sized enterprises to multinationals. These companies, spread across vario

us industries and regions, fully understood the values of our approach to this disruptive innovation.”

“Azumuta was designed to streamline work, improve communications, and support efficient decision-making processes on the shop floor. With contextual information, built-in error detection systems, and user-friendly & intelligent interfaces, operators will know precisely what they must do while the management obtains real-time information from these data. By integrating it into the existing production systems, you can immediately achieve sustainable efficiency improvements.”

Operational excellence

“Often, quality controls are done at the end of the production process, which means defects are only detected late. Therefore, our system uses inline quality control. In combination with digital work instructions, all parameters are continuously captured, such as ticking off completed tasks, measuring weights and accepted deviation tolerance, etc. If there are deviations or errors, you can intervene earlier, where the products’ quality is significantly improved, and they don’t have to be disposed of due to defects. That’s an essential component in the ESG strategy.”

Agile workforce

“Companies often have little knowledge of their workers’ complete skillset. Moreover, workers can always leave or retire. This means that some specific shop floor know-how can be lost. Our system lets users know which employee has which expertise, in which skill set workers should be further trained, and which skills haven’t been fully mastered yet in a team. Furthermore, it’s not easy to find new workers at the moment.”

“Often, companies have to hire workers with a training and education background that is lower or doesn’t fully match what is expected. They might not understand the production process, making on-the-job training more important than ever. Digital work instructions and inline quality control offer top-notch support to deliver high-quality work. This module also allows you to comply with the legal requirement to show the number of training hours that your workers have undergone. All of this is fully automated, removing a significant administrative burden.”

“Previously, decisions were taken top-down, and workers on the shop floor were supposed to simply implement these decisions. However, we believe that shop floor workers possess significant know-how on how things can be done more efficiently. To engage them, we have added a communication module where they can swiftly indicate problems and share their ideas. They can also get feedback in the same way.”

Strong growth

“In conclusion, we can say that our platform enables manufacturing companies to improve their operational efficiency and time-to-market rate. Our unique focus on operators allows our clients to organize their workforce in an agile manner. This makes our platform a perfect addition to the existing MES and ERP systems. The quick and profitable growth of Azumuta, the success of our clients, and increasing demands from abroad mean that analysts and investors recognize the importance of this market. Recently, we have raised EUR 2.8 million to support our effort to fulfill increasing international demands.“

Contact

contact@azumuta.com

https://www.azumuta.com/company/contact/

Newsletter 5

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 08:14:45 GMT

Dscribe data enters partnership with TriFinance

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 12:58:51 GMT

Data catalog as a centralized and searchable repository for an organization's data assets.

[Ghent, 12.10.2023] TriFinance has recently entered into a partnership with dScribe, an innovative data catalog solution provider headquartered in Ghent. A data catalog, in essence, serves as a centralized and searchable repository for an organization's data assets.

"During analytics projects," Maarten Lauwaert , Expert Practice Leader at TriFinance says, "we often witness discussions on the definition and management of KPIs. At the start of a project, people create Excel files containing KPI definitions, but forget to update them after the go-live. dScribe helps business users to locate the right data and reports, and manage KPI definitions.”

For TriFinance , implementing dScribe at clients is a way to strengthen their position as a business partner, enhancing their business acumen and analytics expertise.

One Stop Data Shop

dScribe is a one-stop-shop to catalog , document and discover anything data-related. The solution is cloud-based, integrates with different reporting solutions (including Power BI and Azure Analytics) and gives the users a single entry point to find, understand and access all reports & data, no matter where they are stored.

Moreover, KPIs and business knowledge can be defined in dScribe and are linked to the reports where they are available. Business users will always have insight in the correct KPI definitions , and in the parts of the reporting environment where these KPIs are being used. “For our customers, dScribe is a big first step in better governing their reporting environment,” Maarten Lauwaert says.

dScribe: a Collaborative Data Compass

Pieter Delaere, CEO at dScribe: “Employees who have access to meaningful data are best equipped to drive their organizations forward. Despite substantial investments in data and analytics, many organizations still grapple with the transition to widespread data-driven decision-making and innovation. Often, the root of this challenge is a lack of accessibility and comprehension of the available data and reports. We're on a mission to bring data front and center for every curious mind eager to drive their organization forward. For that reason, we call our solution a ‘Collaborative Data Compass’."

"Business users often struggle to locate the right reports and KPIs," says Maarten Lauwaert. "Their understanding of the full analytics solution is not always clear. Checking a report without knowing the exact definitions of the KPIs slows down the adoption of the analytics solution. That's why our partnership with dScribe, offering a business-oriented and affordable data catalog solution that integrates well with Microsoft Analytics, excites us. We believe that this solution will help our customers to accelerate the adoption , usage and governance of their analytics solution." Maarten Lauwaert, Expert Practice Leader Data & Analytics, TriFinance

About TriFinance and dScribe

About dScribe

Founded in Belgium in 2021, dScribe is dedicated to guiding organizations toward data-driven brilliance. The team is passionate about empowering employees with more streamlined access to meaningful reports and data. They believe their customers deserve an elegantly designed, user-focused data knowledge solution. Leveraging a proven and continuously refined metadata management framework, along with out-of-the-box integrations, dScribe promises increased data clarity and adoption from day one.

About TriFinance

TriFinance is an innovative service provider with a focus on Finance & Advisory in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. Combining transition and support, pragmatic advisory and implementation, people solutions, and training, the company offers a new combination of services, backed by a permanent pool of highly specialized and flexibly deployable project consultants.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, TriFinance has branches in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels, Hasselt, Louvain-la-Neuve, Roeselare, Hamburg, Munich, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Luxembourg. As a network organization with a strong focus on human development, knowledge sharing, innovation, and organizational development, it belongs to Parklane Insight, a European growth company with 800+ MeIncers. Its mission is "Furthering People for Better Performance in Do-How.”

Contact

Maarten Lauwaert, Expert Practice Leader Data & Analytics, TriFinance: maarten.lauwaert@trifinance.be

Pieter Delaere, Co-founder & CEO dScribe: pieter.delaere@dscribedata.com

Angelwise investeert in Xyzt.ai

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:31:09 GMT

Xyzt.ai verzekert €1 miljoen investering voor internationale expansie

Xyzt.ai, een baanbrekende leider in locatie-intelligentietechnologie, kondigt met trots een belangrijke mijlpaal aan in haar reis naar wereldwijde expansie. Het bedrijf, met hoofdzetel op de Hasseltse Corda Campus en een vestiging in Leuven, haalt €1 miljoen aan financiering binnen bij drie gerenommeerde investeerders: The Faktory Fund, LRM en Angelwise. Deze strategische partnerschappen versterken xyzt.ai's toewijding om naadloze, real-time en schaalbare analyses voor uitgebreide locatie- en tijdreeksdatasets mogelijk te maken.

xyzt.ai is geen typische start-up. Opgericht in 2019, door professionals met vijftien jaar ervaring in de sector, straalt het bedrijf zowel jeugdig enthousiasme als deskundigheid uit. Hun business intelligence-platform helpt klanten om grote hoeveelheden locatiedata te visualiseren en te analyseren. Onze auto’s, vliegtuigen, boten en andere voertuigen zijn uitgerust met tal van sensoren en meettoestellen die gigantisch veel data capteren. Locatie, snelheid, acceleratie, bandendruk, … Het zijn data die worden verkocht aan onder andere landen, steden en gemeenten om te analyseren. Iets wat complex is omwille van de hoeveelheid en diversiteit van data.

“Ons platform brengt orde in die chaos en zorgt dat er gemakkelijker analyses kunnen worden gemaakt op basis van data. Steden kunnen zo in kaart brengen waar er te hard gereden wordt, in welke bochten of op welke kruispunten auto’s het vaakst in de remmen gaan en waar de wegkwaliteit slecht is. Zo kunnen ze concrete en gefundeerde acties ondernemen”, lichten eigenaar-ondernemers Lida Joly en Bart Adams toe. “Analyses om verkeer te optimaliseren is maar één van de mogelijkheden. Een andere is detectie van fraude, door bijvoorbeeld via de data van schepen na te gaan waar illegaal gevist wordt. Of twee schepen die ter hoogte van de territoriale wateren van Columbia langs elkaar varen, blijven stilliggen langs elkaar en dan verdergaan? Ook daar mag je je vragen bij stellen.”

Ondertussen wordt xyzt.ai wereldwijd vertrouwd door overheden, waaronder de stad Hamburg, Autobahn GmbH en Texas A&M Transportation Institute, en werkt het samen met marktleiders zoals INRIX, Bridgestone Mobility Solutions en Spire. “Dat ons product een gamechanger is volgens onze klanten, wist de investeerders The Faktory Fund, LRM en Angelwise te overtuigen voor een kapitaalsinjectie van 1 miljoen euro”, aldus medeoprichter en CEO Lida Joly.

Verwerking van ruim 1 miljard datapunten

xyzt.ai is nu klaar om deze nieuwe kapitaalinjectie te gebruiken voor versnelde groei in verkoop, marketing en initiatieven op het gebied van klantsucces. Heidi Rakels, bestuurslid en vroege investeerder in xyzt.ai, toont zich enthousiast: "We zijn ontzettend blij om The Faktory Fund, LRM en Angelwise te verwelkomen als investeerders. Dit stelt ons in staat om het succes van xyzt.ai naar nieuwe hoogten te stuwen."

Xyzt.ai loopt voorop met haar baanbrekende technologie en biedt een cloudgebaseerde SaaS-oplossing die is ontworpen voor de visuele analyse van uitgebreide sets locatiegegevens. Dit uitgebreide data-analyseplatform onderscheidt zich door zijn geavanceerde compressie-, opslag- en analysetechnieken en kan vanaf het begin moeiteloos meer dan 1 miljard datapunten verwerken. De primaire focus van xyzt.ai's technologie ligt op de connected vehicle markt, de maritieme sector en de bredere IoT-industrie, waar de vraag naar dergelijke platforms exponentieel toeneemt omdat overheden en bedrijven inzichten willen delen en het situationeel bewustzijn willen verbeteren.

Lida Joly van xyzt.ai, licht toe: "Het verwerken van datasets van miljarden records vormde vroeger een complexe uitdaging, één die ons xyzt.ai platform op een vakkundige manier oplost en tegelijkertijd onze klanten kostbare tijd en geld bespaart. Ik ben erg blij met het vertrouwen en de steun van dit nieuwe investeringsteam. Het is ook extra stimulans om onze doelen te bereiken en een blijvende impact te generen in de industrie. Kortom: we zijn er helemaal klaar voor om xyzt.ai naar het volgende niveau te tillen, en we kunnen niet enthousiaster zijn over de mogelijkheden die voor ons liggen."

Bruikbare zakelijke inzichten

De reis van xyzt.ai begon toen medeoprichters Lida Joly en Bart Adams de explosieve groei van aangesloten apparaten observeerden die enorme hoeveelheden data genereerden in de IoT-industrie. De complexiteit van het omgaan met deze enorme datasets vormde een grote uitdaging voor data-analisten wereldwijd. xyzt.ai's unieke technologie pakt dit probleem aan door bruikbare zakelijke inzichten te leveren via een cloud-gebaseerd SaaS-platform, waarmee de visualisatie en analyse van uitgebreide bewegingsgegevens van mobiele apparaten mogelijk wordt, die miljarden locatierecords omvatten.

"In een wereld waarin data steeds meer centraal staan, wordt ons krachtige platform steeds essentiëler. AI speelt hierin een steeds belangrijkere rol, door trends en afwijkingen in data te spotten, deze samen te voegen en het inzichtelijk maken te automatiseren," voegt Bart Adams, medeoprichter en CTO van xyzt.ai, toe. "Deze nieuwe investering stelt ons in staat om onze oplossing bij een veel breder publiek bekend te maken."

Investeerders onder de indruk

“We zijn onder de indruk van Bart en Lida's robuuste en complementaire expertise en hun visionaire technologie. Deze combinatie helpt private en publieke besluitvormers snel en efficiënt om te gaan met de steeds belangrijker wordende mondiale mobiliteits- en milieuvraagstukken”, aldus Simon Alexandre, General Partner & Co-Founder The Faktory Fund .

Ook Tom Aerts, Head of Investment bij LRM , klinkt enthousiast: “Achter xyzt.ai staan met Lida en Bart twee zeer ervaren oprichters die niet aan hun proefstuk toe zijn. Daarenboven bieden zij een innovatieve oplossing om grote hoeveelheden data te kunnen verwerken. Ze zijn helemaal klaar om vanuit onze Hasseltse Corda Campus de wereld te veroveren. Hun klantenportfolio bewijst nu al dat er vanuit alle hoeken van de wereld nood is aan hun technologie om zo een antwoord te kunnen bieden op diverse mobiliteits-, milieu- en fraudeproblematieken.”

"Het product van xyzt.ai heeft ook op ons indruk gemaakt door het gebruiksvriendelijke ontwerp en de uitzonderlijke klantervaring. De oprichters, Lida en Bart, hebben een schat aan relevante professionele ervaringen die een perfecte mix van visie en expertise belichamen en die het pad van innovatie en succes voor xyzt.ai begeleiden”, besluit Marc Mommaerts, Managing Partner van Angelwise .

Over xyzt.ai

xyzt.ai is een vooraanstaand high-tech locatie intelligentiebedrijf dat gebruikers in staat stelt met bruikbare zakelijke inzichten door middel van een no-code geospatiale platform. Hun platform faciliteert de visualisatie en analyse van uitgebreide bewegingsdata van verschillende assets zoals voertuigen en schepen, maar ook tijdreeksdata van niet-bewegende sensoren zoals camera's, sensoren voor luchtkwaliteit en geluidsoverlast. xyzt.ai staat bekend om zijn moeiteloze installatie, interactieve inzichten en is erkend als IDC Innovator, lid van het Open Geospatial Consortium en een Geoawesomeness Global Top 100 Geospatial Company. Ze werden ook bekroond met de Maritime Innovation Challenge door INEOS en de Haven van Antwerpen.

www.xyzt.ai

About The Faktory

The Faktory Fund is een privaat durfkapitaalfonds, gevestigd in België en gespecialiseerd in innovatieve b2b start-ups in een vroeg stadium. The Faktory Fund ondersteunt actief een beperkt aantal uitmuntende ondernemers, voornamelijk gevestigd in de Benelux en Frankrijk, die digitale technologieproducten (software, Internet of Things) commercialiseren met het oog op wereldwijd leiderschap. De investeringsportefeuille omvat onder andere e-Peas, Nestwave, Penbox, Dgenious en AiVidens.

www.thefaktory.com

Over Angelwise

Angelwise is een early-stage investeringsfonds dat zich voornamelijk richt op het ondersteunen van startups en jonge bedrijven in de volgende fase van hun groei, bij voorkeur in samenwerking met business angels of andere early-stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Vlaanderen en meer dan negentig business angels. Het fonds werd opgericht in 2021 en heeft 20 miljoen euro opgehaald om een ecosysteem uit te bouwen van bedrijven die de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij kunnen helpen realiseren.

www.angelwise.be

Over LRM

LRM is een rendementsgedreven investeringsmaatschappij, die in en vanuit Limburg duurzame economische groei ontgint en stimuleert. LRM is de stuwende kracht in een uniek regionaal ecosysteem en stelt risicofinanciering en expertise ter beschikking aan bedrijven en projecten, die zorgen voor welvaart én welzijn in Limburg.

www.lrm.be

Contact via info@xyzt.ai

Sealution wins the BEYOND HardTech Startup 2023 Competition at Slush'd Leuven

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:43:57 GMT

Sealution wins the Beyound HardTech Startup 2023 competition at Slush"d Leuven organised by Voxdale

The recently concluded BEYOND HardTech Startup 2023 Competition at Leuven Slush'D left us awestruck by the innovative prowess of 10 HardTech startups. The competition was fierce, with each participant pushing the boundaries of technology and demonstrating their commitment to solving real-world challenges. However, it was Sealution and STUDIO TWINS PARIS that stole the show, emerging as co-winners in this exhilarating battle of innovation.

A heartfelt thank you to Slush'D Leuven and Voxdale for your invaluable contributions to the technology ecosystem in Belgium. Your dedication to innovation and your commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible are truly inspiring. Keep up the fantastic work!

Read the full article here: Link

Link to website Sealution: https://sealution.io/

Angelwise investeert in Azumuta

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:29:58 GMT

AZUMUTA HAALT 2,75 MILJOEN EURO OP VOOR VERDERE INTERNATIONALE GROEI

Brussel, 3 oktober – Het Gentse Azumuta, een veelbelovend B2B SaaS platform dat bedrijven in de maakindustrie helpt bij het stroomlijnen van hun werkinstructies, trainingen en audits op de werkvloer, haalt succesvol 2,75 miljoen euro op. Investeerders zijn de Vlaamse investeringsmaatschappij PMV en Angelwise, samen met 4 private investeerders.

Het is een probleem waar veel KMO’s en grotere bedrijven in de maakindustrie mee worstelen: het gebrek aan voldoende begeleiding, kwaliteitscontrole en opleiding voor hun arbeiders. Al te vaak leidt dit tot fouten en inefficiënties op de werkvloer, die bovendien onvoldoende doorstromen naar het hoger management en zo leiden tot verborgen omzetverlies. Het Gentse Azumuta, opgericht door Batist Leman in 2016, biedt hiervoor een innovatieve oplossing door software te ontwikkelen die arbeiders op verschillende niveaus in het productieproces ondersteunt én het management een beter zicht biedt op de prestaties op de werkvloer.

Founder en CEO Batist Leman legt uit: “Instructies en kwaliteitscontroles voor operatoren zijn vandaag in veel bedrijven enkel beschikbaar op papier. Niet alleen zijn ze daardoor onduidelijk en niet up to date, ook de mogelijkheid tot terugkoppeling en analyse ontbreekt. Met onze software bieden we duidelijke werkinstructies en in-line kwaliteitscontrole, op maat van wat er gemaakt moet worden. Azumuta loodst de operator visueel en interactief door het hele productieproces. Hierdoor kunnen ook minder ervaren mensen direct productief meedraaien, is er een hogere productiviteit en detecteert men snel eventuele inefficiënties in de productie.”

Enorm potentieel

Het platform van Azumuta is ontworpen voor verschillende sectoren, waaronder productie, logistiek en chemie. Door de ingebouwde real-time analyses en rapportering kunnen bedrijven eenvoudig prestaties monitoren en verbeterpunten identificeren op vlak van efficiëntie en kwaliteit. Dit gebeurt via vier verschillende modules die afzonderlijk beschikbaar zijn: werkinstructies, trainings- en competentiebeheer, audit & product traceability en shopfloor feedback.

Verschillende Belgische productiebedrijven, waaronder Novy, Duvel Moortgat, Nitto en Atlas Copco werken ondertussen al met de Azumuta-software en ook in het buitenland is Azumuta aan een opmars bezig. Roald Borré, Groepsmanager Risicokapitaal bij PMV, ziet hierin de voorbode van een veelbelovend internationaal groeiverhaal: “De marktomvang van de maakindustrie is groot. De Europese sector alleen al telt meer dan 29 miljoen werknemers en 2 miljoen maakbedrijven, verspreid over KMO’s en grote ondernemingen. Veel bedrijven werken nog met pen, papier of Excel, wat zich vertaalt in een grote opportuniteit voor Azumuta om door te breken. Met onze kapitaalinbreng kunnen ze inzetten op grotere bedrijven om hun klantenbasis te verbreden.”

“Het wordt stilaan ondenkbaar dat een Operations Manager geen platform heeft om de mensen op de fabrieksvloer te ondersteunen”, zo klinkt het.

De toekomst van werknemers in maakbedrijven is volgens een recent rapport van het World Economic Forum een van de vijf grote uitdagingen die op ons afkomen. Complexer werk, veranderende demografie, meer jobrotatie, … met Azumuta wapenen bedrijven zich tegen die problematieken en buigen ze de gevaren om tot voordelen.

Concurrentieel voordeel

Azumuta overklast verschillende internationale spelers omdat zij dikwijls maar één module aanbieden en bovendien vaak apart moet worden geprogrammeerd op basis van een uniek klantprobleem. Azumuta onderscheidt zich door verschillende complementaire modules in eenzelfde platform te integreren. Volgens Batist Leman houdt net de overlap van de verschillende modules een grote toegevoegde waarde in voor de eindklant: ”Voor de implementatie van onze software is geen aparte programmering nodig, maar aan de hand van een open api zijn we wel vlot koppelbaar. Met ERP systemen en zelfs randapparatuur op de werkpost, zoals torque tools, weegschalen, etc. Dit maakt dat ons platform snel inzetbaar is, maar ook zeer krachtig en flexibel. Bovendien voelen wij ons gesterkt door de enthousiaste reacties van onze klanten, die dikwijls voor ons kiezen omwille van onze gebruikersvriendelijke user interface, naast de complementariteit en wisselwerking tussen de modules. Daarom zijn we goed gepositioneerd om de internationale concurrentie aan te gaan.”

Financiering voor internationale groei

Om het groeiverhaal van Azumuta nog te versnellen komen de Vlaamse investeringsmaatschappij PMV, Angelwise en 4 private investeerders over de brug met extra kapitaal.

Volgens Jan Vorstermans, Managing Partner bij Angelwise, zal hiermee de focus gelegd worden op internationale groei en verdere ontwikkeling van de software: “Azumuta kan nu inzetten op het ondersteunen van hun internationale klanten en de organische groei ook in het buitenland verder zetten. Hiervoor wordt alvast de zoektocht ingezet naar expert software ontwikkelaars en ervaren sales professionals in de manufacturing sector.”

“We worden ondertussen een wereldspeler en leggen daarom bewust de lat bij onze aanwervingen zeer hoog”, aldus Batist Leman. “Het team moet de snelle groei aankunnen en mee ondersteunen, daarvoor is het van groot belang dat de software die we afleveren innovatief en van uitstekende kwaliteit is.”

Over Azumuta

Azumuta is met hun kantoor op de Kouter gevestigd in het hart van Gent. “Om de dynamiek van de stad op te slorpen maken we wel af en toe eens gebruik van de vele restaurants in de buurt”, zo klinkt het bij het team.

Voor de internationale klanten ligt de oorsprong van de naam "Azumuta" in het Japanse woord “始めた”, of nog "ik ben begonnen". Dat staat voor verschillende waarden: Een actie, een nieuw begin, een persoonlijke toewijding en verantwoordelijkheid, zelfverzekerdheid en hoop. Als we er naar doorvragen geeft men met een kwinkslag toe dat het Gentse dialect er misschien ook iets mee te maken heeft.

Over PMV

PMV bouwt als investeringsmaatschappij aan een duurzame Vlaamse economie, de motor van onze welvaart en welzijn. PMV is de partner van ambitieuze ondernemingen en projecten, die inzetten op maatschappelijke impact en financieel rendement. PMV financiert beloftevolle bedrijven van bij de prille start, tot en met de groei en internationalisering. PMV biedt financiële oplossingen op maat aan alle ondernemers met een goed businessplan en een sterk managementteam. Zij doet dat met kapitaal, leningen en waarborgen. Daarnaast realiseert zij met en voor de overheid, en andere partners, projecten die belangrijk zijn voor de welvaart en het welzijn in Vlaanderen. PMV beschikt over een portfolio met 1,7 miljard euro in beheer.

Over Angelwise

Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be

Meer info

Batist Leman, founder en CEO Azumuta, batist.leman@azumuta.com ,

Palmki has been nominated for the Rising Star award

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 13:34:06 GMT

PERFECT-ID has been nominated for the Rising Star award

Hasselt, 29/09/2023 – Perfect-ID has been nominated for the 2023 Rising Star award, together with nine other innovative companies. The Rising Star selection is part of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 competition and is designed for promising companies that have been active in the technology sector for less than four years. An independent jury will select the 2023 Rising Star following a final pitch presentation on 26 October 2023.

PERFECT-ID is a Belgian-based company, active in the EMEA region, which has developed PALMKI: a very user-friendly and highly secured authentication solution based on hand palm vein scanning technology, which can be used for:

Access control
Cybersecurity – software & data
Attendance & time registration
Payments
Process automation
Person identification

“We are very proud to be nominated for the 2023 Rising Star Award, which celebrates Belgian entrepreneurship at its best. It is a great honour for a young company such as PERFECT-ID to be recognised not only for our achievements, but also for our potential.”

About the Rising Star Award

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 competition is an annual selection of the 50 fastest growing and innovative technology companies headquartered and founded in Belgium. Public or private companies that develop a technology-related product or service and have experienced substantial revenue growth over the last four years can enter the competition for their chance to be nominated as one of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Belgium.

Companies that have been active in the technology sector for less than four years can participate in the special Rising Star category of the competition. These companies are judged by an independent jury on their turnover potential and scalability.

Participating in the Rising Star competition can help companies to develop their business by increasing their visibility and giving them access to the Fast 50’s unique network of highly successful executives.

About PERFECT-ID

“PERFECT-ID is committed to a world where biometric palm vein technology revolutionizes and optimizes digital and physical authentication, making interactions between people and their environments smarter, safer, and more personal.”

“PERFECT-ID wants to be the solution of choice where reliable authentication is of crucial importance, and where faster, simpler user processes are required.”

Want to learn more about Perfect-ID?

Discover how we’re looking to meet the world’s growing Authentication needs on www.palmki.eu and learn how you can change the processes in your company.

Dscribe data in G2 best Data Governance Software overview

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:48:57 GMT

Dscribe data in G2 best Data Governance Software overview

Dscribe Data takes its well-deserved place in the prestigious G2 ranking for data tools, particularly in the realm of Data Governance. In an era where data is king, effective data governance is paramount for organizations striving to harness the full potential of their data assets.

Read the full article here: https://www.g2.com/categories/data-governance#grid

Contact

Email: hello@dscribedata.com

Contact: Pieter Delaere

Site: https://dscribedata.com/

Angelwise maakt zevende investering in Cikisi

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 10:00:00 GMT

Cikisi haalt 2,7 miljoen euro op in een “pre-series A” financiering om de groei te versnellen en het marktbereik te vergroten

Brussel, België – Om haar groei in de komende twee jaar te versnellen, heeft Cikisi deze zomer 2,7 miljoen euro opgehaald. Drie nieuwe investeerders nemen een belang in het bedrijf: het investeringsfonds Angelwise, een ICT & SaaS early-stage investeringsfonds, finance&invest.brussels, de Brusselse regionale investeringsmaatschappij en een nieuwe gerenommeerde Business Angel met relevante SaaS ervaring. Naast deze drie nieuwe investeerders nemen ook de oprichters, de historische business angels en de investeringsfondsen, Investsud en Sambrinvest, deel aan deze ronde.

Cikisi heeft een alles-in-één tool ontwikkeld voor markt- en concurrentie-intelligentie toepassingen. Het optimaliseert de volledige workflow van een marktintelligentie-afdeling: van dataverzameling, dataverrijking en -analyse tot en met de distributie van de verwerkte informatie. De tool wordt geleverd met zeer krachtige low-code zoek- en indexmogelijkheden, semantische tekstanalyse en een data-repository (een bestaande gegevensopslag) van meer dan een miljard documenten die ook voortdurend wordt bijgewerkt.

Met de Seed-ronde die Cikisi in juni 2021 ophaalde hebben ze hun B2B SaaS Market Intelligence-oplossing verfijnd zodat die nu perfect aansluit bij de behoeften van grote internationale industriële en dienstverlenende bedrijven. Ze realiseerden een goede commerciële tractie en hebben een meer dan competitieve concurrentiepositie voor zichzelf gecreëerd door geavanceerde technologieën naadloos te integreren met een intuïtieve en gebruiksvriendelijke gebruikersinterface.

Cikisi wil EBITDA positief worden tegen eind 2024 en Series A kapitaal ophalen in 2025.

“Ons belangrijkste doel voor de komende twee jaar is om onze groei te versnellen en nieuwe verkoopkanalen en nieuwe geografische gebieden te benutten. We zullen ons blijven richten op Europese markten buiten België, waar we al 70% van onze omzet genereren en waar we lokale commerciële aanwezigheid zullen ontwikkelen."

Valery Mainjot – CEO & mede-oprichter Cikisi

"Om onze teams beter te coördineren, zal Cikisi voor het einde van het jaar ook een kantoor openen in Brussel. Gewapend met de nieuwe financiële middelen hebben we alles in huis om van marktchallenger naar marktleider te gaan."

Franck Di Liberto – Sales Manager & mede-oprichter Cikisi

"Angelwise is enthousiast om Cikisi te helpen in zijn missie om de leidende marktinformatie-tool te worden. We waren onder de indruk van de tractie van de klanten, die ons bewezen dat Cikisi er in nu reeds slaagt om grote industriële, IT- en servicebedrijven te overtuigen om de tool te gebruiken. Naast deze bewezen staat van dienst, was er het indrukwekkende product en de goed operationele executie die ons overtuigden dat Cikisi klaar is om snel verder uit te breiden in de rest van Europa. Door te investeren en toe te treden tot de raad van bestuur, breng ik ons netwerk en onze strategische SaaS-expertise mee rond de tafel."

Marc Mommaerts – Managing Partner Angelwise

"Trends in de dataverwerkingsmarkt bevestigen dat oplossingen zoals Cikisi steeds relevanter worden. Dankzij haar expertise heeft de scale-up zich inderdaad snel kunnen ontwikkelen en een grote klanten kunnen aantrekken. Hun komst naar Brussel is een grote kans voor het scheppen van werkgelegenheid en ook voor de invloed van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest op het internationale toneel.”

Pierre Hermant - CEO van finance&invest.brussels

Over Cikisi

CIKISI S.A. is een Belgisch bedrijf opgericht in 2016 dat een Market & Competitive Intelligence Software-as-a-Service ontwikkelt en verkoopt, genaamd Cikisi. Cikisi optimaliseert de processen van informatiespecialisten door het verzamelen en verwerken van big data te automatiseren, evenals het aanbevelen van content. Cikisi heeft een soevereine zoekmachine gebaseerd op een eigen webindex. Het bedrijf gebruikt open-source technologieën op alle gebieden, waaronder kunstmatige intelligentie, om zijn klanten hoge prestaties te leveren. Cikisi, waarvan de jaarlijks terugkerende inkomsten eerder in 2023 meer dan 1 miljoen euro bedroegen, rekent grote bedrijven zoals SOLVAY, SAINT-GOBAIN, ATOS, KPMG en PWC tot haar klanten. Bezoek voor meer informatie onze website: www.cikisi.com

Contact: info@cikisi.com

Over Investsud

INVESTSUD investeert op lange termijn in de groei en innovatie van kleine en middelgrote ondernemingen.

Als specialist in risicokapitaal implementeert INVESTSUD oplossingen op maat voor ondernemingen op sleutelmomenten in hun bestaan: oprichting, groei, overdracht, enz.

Het ondersteunt resoluut bedrijven die actief zijn in technologische innovatie en duurzame innovatie tijdens hun hele ontwikkeling. INVESTSUD wordt gedreven door een passie voor ondernemerschap, gevoed door een gemengd aandeelhouderschap van voornamelijk privébedrijven en gestimuleerd door een stabiel en ervaren team. Als loyale en professionele partner onderhouden wij nauwe relaties met onze partners. Bezoek onze website: https://investsud.be

Over Sambrinvest

Met meer dan 35 jaar ervaring, meer dan 300 bedrijven in portefeuille en meer dan 200 miljoen euro onder beheer is Sambrinvest een belangrijke durfkapitaalspeler in Wallonië en in België. Als investeringsfonds investeert Sambrinvest van “early-stage” tot "Series A” en ondersteunt het actief bedrijven in elke fase van hun ontwikkeling. Sambrinvest is dus, naast een investeerder, ook een katalysator voor de ontwikkeling van ecosystemen, met name op het gebied van Life Sciences en Engineering.

Voor meer informatie zie http://www.sambrinvest.be

Over Angelwise

Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be

Over finance&invest.brussels

finance&invest.brussels is een naamloze vennootschap van publiek recht die de financieringsketen van ondernemingen die toegevoegde waarde creëren in het Brussels Gewest faciliteert en vervolledigt, in veelbelovende sectoren voor duurzame economische ontwikkeling en tewerkstelling. Het biedt concrete oplossingen voor de financiële behoeften van ondernemers, in de vorm van leningen, aandeleninvesteringen of garanties op belangrijke momenten in het leven van hun bedrijf. De financieringsoplossingen zijn gericht op start-ups, scale-ups, kmo's, maar ook zeer kleine sociale ondernemingen en coöperaties.

Bezoek onze website: www.finance.brussels

The power of the founding team

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 16:36:38 GMT

The power of the founding team

When envisioning a successful startup, the image of a dynamic and driven founding team often comes to mind. This group of individuals, united by a shared vision and a passion for innovation, plays a critical role in shaping the trajectory of a new venture. But what is the optimal number of founders for a startup? What are the characteristics of a good founding team? And what skills should these founders have?

This article delves into the significance of the number of founders in startups and explores both the advantages of larger teams and of smaller teams. This is summarized to describe the ideal founding team, some final important considerations about founders dynamics and complementarity are shared to add some nuance. To finish, a simple framework using skill buckets is discussed that is used by investors to determine the skills of the founding team and the first hires.

This article is co-authored by Olivia Vandesande , an advisory board member at Angelwise . With a background as a senior executive in HR and merger reorganizations, she made the decision to join Skelia, a scale-up founded by her partner. Skelia is the international leader in building cross-border IT and engineering organizations in Eastern Europe . From 2016 to 2023, she successfully led the Polish branch, overseeing Skelia’s growth to over 400 employees. Subsequently, Skelia was acquired by Nortal, and Olivia became active at Angelwise.

More founders is better

When you are contemplating launching a startup as a solo founder, consider teaming up with a select few individuals. Here is a short list of reasons why more founders could benefit the success of a startup in the early days.

Division of labor: larger founder teams mean specialized roles, increasing efficiency and leveraging strengths.
Broader network and resources: founder teams bring diverse networks, connections, and resources, benefiting the startup's growth.
Resilience and continuity: multiple founders ensure resilience and continuity during challenges.
Investor perception: investors prefer founder teams for shared commitment and a collaborative approach.
Complementary skills and knowledge: diverse founders enhance problem-solving and innovation skills. A range of perspectives and expertise will lead to a more adaptable startup.

Less founders is better

Having multiple founders could contribute to an increase in startup failure rate due to founder conflicts within the team. In a one-founder scenario, there is a limited number of people connections, and conflicts can arise primarily between the founder and external parties or staff. However, as the number of founders increases, the potential for conflicts grows with each additional connection. The number of personal connections increases rapidly after 4 founders with 6 personal connections between them.

This can be attributed to differences in opinions, decision-making styles, and priorities.

Yet having less founders can also be a benefit, this dynamic can be explained by the following 5 points:

Efficient decision-making: a small team ensures efficient decision-making with streamlined communication and quicker consensus, allowing agile responses to changes and opportunities.
Stronger cohesion and alignment: strong cohesion is fostered through deep understanding, shared vision, effective communication, and enhanced collaboration among team members.
Flexibility and agility: the flexibility and agility of a small founding team enable them to navigate challenges, make quick decisions, and implement adjustments with ease.
Cost-effectiveness: for early-stage startups, a small team addresses resource constraints by minimizing variable costs, making them more cost-effective.
Stronger personal connections: in the early stages, small founding teams build strong personal connections with stakeholders, providing personalized attention, building trust, and gaining a competitive advantage.

What is the perfect size?

The above described effects can be summarized in the graphs below. Both graphs have the number of founders on the x axes and on the y axes the chance of startup success.

These 2 graphs can be summed and normalized to have an overview of the complete effect. Note that none of these graphs are constructed using concrete datapoints, they are merely used to represent the underlying idea.

It's important to note that the optimal size of a founder team may vary depending on the specific startup, industry and circumstances. The key is to strike a balance where the team is large enough to bring diverse perspectives and capabilities but not so large that coordination and decision-making become cumbersome. Other considerations when finding this balance:

The quality and nature of the relationship among founders plays a determining role in the success of a startup. Respect and unity serve as crucial catalysts for achieving positive outcomes. When founders and early hires demonstrate effective teamwork, it sets a favorable precedent, especially since they will eventually have their own teams to manage.
Voting rules (e.g. unanimous, simple majority, qualified majority) can play an important role in decision making between founders. The importance increases after an investment round so be sure that you have sorted this out in the beginning.

“Founders need to understand each other on a deeper level. In Dutch we say “Het schoentje mag niet wringen”, meaning that there can’t be any friction.” – Olivia

In the previous and following quote we want to draw your attention again to the relationship between the founders. Is everyone aligned? Some people might invest cash and others don’t. Is everyone involved for the long game?

“Around thirty-three percent of marriages end in a divorce in Belgium.
Sixty-five percent of startups fail due to founder conflict. Choose your partner(s) wisely.” – Ruben

Complementarity, as already mentioned, is a key differentiator between good and amazing founding teams. Do the founders want the same things? Are their visions aligned? Are the roles and responsibilities crystal clear? But mostly do the founders have a complementary set of skills and capabilities.
The last points introduces the subject of the next chapter where we will do a deep dive on those capabilities and how they can be mapped.

Founders team through the eyes of investor: skill buckets

When investors assess a startup team, they often seek to understand the collective skills and expertise that the founders bring to the table. To evaluate the team efficiently, Angelwise maps these skills into three primary buckets: product, sales, and general.

The product bucket comprises individuals who are instrumental in developing and delivering the startup's product or service. This includes roles such as product managers, technology officers, developers, testers, analysts, and front-end and back-end specialists. Their skills revolve around product ideation, design, development and quality assurance. They ensure that the startup's offerings align with market needs, are technically robust, and deliver a good user experience.

The sales bucket encompasses individuals who excel in marketing, growth strategies and sales. These team members possess the ability to effectively promote the startup's offerings, acquire and retain customers and drive revenue growth. Their expertise lies in understanding market dynamics, crafting compelling value propositions, and executing successful sales and marketing campaigns.

The general bucket encompasses individuals who contribute to the overall functioning and growth of the startup. They possess skills in areas such as hiring and teambuilding, legal, finance and fundraising, and operations management. These team members are responsible for building a talented workforce, managing financial resources and optimizing operational processes to drive efficiency and scalability. They are also responsible to translate the service or product (build by the product teams) you are offering in commercial/legal agreement (sold by the sales teams), this is generally one of the first skills where startups need external experts for help.

By categorizing the skills of the founding team into these three buckets, we can gain a quick overview of the team's capabilities and how well-rounded it is. A balanced team with complementary skills across sales, product and general areas is often seen as favorable. Such a team demonstrates the ability to develop innovative products, effectively bring them to market, and efficiently manage the startup's operations and resources.

We recognize that a startup's success hinges not only on a compelling idea but also on the team's ability to execute and navigate the challenges of building a business. Therefore, a thorough evaluation of the founding team's skills (and first crucial hires) in sales, product, and general areas provides valuable insights into the team's potential to drive growth, adapt to market dynamics, and ultimately deliver returns on investment.

“From my perspective, a CEO must possess the ability to drive sales since it forms the lifeblood of all commercial enterprises and remains the topmost priority. The team should complement each other, while also understanding each other's roles crucial for guiding the company towards success. Let me add, as a final remark, that at least one founder, and preferably the CEO, should have also a broader knowledge and understanding of each of the skill domains of the other departments ” – Olivia

“ Understanding the skills and qualities of the founding team is absolutely crucial. Anticipating strong sales performance every quarter from someone

who doesn't excel at sales could have devastating consequences.

The same applies to the product team; it's unwise to expect
a blacksmith to build an electric car. ” – Ruben

Below is an overview of the three buckets (product, sales, and general), the corresponding skills, and the connected C-level roles. It can be a good exercise for the founders & startup employees to map their skills on the genius zone framework introduced in our article “The entrepreneurial journey towards growth”. ( link )

Reflection: What does this mean for you?

Be aware that every situation is different, you are the judge on how this applies to you and your startup. Are you aware of your skills and the related bucket? Do you use such a framework in your daily operations, e.g. to consider the profiles of new hires?

Share your ideas and viewpoints with us, and we might take them up in another newsletter or blogpost.

Sources:

33% of marriages end in a divorce in Belgium: Article
65% of startups fail due to founder conflict of startups fail due to team conflict: The Founder’s Dilemmas Academic reference

Newsletter 4

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 06:44:03 GMT

Angelwise maakt zesde investering in Authic Labs

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 09:20:14 GMT

Seed-kapitaal op voor innovatieve Web gebaseerde loyaliteitsprogramma’s

Amsterdam, Nederland – Authic Labs verwelkomt ondermeer Angelwise, Rockstart, Graduate Entrepreneur en SeedBlink als nieuwste seed-investeerders. De in Amsterdam gevestigde SaaS-start-up staat bekend als aanbieder van gebruiksvriendelijke online marktplaatsen, voor zowel bedrijven als merken uit diverse industrieën die de Web3-ruimte willen betreden.

Authic slaagde erin om een no-code platform te ontwikkelen dat kan worden aangepast aan de specifieke behoeften van hun klanten, waardoor deze hun eigen marktplaatsen kunnen ontwerpen en unieke klantervaringen kunnen creëren met behulp van digitale verzamelobjecten.

Dankzij het eigen B2B SaaS-aanbod is Authic een leider geworden in de groeiende markt van Web3-oplossingen voor klantbetrokkenheid en klantloyaliteit. Ze hebben hun klanten geholpen om nieuwe inkomstenstromen te creëren, meeslepende loyaliteitsprogramma's op te zetten en een jonger publiek aan te trekken met behulp van blockchain-technologie.

Authic kijkt erna uit om het potentieel van NFT's (Non-Fungible Tokens) en andere Web3-technologieën verder te blijven ontdekken; het wenst zo verandering teweeg te brengen in de manier waarop bedrijven omgaan met hun klanten en fans. De integratie van NFT's in reguliere bedrijfsmodellen vertegenwoordigt een voortdurende trend in het digitale landschap. Met hun unieke eigenschappen hebben NFT's het potentieel om een revolutie teweeg te brengen in verschillende sectoren, waaronder kunst, verzamelobjecten, mode en onroerend goed.

"Het is geweldig om te zien dat Angelwise, Graduate en Rockstart en Seedblink ons ondersteunen bij onze missie om NFT's toegankelijker en praktischer te maken voor bedrijven en consumenten, wat uiteindelijk leidt tot een meer onderling verbonden en digitaal geïntegreerde economie", zeggen Wouter Kloosterman en Lemar Bachtiar, Co- Oprichters van Authic Labs.

"Met deze investering wil Angelwise de groei van Authic Labs versnellen, het marktbereik vergroten en de ontwikkeling van nieuwe producten en diensten waarmee Authic het snelle tempo van innovaties in de Web3 Space wil bijhouden, verder ondersteunen", aldus Jan Vorstermans, Managing Partner bij Angelwise

“Het digitale landschap verandert voortdurend en wie zich niet kan aanpassen, loopt het risico achterop te raken,” vertelt Michael Bjørnlund, Managing Partner Emerging Tech, Rockstart. “We hebben in Authic geïnvesteerd omdat ze het talent hebben om vooruit te kijken, om Web3 en NFT’s verder te blijven verkennen en tegelijkertijd ruimte te maken voor de volgende generatie gebruikers. Hun toewijding en expertise in het bouwen van unieke en innovatieve ervaringen voor hun klanten, in combinatie met hun streven naar transparantie in elke stap van de toeleveringsketen, resulteert in een digitale marktplaats die voor iedereen toegankelijk is.”

“We zijn verheugd om Authic te vergezellen in het verkennen van het potentieel van NFT's en andere Web3-technologieën. Ze hebben alles in huis om hét white-label NFT-platform te worden”, aldus Auke, Partner Graduate Entrepreneur Fund.

“We waren enthousiast om Authic Labs te helpen in hun seed-ronde naast bestaande VCS in de opkomende Web3-wereld. Dit was onze eerste ervaring met Web3 en het verbaasde ons echt hoe het team erin geslaagd is om binnen te dringen in deze markt en een geweldige oplossing rond NFT’s uit te bouwen. We kijken uit naar hun groei; we blijven ze verder volgen en helpen waar we kunnen.” aldus Robbin Hoogstraten, Regional Manager Benelux bij SeedBlink.

“De innovatieve aanpak van Authic, waarmee bedrijven flexibele, veilige en schaalbare loyaliteitsprogramma's met Web3-technologie kunnen creëren, stelt hen in staat traditionele loyaliteitsprogramma's te doorbreken en te voldoen aan de veranderende eisen van een jongere generatie. Het zou me niet verbazen als de door Authic ontwikkelde technologie ook wordt gebruikt in gefragmenteerde eigendomsprogramma's." zegt Authic angel investor Jean-Pascal Duvieusart, voormalig Senior Partner bij McKinsey.

About Angelwise

Angelwise is an early stage investment fund whose main focus is to provide maximum support to startups and young companies to the next stage of their growth, preferably together with business angels or other early stage funds. The main shareholders of the fund are PMV, COI, BAN Flanders, the fund managers and more than eighty business angels. Established in 2021, the fund has raised EUR 20 million to build an ecosystem of companies that can help realize the digital transformation of society. For more information, see www.angelwise.be.

About Rockstart

Rockstart is an early stage VC-accelerator that empowers purpose-driven founders across three domains: Energy, AgriFood, and Emerging Technologies. Rockstart invests in early-stage startups and provides access to capital, market, and expertise by connecting founders with co-investors, mentors, partners, corporates, and the wider Rockstart network.

Rockstart has invested in more than 300 startups and its alumni value to date is more than $1bn. Rockstart is an international team of 45+ professionals dedicated to empowering purpose-driven founders to become scalable and drive positive change on a global scale. Rockstart has notable exits such as Wercker, Bouw7, iClinic, and in 2021, 3D Hubs, Brincr, and Dan.com. The company has offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Bogota

About Graduate Entrepreneur Fund

Graduate Entrepreneur Fund is a €58 million early stage fund that partners up with visionary founders from the universities of Delft and Rotterdam. It provides its companies with capital and coaching from an extensive network of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. Website - www.graduate.nl

About SeedBlink

SeedBlink is an equity management and tech specialized venture investment platform that enables European startups and its stakeholders to access, manage and trade equity alongside established institutional investors. Website – www.seedblink.com

Contact

Links to Socials:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/authic/

Get in contact: book a meeting

Website: Link

Nederlandse voetbalclub kiest voor Palmki.

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 20:24:27 GMT

Nederlandse voetbalpioniers kiezen voor PALMKI palmaderherkenningstechnologie.

Nederland – De Nederlandse Eredivisie voetbalclub Fortuna Sittard heeft besloten om de PALMKI palmaderherkenningstechnologie te implementeren voor haar toegangscontrole.

De kantoren in het Fortuna Sittard Stadion in Nederland worden uitgerust met Palmki-technologie. Alle toegangsdeuren zullen worden voorzien van Palmki-lezers, waardoor medewerkers toegang krijgen op basis van palmaderherkenning. Aangezien elke persoon een unieke handstructuur heeft, functioneert een handscan bijna hetzelfde als een QR-code. De techniek is verbonden met een database waarin de scans van de personen die toegang hebben tot een bepaald kantoor worden geüpload. Als gevolg van deze ontwikkeling zijn sleutels nu verleden tijd en zijn de kantoren beschermd tegen ongenode gasten.

Lees het volledige artikel hier: https://www.itweb.co.za/content/xnklOvz1V85q4Ymz

Contact

Email: info@perfectid.be

Contact: Marc Stracks

Email: marc@perfectid.be

Angelwise maakt vijfde investering in Watcherr

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 15:27:22 GMT

Watcherr announces closing a +€2M funding round

Aalst, 5 July 2023 – Watcherr is pleased to announce that it has just closed its investment round with a total amounting to over €2M. Several investors including private investors from the Business Angels Network (BAN) Flanders and the VC fund Angelwise contributed to the investment round. Watcherr is currently active in Belgium, UK and Canada. The funds raised will help accelerate Watcherr’s sales and marketing efforts to expand internationally via trustworthy distributors.

Watcherr would also like to announce new changes within its senior management team. Erik Horemans will be joining the Watcherr team as Chief Executive Officer, and Piet Steenberghs will also be joining the team as Chief Financial Officer. Mr Horemans brings with him a wealth of experience in the tech industry, with a special focus of scaling startup teams within the software industry. Following his experience in financial audit at PWC, Mr Steenberghs has occupied various roles in finance in a variety of industries, and has recently shifted focus into tech and SaaS companies.

Watcherr has also brought in new board members, bringing in a large business network and years of experience in scaling companies.

“We are grateful to have received such positive feedback from investors during this round, aiding in our international expansion. It is an exciting time for the company as we continue to grow the business, and help to save lives thanks to our health distress system,” said Mr Horemans.

“It has been an honour to lead Watcher together with the co-founders and such a great team,” said founder Nikolai Stevens. “We received numerous awards in different areas around the world and are quickly expanding in Europe, Canada and the UK. Due to the rapid expansion, we decided to get an experienced CEO to steer Watcherr in its international journey,” he continued.

Watcherr provides a plug-and-play health distress system using Bluetooth and mobile technology for a variety of industries. The system continuously monitors the user and triggers an alert via its mobile application when the user initiates an alarm or when an irregular pattern/activity has been detected.

Features such as location tracking and geofencing (indoors and outdoors), two-way voice communication, and heart rate monitoring are combined in one waterproof wearable device that can be charged on the go.

For more information about Watcherr visit https://watcherr.com/

& https://watcherr.com/news/investment-round/

About Angelwise

Angelwise is an early stage investment fund that mainly focuses on supporting startups and young companies in the next stage of their growth, preferably together with business angels or other early stage funds. The main shareholders of the fund are PMV, COI, BAN Flanders and more than ninety business angels. The fund was established in 2021 and has raised 20 million euro to build an ecosystem of companies that can help realize the digital transformation of society.

About BAN Flanders

BAN Flanders (Business Angels Netwerk Vlaanderen vzw) brings entrepreneurs and investors together, prepares them for capital financing, and always provides personal guidance. The platform par excellence where investors and entrepreneurs find each other in optimal conditions. #ban stands ready for growth and success of entrepreneurs and private investors, the business angels. With more than 200 man-years of expertise within the core team, (excluding the expertise of the business angels in the network which is almost impossible to express in years), for 25 years BAN Flanders has been the market leader in private early-stage venture capital in Belgium for 25 years. With +480 deals on the books, BAN Flanders lives up to its motto 'WISE MONEY LEADS TO GREAT DEALS' every day. The personal guidance of all parties is leading in this! Visit our WISE Academy .

Contact

Links to Watcherr Socials:

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/watcherrdevice

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WatcherrDevice/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WatcherrDevice

When practice meets education

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 14:12:26 GMT

Angelwise as a guest trainer for management consultants

Angelwise was invited as guest trainer for a training session, on the world of venture capital, for the Addestino consultants. Addestino is Belgian consultancy firm that focuses on the interaction between technology and strategic advice to large companies.

Contact

contact@angelwise.be

Newsletter 3

Fri, 26 May 2023 20:30:19 GMT

Angelwise maakt vierde investering in dScribe data

Thu, 11 May 2023 07:21:04 GMT

Data discovery bedrijf dScribe haalt seed round van anderhalf miljoen Euro op om internationale groei te financieren

Brussel, 11 mei 2023 – dScribe, een B2B Saas bedrijf dat bestaande data bij bedrijven in- en overzichtelijker maakt, heeft een succesvolle eerste kapitaalronde van anderhalf miljoen euro achter de rug De ronde wordt geleid door de Vlaamse investeringsmaatschappij PMV en Angelwise, samen met de bestaande aandeelhouders imec.istart en Ventures by delaware. Met de nieuwe middelen wil dScribe haar klantenbestand in België verder uitbouwen en inzetten op internationalisering.

dScribe werd opgericht in 2021. Het bedrijf ontstond als antwoord op een veel voorkomend probleem binnen ondernemingen, namelijk een onoverzichtelijk kluwen aan data en rapporten verspreid over verschillende departementen en softwaretoepassingen. De toenemende trend van digitalisering, waarbij bedrijven meer data beheren en datagedreven besluitvorming hanteren, staat dikwijls in schril contrast met een manuele of MS Excel-opvolging binnen diezelfde bedrijven. Bovendien worden dezelfde data binnen een bedrijf vanuit verschillende departementen soms anders geïnterpreteerd waardoor data-uniformiteit ontbreekt en men daardoor tot verkeerde conclusies komt. Daarnaast is het in veel bedrijven zelfs niet geweten welke rapporten en data bestaan of waar die te vinden zijn.

Nicheantwoord op concrete nood

dScribe biedt een eenvoudig te implementeren antwoord op de bovenvermelde data-uitdagingen. Terwijl concurrenten zich focussen op de beveiliging, het managen en controleren van data, richt het team van CEO Pieter Delaere zich op het efficiënt gebruiken van data, gebaseerd op de concrete nood die ze tijdens hun carriere hebben ervaren. Via een centrale zoekervaring laat dScribe haar gebruikers zoeken doorheen verschillende databronnen zoals Tableau, SAP of Power BI. dScribe differentieert zich door een oplossing aan te brengen die zo is uitgewerkt is dat zij zonder grote inspanningen binnen de volledige organisatie uitgerold kan worden.

Pieter Delaere: “Zowel rapporten en data, als de documentatie daarover, is bij organisaties vaak verspreid over verschillende applicaties. Dit leidt tot tijdverlies en frustratie voor werknemers bij het zoeken naar relevante gegevens en rapporten. Hier willen we met dScribe een antwoord op bieden. Door onze focus op gebruiksgemak kunnen wij naast grote, ook middelgrote en kleinere ondernemingen bedienen. Onze kernfocus ligt daarbij in eerste instantie op de grotere kmo’s, het snelst groeiende segment binnen de data discovery markt. Als het op gebruikersadoptie aankomt, wil dScribe de iPhone in het land van Blackberries zijn.”

“We zien een concrete nood aan de dScribe oplossing bij de meeste bedrijven die data centraal zetten in hun beslissingsprocessen. Voor hen biedt dScribe een laagdrempelige oplossing met een hoge gebruiksvriendelijkheid die tegelijk voldoende krachtig is voor de databeheerders. Met de huidige financiering zien we dScribe sneller groeien, en vooral ook verder internationaliseren”, zegt Jan Vorstermans, Managing Partner bij Angelwise.

Aanzetten tot change management

Met onder andere Barry Callebaut, De Watergroep, Joris Ide en Agristo heeft dScribe al een aantal mooie klanten in portefeuille. Het ervaren team, de positieve reacties van de eerste klanten en het potentieel van een sterk groeiende markt – men verwacht binnen de data discovery een wereldwijde groei van 8 miljard naar 20 tot 30 miljard USD tegen eind 2023 – overtuigde ook PMV en Angelwise om mee te investeren in dScribe.

“dScribe vult de leemte van andere spelers in door een adequate all-round oplossing aan te bieden voor iedere werknemer in een bedrijf. Op basis van hun ervaring in the field hebben de oprichters altijd de volle focus gelegd op de eindgebruiker. Dit heeft zich vertaald in een product met een eenvoudige User Interface en onberispelijke user experience wat leidde tot een eerste mooie klantenportefeuille waarvan PMV ervan overtuigd is dat er nog velen gaan volgen”, aldus Roald Borré, Groepsmanager Risicokapitaal bij PMV.

Over dScribe

dScribe werd in 2021 opgericht door 5 Belgische ondernemers met steun van Ventures by delaware en imec.istart. Gericht op middelgrote en grote ondernemingen, biedt dScribe een oplossing aan om werknemers binnen bedrijven te ondersteunen in het toegankelijk maken van de beschikbare data en rapportering. In een context waarin bedrijven steeds meer investeren in data, beantwoordt dScribe 2 cruciale vragen: welke rapporten/data zijn beschikbaar binnen de organisatie en hoe kunnen deze correct geïnterpreteerd worden?

Over PMV

PMV is een Vlaamse investeringsmaatschappij die de economische toekomst van Vlaanderen vormgeeft. PMV financiert beloftevolle bedrijven van bij de prille start tot en met de groei en internationalisering. PMV biedt financiële oplossingen op maat aan alle ondernemers met een goed businessplan en een sterk managementteam door middel van kapitaal, leningen en waarborgen. Daarnaast realiseren zij met en voor de overheid, in samenwerking met diverse partners, projecten die belangrijk zijn voor de welvaart en het welzijn in Vlaanderen. PMV beschikt over een portfolio met 1,65 miljard euro in beheer. Voor meer informatie, zie www.pmv.eu

Over Angelwise

Angelwise is een early stage investeringsfonds dat zich er vooral op richt om startups en jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen naar een volgende fase in hun groei, liefst samen met business angels of andere early stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Flanders en meer dan tachtig business angels. Het fonds is opgericht in 2021 en heeft ca. EUR 20 miljoen opgehaald om een ecosysteem van bedrijven te bouwen dat de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kan realiseren. Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be

Over imec.istart

Imec.istart - imec's business accelerator - is de eerste investeerder en ondersteunende partner die tech startups helpt op te schalen. Het imec.istart programma biedt een breed scala aan diensten, zoals initiële financiële injectie (50.000 tot 250.000 EUR pre-seed financiering), persoonlijke coaching en mentoring, toegang tot technologie en kantoorfaciliteiten, toegang tot een breed (inter) nationaal netwerk van partners en investeerders en nog veel meer. Sinds de lancering in 2011 hielp imec.istart meer dan 280 tech startups op verschillende gebieden om zich te ontwikkelen tot duurzame ondernemingen. Voor meer informatie, zie www.imecistart.com

Over Ventures by delaware

Ventures by Delaware is een accelerator-, begeleidings- en fundingprogramma, waarmee Delaware 6 startende bedrijven per jaar wil ondersteunen via halfjaarlijkse oproepen. De bedrijven krijgen naast een financiering van € 100.000 in cash een gelijkaardig bedrag aan extra begeleiding. Voor meer informatie, zie www.delaware.pro/en-be/ventures

Contact

Pieter Delaere, CEO dScribe, pieter.delaere@dscribedata.com , +32 477 78 58 59

The entrepreneurial journey towards growth

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 12:21:53 GMT

The entrepreneurial journey towards growth

This article is a collaborative effort between Angelwise and Professor Yannick Dillen of Vlerick Business School .

It delves into the concept of the "zone of genius" and its significance in the entrepreneurial journey. It emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and self-reflection in identifying one's zone of genius and offers practical tips for utilizing this knowledge to establish a successful startup that stands out from the rest. Understanding your zone of genius can be a powerful tool for driving success, whether you are embarking on your entrepreneurial journey or seeking to take your growing business to new heights.

Framework: Zone of Genius

The zone of genius framework, which was first introduced by Gay Hendricks in his book "The Big Leap" in 2009, has gained popularity in recent years as a means of identifying personal expertise or passion that can be harnessed to create value and achieve success. The framework suggests that everyone has a unique set of skills, talents, and interests that defines their zone of genius. To unlock one's full potential, it is crucial to focus on developing and utilizing these strengths. When a person is in their zone of genius, they experience a state of "flow" and are fully engaged in their work, resulting in exceptional outcomes.

To identify your zone of genius, consider your natural inclinations, enjoyable tasks, and areas of excellence. Once you have identified your zone of genius, focus on developing those strengths and finding ways to apply them in your work and personal life. Doing so can increase your success and fulfillment and even help you discover your true calling in life.

Angelwise has reinterpreted the framework in the graph below, retaining the original axes. The horizontal axis represents an individual's talent level for a particular task, which can be measured against the performance of others. The vertical axis indicates the level of effort required to complete a task, which is measured against the amount of mental energy expended.

To illustrate this definition, let us consider two individuals, A and B, attending a large networking event. Both individuals accomplish their goals for the event and make meaningful connections, resulting in a positive return on investment. However, A feels as though it was just another ordinary day and could easily repeat the experience the following day. On the other hand, B returns home and collapses on the couch, removing their shoes and exhaling a sigh of relief. B expended significant mental effort to remain present at the event, and doing so every day would prove to be a challenge.

The previously given example of person A and B highlights the distinction between the zone of competence and the zone of excellence/genius within the framework.

One may question the rationale behind distinguishing between the zone of genius and the zone of excellence. The zone of genius is marked by the ability to carry out tasks with exceptional skill and ease, consistently producing positive outcomes. On the other hand, the zone of excellence necessitates a significant increase in effort to attain the same level of performance, and may not always result in the same level of repeated success as seen in the zone of genius. Essentially, individuals operating in the zone of genius can achieve the same results with less effort or accomplish superior outcomes with the same level of effort. This ability to consistently outperform oneself in the zone of genius is what sets it apart from the zone of excellence.

The zone located in the top left corner, where it takes no effort to perform poorly, appears to be a paradox. However, we introduce an extension to the existing framework. This zone is known as the zone of danger, and it encompasses tasks that require no effort for the individual but yield poor return on investment when compared to others. This can be a pitfall for many people or entrepreneurs who concentrate on areas in which they are not necessarily skilled (e.g. people management) but which seem effortless to them.

The entrepreneurial journey towards growth

The research of Prof. dr. Yannick Dillen of Vlerick Business School shows how companies that keep growing for prolonged periods all have similar characteristics:

Superior product/service
Active with innovations in a growing sector/industry
Visionary entrepreneur with a culture of growth
Talented people & performant processes
Exploring new markets
Strategic alignment between all stakeholders
Investing for the longer term (infrastructure, development, marketing, etc.)

To achieve these characteristics, it is essential that the entrepreneur has the right focus on the growth process. Two different sets of skills are needed to generate sustainable growth:

Entrepreneurship is the process of starting and running a business, often involving the creation of a new product or service and the assumption of financial risk to bring that product or service to market. It is a journey of discovery, innovation, and risk-taking as entrepreneurs seek to identify and solve problems, create value, and meet customers’ needs.

Management, on the other hand, is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the activities of a group of people to achieve a common goal. Managers are responsible for setting objectives, developing strategies, allocating resources, and leading and motivating a team to achieve those objectives.

Entrepreneurship and management involve different sets of skills and responsibilities. Entrepreneurs are often focused on innovation and risk-taking, while managers are responsible for implementing processes and systems to achieve operational efficiency and success. Both entrepreneurship and management are important for the success of any organization, and many successful entrepreneurs should ideally also excel at management.

In short, the evolution of tasks of an entrepreneur in a startup can be summarized as follows:

The startup journey towards success: becoming an entrepreneur again.
As an entrepreneur, it is important to continually reassess and adapt your role in the company. The exploration phase, where you are focused on discovering new opportunities and developing your product or service, is an important starting point. As the business grows and begins to generate revenue, the focus may shift to the exploitation phase, where the goal is to optimize and streamline processes to maximize efficiency and profitability.

However, it is also important to continue thinking about the future growth and development of the business. This may involve returning to an exploration mindset and focusing on identifying new opportunities for growth, such as expanding into new markets or introducing new products or services. This process of alternating between exploration and exploitation can help a business stay innovative and adaptable in the face of changing market conditions. This third step can be seen as a third phase back towards entrepreneurship, in the process of building a company that is continually expanding.

The startup journey towards success: becoming an automated engine

We can define 4 steps or phases in the road towards growth by combining the previous described frameworks.

1) Exploring

During the initial phase, entrepreneurs may focus on identifying a problem or need in the market and developing a solution for it. This may involve conducting market research, developing a prototype or MVP, and testing the product or service with potential customers. The entrepreneurs are responsible to perform all the tasks, with many of them outside their genius zone or even zone of competence. This can be hard, exhausting and discouraging. When the first signs of problem-solution fit, they can start hiring their first employees.

2) Building a team

In the team building phase, the entrepreneurs must focus on building a team of skilled and dedicated individuals to help bring the product or service to market. This will involve hiring employees, recruiting advisors or mentors, and building partnerships with other organizations. It is important that the skills that are in the entrepreneur’s incompetence zone are covered in the zone of competence, excellence or genius of the employees or advisors. When the team grows, the entrepreneurs will start shifting their focus from exploration towards exploitation, this can be seen as a first step to becoming managers.

3) Processes and the foundations of growth

In the growth phase of a business, the entrepreneurs must focus on expanding the reach of the product or service and increasing revenue. This may involve marketing and sales efforts, as well as developing new features or capabilities to meet the needs of a growing customer base.

As the business grows and becomes more successful, it will become necessary to implement systems and processes to manage and scale the business more effectively. This may involve automating certain tasks or processes to increase efficiency and reduce the need for manual steps.

In this step the entrepreneurs must behave more as manager, as the strategy and product-market fit are clear. He or she can focus on growing the business based on a proven expansion strategy. It is essential that the entrepreneurs delegate those tasks where he or she does not excel at or that take too much energy.

4) Automated engine

Finally, when the company is running “smooth”, the entrepreneurs can fully return to their genius zone. Usually, we notice that entrepreneurs want to go back to where it all started for them: finding new market opportunities, implementing new technologies, being the evangelist …

Overall, this rebirth of the entrepreneurs, involves a combination of strategy, execution, and continuous learning and adaptation as the business grows and evolves.

Reflection: What does this mean for a startup founder?

When building a company from the ground up, we have shown that the role of the founders will evolve over time. It is important that founders think about where in the organization they want to end up when they are successful with their startup. This will help them to hire the right people with the right skill set and build a great team that is fit for purpose. It will also help them survive in the demanding startup environment. 87% of startup employees said that working at a startup had negatively impacted their mental health at some point, a Sifted survey of 133 readers from across Europe found.

Be aware that investors can ask questions, either directly or indirectly, linked to these frameworks:

In what stage are you now, as an entrepreneur/manager? Do you have the right skills to perform your current role? What people should you hire? What responsibilities should you keep or delegate to your team?
In what stage is your company? Is the current plan (financial, product, growth, internationalization …) in line with the stage of your company (team set-up, level of manual work, sales processes …). How is this reflected in your capital need?

What is your genius zone?

Note that this framework is not taking into account the personal life choices of the entrepreneur.

Are you aware of your genius zone? Do you use such a framework in your daily operations, e.g. to consider the profiles of new hires?

Share your ideas and viewpoints with us, and we might take them up in another newsletter or blogpost.

Sources:

https://sifted.eu/articles/mental-health-workplace/

Newsletter 2

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 21:26:38 GMT

Angelwise maakt derde investering in Sealution

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 16:13:44 GMT

Sealution, een start-up die een eigen netwerk van ontvangers ontwikkelde dat interne communicatie op zeeschepen mogelijk maakt, haalt in een financieringsronde ruim 1,3 miljoen euro op. Het jonge bedrijf uit Sint-Martens-Latem vond een Internet of Things (IoT)-oplossing die alle apparaten en systemen van een zeeschip met elkaar verbindt. Hun uitvinding maakt schepen duurzamer en het onderhoud ervan budgetvriendelijker. De permanente data-uitwisseling betekent ook een efficiëntieslag voor bemanningsleden, rederij en de vracht zelf.

Sealution haalt 1,3 miljoen euro op met intern datanetwerk voor zeeschepen

16 februari 2023, Hasselt - Sealution is het geesteskind (°2021) van CEO en voormalig maritiem officier Sebastian Hamers, CFO Ruben Verplancke, en CTO Romeo Martens. In totaal halen de drie mede-oprichters met hun start-up nu 1.315.000 euro op. Van dat bedrag is 800.000 euro afkomstig van een equity ronde met de Venture Studio Miles Ahead en het investeringsfonds Angelwise, en 200.000 euro via converteerbare leningen van het investeringsplatform Techstars en enkele business angels. Sealution haalde in september 2022 ook 315.000 euro aan subsidies op via het Vlaams Agentschap voor Innoveren en Ondernemen (VLAIO). Het volledige kapitaal zal aangewend worden om van ontwikkeling naar productie(lijnen) om te schakelen.

‘De Apple Home van een zeeschip’

Wat Sealution precies doet? Het installeert een netwerk van ontvangers of ‘gateways’ - één in elke ruimte - waarmee datasignalen boven- en benedendeks door de wanden van zeeschepen gaan. De gateways, die perfect te installeren zijn door de bemanning, ontvangen en versturen de opgehaalde data via bestaande bekabeling - er is geen nood aan nieuwe bekabeling - naar een centrale module. Die analyseert, filtert en rangschikt de data, en geeft ze door aan een server die ze visueel kan weergeven op de brug of in de controlekamer.

Via hun Internet of Things (IoT)-oplossing wisselen de apparaten en systemen van het zeeschip 24/7 waardevolle gegevens uit .

“ Vergelijk ons intern netwerk van ontvangers dus gerust met de Apple Home van een schip op zee ”, steekt Sealution CEO Sebastian Hamers van wal. “ We gebruiken trouwens Bluetooth om die nieuwe sensoren met elkaar in contact te stellen. Bluetooth verbruikt minder energie dan bijvoorbeeld wi-fi. Bovendien raken klassieke draadloze netwerken sowieso niet door de stalen wanden van zeeschepen, zeker niet benedendeks .”

Data-uitwisseling bevordert duurzaamheid, financiën en efficiëntie

Die interne communicatie heeft tal van voordelen voor de scheepvaartsector. Niet in het minst op vlak van duurzaamheid . Dankzij het verzamelen van machinedata, houdt het systeem bepaalde waarden in de gaten. Met die info - en de hulp van modellen met machine learning en artificiële intelligentie (AI) - kan het schip op termijn varen met minder brandstof. Hoe meer geanalyseerde data, hoe groter de brandstofbesparing . Geen overbodige luxe: van Europa mogen schepen vanaf 2030 aan de kade geen CO2 meer uitstoten, en moeten ze tegen 2050 koolstofneutraal zijn.

De data faciliteren ook het onderhoud, wat een impact heeft op het financiële aspect van de scheepvaart. Op dit moment is dat onderhou d nog preventief: de bemanning weet perfect wanneer een technieker te sturen. Onder het motto ‘voorkomen is beter dan genezen’, wil Sealution - via een AI-algoritme dat zich verdiept in de data - in de toekomst onderhoud zelfs voorsp ellen. Vaak blijven rederijen nu zes weken aan wal om zaken te verbeteren of te vervangen. Die tijd zullen ze drastisch kunnen inkorten omdat ze een veel beter en sneller zicht hebben op welk onderdeel wat voor onderhoud nodig zal hebben.

Verder betekent de interne communicatie een efficiëntieslag voor bemanningsleden, rederij en de vracht zelf. Momenteel moet er nog iemand in eigen persoon naar alle tellers gaan kijken, op een schip dat soms wel 400 meter lang is, en dat in een logboek schrijven. Met het systeem van Sealution wordt alle informatie automatisch doorgegeven . De rederij op zijn beurt krijgt meer inzichten voor de verscheper zoals de toestand en positie van de lading. Ook de vracht baat hier wel bij: met de IoT-technologie worden de temperaturen van koelsystemen van containers continu gemonitord.

Dankzij Sealution is de zeevaart ook veiliger voor bemanningsleden. Als bijvoorbeeld iemand overboord valt, treedt automatisch een alarm in werking dat de andere bemanningsleden via de wearables meteen verwittigt. Zonder de data-uitwisseling tussen boven- en benedendek, is dat niet het geval.

Software op maat voor zeeschepen

In januari 2023 testten Sebastian Hamers en Romeo Martens de volledige installatie voor het eerst uit op volle zee, met de Nederlandse rederij Seatrade. Het connectiviteitssy steem stond volledig op punt, tot in de verste uiteinde van het schip, zonder verlies van snelheid of data. “We maken ons sterk dat we met Sealution een revolutie kunnen ontketenen wat betreft data-uitwisseling en innovatie op zeeschepen”, vult CFO Ruben Verplancke aan. “ Waarom? Onze technologie is uiterst betrouwbaar, toepasbaar op grote zeeschepen, én door software ingenieurs aan te passen naargelang de specifieke noden van een vloot. The sea is the limit .”

Over Sealution

Sealution - een samentrekking van sea en solution - is een B2B start-up uit Sint-Martens-Latem dat met zijn IoT-technologie een eigen intern netwerk van ontvangers ontwikkelde dat interne communicatie op zeeschepen mogelijk maakt. De drie oprichters zijn CEO Sebastian Hamers, CFO Ruben Verplancke en CTO Romeo Martens. In totaal bestaat het team uit zes, met ook Gilles Montyne als CIO, back-end developer en AIexpert Anthony Vancauwenbergh. Recent vervoegde ook Peter Vuylsteke - bijna 30 jaar ervaring in de zeevaartsector - het team als Head of Business Development.

In juni 2021 zag Sealution officieel het levenslicht, nadat het in maart 2021 deelnam aan het accelerator programma Start-It @KBC. In mei 2022 werd de start-up verkozen tot "Best Win" van alle 75 start-ups die afstudeerden aan Start it @KBC. In september 2022 won Sealution de finale van het officieuze Belgische Kampioenschap ondernemen, georganiseerd door Voka - Kamer van Koophandel West-Vlaanderen. De start-up vertegenwoordigt daarom de Belgische eer op het Wereldkampioenschap ondernemen in Saoedi-Arabië, van 7-11 maart 2023. Zie www.sealution.io

Over Miles Ahead

Miles Ahead is een Gentse Venture Studio die startende oprichters van Deep Tech & AI startups helpt sneller te groeien door hun bedrijf te produceren en te financieren binnen een stimulerende omgeving.

Over Angelwise

Angelwise is een early stage investeringsfonds dat zich er vooral op richt om startups en jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen naar een volgende fase in hun groei, liefst samen met business angels of andere early stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Flanders en meer dan tachtig business angels. Het fonds is opgericht in 2021 en heeft ca. EUR 20 miljoen opgehaald om een ecosysteem van bedrijven te bouwen dat de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kan realiseren. Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be .

Over Techstars

Techstars is een wereldwijd investeringsbedrijf en één van de grootste pre-seed investeerders ter wereld. Het biedt toegang tot kapitaal, één-op-één mentorschap, een wereldwijd netwerk en aangepaste programmering voor beginnende ondernemers.

Mobiel: +32 478 18 01 08
Email: hello@sealution.io

Best practices for a great pitch deck and presentation

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 13:43:34 GMT

Best practices for a great pitch deck and presentation

The advice in this article is based on the experiences of the Angelwise team and of various VC partners.

Before contacting any investors, make sure you know their investment strategy. Nothing triggers a worst response than to try an pitch to someone who is not investing in your type of company.

And remember: you have only one chance to make a first impression.

The 13 page slide deck

Purpose

Problem

Solution

Product

Team

Why now

Market

Competition

Business model

Traction

Financials

Exit

Ask

Grab the attention of the investors on what your company is about with some compelling data or statement.

Describe clearly what problem you’re addressing and the benefit (from the customer perspective) of fixing it.

Demonstrate how you’re fixing the problem and what the metrics are that demonstrate your customer is getting value.

Describe what your product is, how it solves the problem you attack and map out how the product will evolve.

Introduce the team that will make your company a success, who are the founders, management, board and advisors.

Highlight why the timing is right for your company to introduce your product.

Demonstrate who your target customer is and that you’re operating in a big, growing market.

What are the current solutions that you will displace or complement and what is your USP vs. competition (any IP?).

Who do you sell to and how, pricing, marketing & sales strategy and process, CAC & LTV.

Show your traction, articulate revenue to date, positive commitments and/or indicators of future revenue growth

Include a table with a forecast with # customers, revenue, gross profit, opex, EBITDA, # employees and cash, starting with the current/last trading year.

Define your exit strategy and horizon, identify current M&A in your space and potential acquirers.

Clearly express what your are looking for in terms of investment, what is the use of funds, and specify other financing sources.

Purpose

Grab the attention of the investors on what your company is about with some compelling data or statement.

Problem

Describe clearly what problem you’re addressing and the benefit (from the customer perspective) of fixing it.

Solution

Demonstrate how you’re fixing the problem and what the metrics are that demonstrate your customer is getting value.

Product

Describe what your product is, how it solves the problem you attack and map out how the product will evolve.

Team

Introduce the team that will make your company a success, who are the founders, management, board and advisors.

Why now

Highlight why the timing is right for your company to introduce your product.

Market

Demonstrate who your target customer is and that you’re operating in a big, growing market.

Competitipon

What are the current solutions that you will displace or complement and what is your USP vs. competition (any IP?).

Business model

Who do you sell to and how, pricing, marketing & sales strategy and process, CAC & LTV.

Traction

Show your traction, articulate revenue to date, positive commitments and/or indicators of future revenue growth

Financials

Include a table with a forecast with # customers, revenue, gross profit, opex, EBITDA, # employees and cash, starting with the current/last trading year.

Exit

Define your exit strategy and horizon, identify current M&A in your space and potential acquirers.

Ask

Clearly express what your are looking for in terms of investment, what is the use of funds, and specify other financing sources.

Presentation tips

A few tips for delivering your pitch presentation:

Be prepared

This is the determining factor on how well or not your idea will fly before an investor. “Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.” (Mark Cuban)

Know your audience

Do some background check on the investor, this can help you tailor your pitch.

Expertise and ambition

Demonstrate that you are a business-savvy and ambitious intellect who knows how to roll up his sleeves and get dirty in the real world, willing to go to any length (positively of course) to achieve his vision of conquering the relevant market space. Highlight your (and your team’s) achievements.

Unnecessary information

Maximize the time you have by being brief and precise, with the relevant data points.

Be visual

Visual messages always make the most out of your pitching presentation, avoid to many words.

Know your business

Have the right facts and figures figured out, know your long term goals and a plan to achieving them.

Brief, clear and open

Don’t get lost in detail, or in complexity. Make sure you explain in concrete details how you intend to create a space for yourself in the market. What size of the market do you occupy? What are your go-to-market plans? Give current stats in the market to validate your knowledge base the industry you are in.

Clear ask

Make sure you know what the investment will be used for, be open on your other (existing or potential) investors.

Easy to contact

Provide all your contact details, and set-up an easy way to schedule a (follow-up) meeting.

Be prepared

Know your audience

Expertise And Ambition

Unnecessary Information

Be Visual

Know your business

Brief, clear and open

Clear ask

Easy to contact

This is the determining factor on how well or not your idea will fly before an investor. “Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.” (Mark Cuban)

Do some background check on the investor, this can help you tailor your pitch.

Maximize the time you have by being brief and precise, with the relevant data points.

Visual messages always make the most out of your pitching presentation, avoid to many words.

Have the right facts and figures figured out, know your long term goals and a plan to achieving them.

Make sure you know what the investment will be used for, be open on your other (existing or potential) investors.

Provide all your contact details, and set-up an easy way to schedule a (follow-up) meeting.

In short, tell a short but great story and demonstrate that you and your team will deliver the plan. Make sure you show how you work with your customers. Be real.

Follow-Up

Be ready to follow-up with:

Data to support your presentation
Your business and financial plan, this should be complete but not overly complex. Make sure there is a clear link between the drivers of your business and the financial results.
Company structure, including current cap table (and a history if relevant)
Detailed product demonstration (better yet – a demo account)
More detailed information on questions asked

Why we don't sign NDAs

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 12:27:17 GMT

Why we don't sign NDAs

Your goal is to attract investors

You shouldn’t worry about NDA’s. We understand that you want to protect your business by preventing your trade secrets and ideas from getting into the wrong hands. But we are in the business of investing in ideas and not about stealing your idea and starting our own business.

The rule of thumb for an entrepreneur is never to ask a venture capitalist firm to sign an NDA. Most VCs are highly vocal, open, and public about their refusal to sign NDAs. So, when entrepreneurs request for signed NDAs, they may be seen as naive and inexperienced.

There are several reasons why we don’t sign NDAs:

Share the cookie, not the recipe

If you have something super-secret that no one else should know, just don’t tell. It is totally up to you on what they want to show and what to hide. An NDA can be required later in the process, but never before the term sheet is signed.

We operate on the basis of trust

Developing a successful relationship with requires trust. When you approach an investor to invest in your business and then ask to sign a non-disclosure agreement, it is perceived as a signal that you don’t trust the investor or you don’t understand the early-stage financing system. A successful investor always maintains the trust of the entrepreneur.

We have a reputation to maintain

At the time an entrepreneur is pitching a business idea, we could be looking at three or four similar deals. So, if we sign an NDA and fund another similar deal, it would make the entrepreneur seem like we have stolen their idea. If it becomes known in the market we reveal confidential business secrets, our reputation would be damaged severely. With a positive reputation, we get great investment opportunities.

We want you, not us, to work on the idea

We want entrepreneurs and their team and not their ideas. An idea is easy to come by but pulling off that idea is something that requires blood, sweat, and dedication. The whole point of investing in your business is to get the you to be successful, which will only happen when your business accelerates. Therefore, we prefer to be coaches and mentors and leave the hard work to you and your team.

Reviewing NDAs for all startups is unrealistic

Our role is to invest money and provide support to companies exhibiting high growth potential. We experience high rates of failure because of the uncertainty with unproven and new enterprises. This also means that each year we review 200 to 300 companies in order to make 3 to 5 investments. Having to sign an NDA for each opportunity just takes to much time, even without accounting for tracking agreements across NDAs over time, which gets exponentially more complex with each additional NDA.

Sources:

Why we don’t sign NDAs, Synvest Capital

Why Most VCs Don’t Sign NDAs , Brad Feld (Co-Founder of Techstars)

Why VCs Don’t Sign NDAs , Fred Wilson (Founder, Union Square Ventures )

The Venture Capital Wishlist , Guy Kawasaki , Angel Investor

From ‘growth at all costs’ towards ‘sustainable growth’

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 22:26:51 GMT

From ‘growth at all costs’ towards ‘sustainable growth’

In the following article the change, on how VC investors approach an investment in a startup, is demonstrated using the rule of 40. The insights and results are used to show the directional change of the market and are in no way a generalization of all deals, as outliers will always exits.

Framework: rule of 40

The rule of 40 (originally stated as ‘the rule of 40%’) was originally popularized by two blog posts from venture capitalists Brad Feld and Fred Wilson back in 2015. Both of them were at the same board meeting, when a late-stage investor articulated the rule to them for the first time.

The rule of 40 is the principle that a software company’s combined growth rate and profit margin should exceed 40%. So, if you are growing at 20%, you should be generating a profit of at least 20%. If you are growing at 40%, you are allowed to generate 0% profit. If you are growing at 50%, you can have a 10% loss. If you are doing better than the 40% rule, that probably means it is easier for you to attract growth capital and at higher valuation multiples.

This rule can be visualized in the following way. Note that only positive growth numbers are considered as only these are relevant for VC funded growth companies.

Mapping the line of the rule of 40 creates 2 areas. One with points that obey the rule and one where the rule is violated.

The view of the market at the peak of the VC market in 2021: growth at all cost

This line began to shift over time due to two reasons: an historically unseen amount of money was entering the VC ecosystem; and the unbridled optimism of investors in technology and future markets. This resulted in a changing value risk appreciation of investors. Other than higher valuations for deals in general, a second change could be observed: deals that originally would be seen as less attractive investments using the previously described framework, would nevertheless still get funding. Investors were seeking growth at any cost, this change can be visualized in the following graph:

Current situation: back to a focus on sustainable growth
A potential new financial and economic crisis fueled by increasing interest rates, years of quantitative easing and an escalating situation with Russia is causing the pendulum to now swing in the opposite direction. VC deals, for now still mostly late stage, are currently raising at lower valuations. On top of this we also observe that investors are more concerned about the runway of their investments. Cash is becoming a more scarce resource and the previous “growth at all costs” is being replaced by “sustainable growth”.

Using the same visuals as before this can be shown as follows:

Growth will always be one of the main drivers for VC investors but in the current climate large burn rates are seen as less optimal.

What about dry-powder?

The described models to depict the growth at all costs certainly had outliers and some companies were not able to raise at higher valuations. The same is true for the current situation as some companies with no revenue (growth), an appealing story and a high burn rate are still getting funded.

Note that this framework is not taking into account the current cash reserves that is piled up in the VC market. How do you think the VC market will unfold in the coming quarters? How will the VC dry powder affect the fundraising in the coming year? Share your ideas and viewpoints with us, and we might take them up in another newsletter or blogpost.

Sources:

Angelwise maakt tweede investering in Palmki

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 06:53:26 GMT

Palmki™ is een digitale sleutel die het aderpatroon in uw handpalm gebruikt om uw identiteit te verifiëren. Het is een gebruiksvriendelijke biometrisch identiteitsverificatietechnologie toegang geven tot locaties, machines, gegevens, tijdregistratie, betalingen, enz.

PerfectID haalt 1 miljoen euro op bij Angelwise en 9 business angels voor de handpalmherkenning oplossing Palmki

7 september 2022, Hasselt - PerfectID schakelt een versnelling hoger voor Palmki, de oplossing voor persoonsidentificatie en toegangscontrole op basis van handpalmherkenning. Het opgehaalde kapitaal zal gebruikt worden om de internationalisatie van Palmki breder te ondersteunen.

CEO Marc Strackx: “Deze investering zal PerfectID toelaten het productassortiment en de softwareontwikkeling verder uit te breiden, de technologie beter te beschermen, en de commerciële groei en internationalisatie sterk te ondersteunen.”

Waarom Palmki handpalmherkenning

De bestaande toepassingen binnen persoonsidentificatie en toegangscontrole met bijvoorbeeld badges bieden onvoldoende veiligheid. Gezichtsherkenning ondervindt dan weer nadelen op vlak van privacy en toestemming tot gebruik. Iris scanning gaat vaak gepaard met een hoog kostenplaatje en is niet erg gebruiksvriendelijk. Fingerprint kan eenvoudig worden nagemaakt, en werkt tevens niet bij circa 2% van de gebruikers. Palmki daarentegen combineert de beste eigenschappen: het is zeer gebruiksvriendelijk (je hebt je hand altijd bij), werkt contactloos (hygiënisch en Covid-proof), uiterst veilig (zelfs een hogere veiligheid dan iris scanning), werkt zeer snel en is breed toepasbaar.

PerfectID ontwikkelt niet alleen de hardware modules maar ook de bijhorende software om te kunnen koppelen aan bestaande toepassingen. Deze kunnen zowel gebruikt worden voor high-security toepassingen bij toegangscontrole als bij de automatisatie van processen (toegang, tijdsregistratie, betalingen, handtekeningen, certificaten, ...) en identiteitsmanagement.

Investeerders zien het potentieel van Palmki

Veiligheid, zowel voor persoonsidentificatie als op het vlak van IT, speelt een alsmaar belangrijkere rol in onze maatschappij en bij de automatisatie van kritische bedrijfsprocessen.

“Wij zien veel toepassingsgebieden voor Palmki. De gebruiksvriendelijkheid en de snelheid van identificatie van deze oplossing hebben al heel wat grote klanten kunnen overtuigen. Deze factoren hebben ons overtuigd van het sterke potentieel van PerfectID”, zegt Jan Vorstermans, Managing Partner bij Angelwise. “Wij zijn ook zeer trots om samen met de 9 business angels dit ambitieus project te kunnen ondersteunen.”

“Ik ben zeer blij om de andere business angels te mogen vertegenwoordigen en samen met hen PerfectID te ondersteunen in deze groeifase”, aldus Frank Staut. “PerfectID heeft met Palmki een uitstekende oplossing die wereldwijd schaalbaar is. Marc en zijn team hebben zeer goed werk geleverd om een gebruiksvriendelijke en performante oplossing te bouwen, gebaseerd op handpalmherkenning dewelke een flexibele, snelle en secure authenticatie verzekerd. Andere oplossingen die gebaseerd zijn op smart cards of andere tokens zullen mettertijd verdwijnen.”

Over PerfectID

PerfectID levert biometrische oplossingen op basis van handpalmtechnologie onder de naam Palmki. Het bedrijf ontwerpt en ontwikkelt hardware en software op basis van een infraroodsensor om de handpalm uniek, snel, gebruiksvriendelijk en contactloos te herkennen. PerfectID levert toepassingen aan de overheid, de industrie, bedrijven, systeemintegratoren, datacenters, detailhandel, ziekenhuizen, scholen, hotels, defensie, ... PerfectID is gevestigd op de Corda Campus in Hasselt. Voor meer informatie, zie www.palmki.be

Over Angelwise

Angelwise is een early stage investeringsfonds dat zich er vooral op richt om startups en jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen naar een volgende fase in hun groei, liefst samen met business angels of andere early stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Flanders en meer dan tachtig business angels. Het fonds is opgericht in 2021 en heeft ca. EUR 20 miljoen opgehaald om een ecosysteem van bedrijven te bouwen dat de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kan realiseren. Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be .

Contact: Marc Stracks

Mobiel: +32 477 256 252
Email: marc@perfectid.be

Newsletter 1

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 20:21:30 GMT

Angelwise maakt zijn eerste investering in Qollabi

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 13:28:17 GMT

Qollabi verbetert het beheer van indirecte verkoopkanalen voor grote producenten in financiële diensten, telecommunicatie en groothandel

KPN Ventures, PMV en Angelwise investeren 3 miljoen euro in samenwerkingssoftware van Qollabi

5 juli 2022, Brussel- Qollabi, de innoverende samenwerkingssoftware, gaat een volgende groeifase in. Qollabi zal het opgehaalde kapitaal gebruiken om zich internationaal te versterken.

KPN Ventures, PMV, Angelwise en een Amerikaanse fonds investeren in deze Pre Series A ronde 3 miljoen euro. CEO Frie Pétré: ""Deze investering zet Qollabi in een stroomversnelling om onze bestaande (internationale) klanten verder te ondersteunen en onze expansie in de US te versnellen. De nieuwe investeerders brengen extra expertise, waarvan we de impact nu al voelen.”

Oplossing voor bedrijven met distributiepartners

Qollabi haalde de laatste jaren flink wat snelheid bij grote Europese bedrijven zoals Alcatel Lucent in Frankrijk, KPN in Nederland en Bpost in België. Deze klanten verkopen allemaal via een indirect kanaal of ecosysteem van partners. Dit is belangrijk in vele sectoren. Verzekeraars sluiten partnerships met traditionele agenten, maar ook met bijvoorbeeld online reisagenten. Technologiebedrijven breiden zich efficiënt internationaal uit door middel van lokale distributiepartners of agenten. Qollabi helpt hen met een wederzijds digitaal actieplan dat het samenwerkingsproces efficiënt en voorspelbaar maakt.

Investeerders zien het belang van indirecte kanalen en ecosystemen

Thought-leader Sarah Wang van Andreessen Horowitz stelde eerder dit jaar dat indirecte verkoop één van de belangrijkste drivers van efficiënte groei is. Bedrijven die hun indirect- of partnerkanaal goed op orde hebben, zullen de winnaars zijn. Waarom? Tussenpersonen zorgen voor een breder kostenefficiënt bereik en creëren vertrouwen bij de eindklant. Het aangekondigd economische zwaar weer doet bedrijven focussen op efficiëntie en lijkt dus in de kaart te spelen van Qollabi.

“Wij zijn ervan overtuigd dat het digitaal beheer van indirecte verkoopkanalen alle gebruikers, zowel de bedrijven als hun partners, interessante inzichten kan opleveren die niet alleen kunnen leiden tot een grotere omzet maar bijvoorbeeld ook tot optimalere producten of accuratere voorspellingen. Dat de software van Qollabi bovendien gebruiksvriendelijk is en al verschillende grote klanten wist te overtuigen, versterkt ons geloof in het potentieel van de start-up”, aldus Roald Borré, Head of Equity Investments bij PMV.

KPN Ventures en Angelwise

Naast PMV trok Qollabi ook twee nieuwe investeerders aan die meer dan enkel kapitaal bieden. KPN Ventures, het Corporate Venture Capital fonds van het gelijknamige Nederlandse telecombedrijf, heeft deze Pre Series A ronde geleid en staat Qollabi uit eerste hand bij met marktinzichten. Het nieuwe fonds Angelwise geleid door Jan Vorstermans (ex COO/CTO Telenet) en Marc Mommaerts kan dan weer ondersteunen met haar netwerk van experten.

Hans Söhngen, Managing Director KPN Ventures zegt: “Vanuit KPN Ventures zijn we erg verheugd om Qollabi te mogen verwelkomen in ons portfolio van jonge, innovatieve tech bedrijven. Qollabi heeft een sterke propositie ontwikkeld die het samenwerken met (verkoop)partners naar een hoog professioneel niveau brengt. Daarnaast zal Qollabi een belangrijke rol spelen in het indirecte partner verkoopkanaal van KPN’s MKB divisie.”

“Wij zijn trots om met onze eerste investering te kunnen meebouwen, samen met het sterke team en de andere investeerders, aan zo’n ambitieus bedrijf als Qollabi” zegt Jan Vorstermans, Managing Partner Angelwise, “Qollabi boort een heel nieuwe markt aan, we kijken dan ook uit naar de groeiversnelling en internationalisering dat deze ronde mogelijk zal maken.”

Over Qollabi

Qollabi is internationaal pionier met software voor bedrijven die samenwerken met partners. Qollabi BRM (Business Relationship Management) is een SaaS (Software as a Service) oplossing van toepassing in meerdere sectoren zoals Financiële dienstverlening, Telco, IT etc. Qollabi’s missie is hetzelfde te doen voor indirecte verkoop wat CRM doet voor directe verkoop, namelijk het indirecte verkoopproces voorspelbaar maken aan de hand van een gemeenschappelijk actieplan.

Over Angelwise

Angelwise is een early stage investeringsfonds dat zich er vooral op richt om startups en jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen naar een volgende fase in hun groei, liefst samen met business angels of andere early stage fondsen. De belangrijkste aandeelhouders van het fonds zijn PMV, COI, BAN Flanders en meer dan tachtig business angels. Het fonds is opgericht in 2021 en heeft ca. EUR 20 miljoen opgehaald om een ecosysteem van bedrijven te bouwen dat de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kan realiseren. Voor meer informatie, zie www.angelwise.be .

Over PMV

PMV is een investeringsmaatschappij die de economische toekomst van Vlaanderen vormgeeft. PMV financiert beloftevolle bedrijven van bij de prille start tot en met de groei en internationalisering. PMV biedt financiële oplossingen op maat aan alle ondernemers met een goed businessplan en een sterk managementteam door middel van kapitaal, leningen en waarborgen. Daarnaast realiseren zij met en voor de overheid, in samenwerking met diverse partners, projecten die belangrijk zijn voor de welvaart en het welzijn in Vlaanderen. PMV beschikt over een portfolio met 1,6 miljard euro in beheer. Voor meer informatie, zie www.pmv.eu

Over KPN Ventures

KPN Ventures is de Venture Capital tak van KPN, de marktleider in Telecom & ICT in Nederland. KPN Ventures focust op jonge tech groeibedrijven. Het doel van het fonds is om waarde te creëren door partnerships aan te gaan met innoverende Europese bedrijven en ze te versnellen door het verstrekken van kapitaal, marktexpertise, technische infrastructuur, professioneel netwerk, kanalen en klanten. Voor meer informatie, zie www.kpnventures.com

Contact: Frie Pétré

Mobiel: +32 478 532 423

Angelwise, The Flanders Angels Fund, is opgericht

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 08:19:08 GMT

Lees hier het persbericht over de lancering van Angelwise

BAN Vlaanderen lanceert Angelwise met een grootte van 19,5 miljoen euro

Grootste groep business angels ooit financiert derde business angels fonds

Business Angels Netwerk Vlaanderen (BAN Vlaanderen), Angelwise Beheer en de kerninvesteerders Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV) en het Centrum voor Ondersteuning van digitale Innovatie (COI), zijn erin geslaagd een nieuw en ambitieus fonds te creëren dat business angels in staat zal stellen om samen met institutionele investeerders te participeren in meer en grotere investeringsprojecten: ‘Angelwise - the Flanders Angels Fund’. Het fonds krijgt een startkapitaal van 19,5 miljoen euro, afkomstig van 88 investeerders waaronder 84 business angels. Het fonds zal voornamelijk maar niet exclusief mikken op investeringen in ICT-starters en -groeiers. Het gaat om het derde en tevens grootste fonds dat BAN Vlaanderen tot nu toe opzette.

Het onafhankelijk beheer zal gebeuren door Angelwise Beheer, vertegenwoordigd door Marc Mommaerts en Jan Vorstermans. BAN Vlaanderen is, naast de vertegenwoordigers van Angelwise Beheer, PMV en COI, sterk vertegenwoordigd in de raad van bestuur van het fonds: Reginald Vossen (algemeen directeur BAN Vlaanderen) is aangesteld als voorzitter, terwijl Cynthia Verswijvel-Cornelissen (voorzitster BAN Vlaanderen) en Rik Duyck als bestuurder namens de investerende business angels zullen zetelen.

Reginald Vossen, voorzitter Angelwise: “Het fonds past in een strategische visie van BAN Vlaanderen; we hebben vanuit BAN Vlaanderen een substantieel co-investeringsfonds willen opzetten om angel-backed bedrijven duurzaam naar groei toe te ondersteunen. Door de doorgedreven vervolginvesteringen die het fonds kan doen (tot ca. 3 miljoen euro per bedrijf) verhinderen we dat deze bedrijven in hun groei in een second equity gap terecht komen, en boosten wij hun snelheid en groeikansen. Het fonds van 19,5 miljoen euro vertegenwoordigt de grootste groep business angels die ooit voor een business angels fonds ingetekend heeft in België."

“PMV is verheugd over de succesvolle fondsenwerving van Angelwise. Door haar specifieke doelgroep en investeringsstrategie wist BAN Vlaanderen reeds twee keer een uniek fonds in de markt te zetten. Vandaar dat we voor dit derde business angels fonds met professioneel beheer ons engagement opnieuw hebben uitgesproken als kerninvesteerder,” aldus Jan Alexander, Hoofd PMV Fondsinvesteringen.

Hedwig Vergeylen voor COI, treedt bij: “De focus van Angelwise is een perfecte match met de doelstellingen van COI om jonge innovatieve bedrijven (financiële) ondersteuning te geven tijdens hun groeiproces. Om deze reden leveren wij graag onze bijdrage als kerninvesteerder.”

De ambitie van het fonds is om de volgende 5 à 6 jaar samen met business angels te investeren in een 20-tal bedrijven, waarbij de focus ligt op snelgroeiende ondernemingen. Na die fase wil het fonds nog 4 à 5 jaar vervolginvesteringen kunnen doen, mogelijk tot aan de exit. De nadruk van de deal flow zal liggen op investeringen in zuivere ICT-ondernemingen en in bedrijven uit alle overige sectoren mits een digitale link.

Marc Mommaerts en Jan Vorstermans vatten de ambitie van de Beheerder samen: “Wij kijken er naar uit om vanuit Angelwise jonge bedrijven maximaal te ondersteunen om ze naar een volgende fase in hun groei te begeleiden. Onze jarenlange ervaring en de samenwerking met business angels zullen hierbij een belangrijke en positieve factor zijn. We zijn niet enkel op zoek naar de volgende Vlaamse unicorn, maar willen ook bouwen aan een ecosysteem van bedrijven die de digitale transformatie van de maatschappij mee kunnen realiseren.”

“Angelwise kan in bedrijven instappen vanaf 100.000 euro en beschikt over de mogelijkheid om tijdens vervolgrondes te investeren voor een totaal van 3 miljoen euro per dossier. Het helpt bedrijven in hun groei tot scale-up en gaat ook op zoek naar financiers die, samen met het fonds, verder de groei kunnen ondersteunen.

“Er zijn de laatste jaren heel wat fondsen voor scale-up financiering bijgekomen maar veel minder voor early-stage financiering. Wij helpen bedrijven naar een hoger niveau; onze geografische scope is Vlaanderen en een stuk de omringende regio’s. Naast de oprichting van dit fonds, hebben we binnen BAN Vlaanderen het aantal leden tijdens COVID enorm zien stijgen. Mensen zoeken actief naar dossiers om in te investeren, en voortaan kan dat dus samen met Angelwise” aldus nog Reginald Vossen.

Over BAN Vlaanderen

Business Angels Netwerk Vlaanderen vzw brengt ondernemers en investeerders samen, bereidt hen voor op kapitaalfinanciering en zorgt steeds voor een persoonlijke begeleiding. Bij uitstek dus hét platform waar investeerders en ondernemers elkaar in optimale omstandigheden vinden.

#banstaatklaar voor groei en succes van ondernemers en privé-investeerders, de business angels. Met meer dan 200 manjaren expertise binnen het core-team, (exclusief de expertise van de business angels in het netwerk die in jaartallen quasi niet uit te drukken valt), is BAN Vlaanderen al bijna 25 jaar marktleider in privaat early stage risicokapitaal in België. Met 433 deals op de teller, maakt BAN Vlaanderen het motto ‘WISE MONEY LEADS TO GREAT DEALS’ iedere dag opnieuw waar. De persoonlijke begeleiding van alle partijen is hierbij leidend!

Voor meer informatie, zie www.ban.be

Bezoek onze Wise Academy op https://www.ban.be/wise-academy/

Contact: Dhr. Reginald Vossen; telefoon: +32 11 87 09 11; email: r.vossen@ban.be

Over PMV

PMV is een investeringsmaatschappij die de economische toekomst van Vlaanderen vormgeeft. PMV financiert beloftevolle bedrijven van bij de prille start tot en met de groei en internationalisering. PMV biedt financiële oplossingen op maat aan alle ondernemers met een goed businessplan en een sterk managementteam door middel van kapitaal, leningen en waarborgen. Daarnaast realiseren zij met en voor de overheid, in samenwerking met diverse partners, projecten die belangrijk zijn voor de welvaart en het welzijn in Vlaanderen. PMV beschikt over een portfolio met 1,4 miljard euro in beheer. Voor meer informatie, zie www.pmv.eu

Over COI

COI (Centrum voor Ondersteuning van digitale Innovatie) is een denkgroep met volgende doelstelling: het ondersteunen van ondernemerschap en initiatieven die innovatief en maatschappelijk relevant zijn bij de uitbouw van de informatiemaatschappij. De projecten dienen zich bij voorkeur in te schrijven in de doelstellingen op lange termijn van de Vlaamse publieke sector. Ze doen bij voorkeur beroep op de verscheidene aspecten en domeinen van digitalisering. Voor meer informatie verwijzen we naar de webpagina www.coi.be

Over Angelwise Beheer

Angelwise Beheer is de vennootschap opgericht voor het beheer van Angelwise, en is in handen van de twee fondsmanagers Marc Mommaerts en Jan Vorstermans. Zij zal instaan voor het dagelijks management van Angelwise, en voor de (des-) investeringen van het fonds. Zij zullen voor dit laatste bijgestaan worden door een investeringscomité waarin ook 4 business angels zetelen.

Voor meer informatie: www.angelwise.be

Angelwise in oprichting

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 08:19:08 GMT

Het Angelwise team is hard aan het werk om de oprichting van Angelwise te finaliseren

Binnenkort kunnen we meer informatie publiceren

Na de oprichting zal je meer kunnen lezen over de investeerders en het team achter Angelwise.

Angelwise komt eraan

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 08:19:08 GMT

De fundraising voor het nieuwe investeringsfonds Angelwise is succesvol afgesloten

De fundraising voor Angelwise, die was gestart op 30 september, is vandaag met succes afgesloten. We kunnen dus werken naar een eerste closing tegen eind december 2021.

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Azumuta at Hannover Messe 2026

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AI in the coming years

Accurat.ai active in Germany

Supernova 2026

Authic continues to grow

Angelwise portfolio event

Newsletter 10

Azumuta Raises €8M in Series A Funding

Azumuta Raises €8M Series A to Accelerate Digitalization and AI-Supported Work Instructions in Manufacturing ﻿

Artificial (general) intelligence

Artificial (general) intelligence - A(G)I

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Angelwise invests in Powerhouse

Powerhouse raises €750,000 to drive European growth in branded real estate

Angelwise investeert in DeltaBlue

Angelwise celebration event

Frank Staut joins Palmki

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Angelwise portfolio event: Finance

Pleevi x VMA: AI-Driven EV Charging

Angelwise at Supernova

Interesting Ideas for the Coming Years

Interesting Ideas for the Coming Years

Angelwise invests in Salvus Health

Angelwise invests in Pleevi

Pleevi's crystal ball

Investors believe in Pleevi

The Pleevi team

For more information please visit:

Contact

Sidestory: A spin-off from VITO

Obsessed founders: some observations

Obsessed founders: some observations

Angelwise portfolio event: Tech & Product

Telemar x Sealution: support plug-and-play data collection

Exciting news from dScribe!

Newsletter 6

Azumuta expands to the U.S.

Angelwise investeert in Accurat

Vers kapitaal voor Perfect-ID

Vers kapitaal voor technologiebedrijf Perfect-ID, dat met Palmki™ Europees specialist is in biometrische authenticatie met de handpalm

CEO of Qollabi has written a book

The Partner Operating Model

Authic launches Perks

Perks: Next-gen loyalty solution

First-time fundraising from VC Funds

First-time fundraising from VC Funds

Azumuta on the cover of Trends Magazine

Newsletter 5

Dscribe data enters partnership with TriFinance

Angelwise investeert in Xyzt.ai

Sealution wins the BEYOND HardTech Startup 2023 Competition at Slush'd Leuven

Angelwise investeert in Azumuta

Palmki has been nominated for the Rising Star award

Dscribe data in G2 best Data Governance Software overview

Angelwise maakt zevende investering in Cikisi

The power of the founding team

The power of the founding team

Newsletter 4

Angelwise maakt zesde investering in Authic Labs

Nederlandse voetbalclub kiest voor Palmki.

Angelwise maakt vijfde investering in Watcherr

When practice meets education

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Angelwise maakt vierde investering in dScribe data

The entrepreneurial journey towards growth

The entrepreneurial journey towards growth

Newsletter 2

Angelwise maakt derde investering in Sealution

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Best practices for a great pitch deck and presentation

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Why we don't sign NDAs

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From ‘growth at all costs’ towards ‘sustainable growth’

Angelwise maakt tweede investering in Palmki

Palmki™ is een digitale sleutel die het aderpatroon in uw handpalm gebruikt om uw identiteit te verifiëren. Het is een gebruiksvriendelijke biometrisch identiteitsverificatietechnologie toegang geven tot locaties, machines, gegevens, tijdregistratie, betalingen, enz.

Azumuta Raises €8M Series A to Accelerate Digitalization and AI-Supported Work Instructions in Manufacturing

Powerhouse raises €750,000 to drive
European growth in branded real estate