The rules of entrepreneurship change at a rapid pace. Founders need more than tech to succeed
This is one of those questions which will get an it depends type of answer 90% of cases. And as the startup world is evolving every day, it becomes harder and harder to define at first sight. When looking closer, there are some ingredients which might give that the make it or break flavour. But there are so many ideas out there and only few become prosperous business couple of years down the line. Thus, what’s the secret ingredient of a success story?
One of the European countries which does a good job at it is the Netherlands. In last few years, the country has made tremendous progress when it comes to its startup eco-system. Accelerators, non-profit public funded organisations and industry initiatives created to give equal access to funding and opportunities to all founders are a few of the many ways innovation and progress are tackled. The Netherlands is also the birthplace of several talent acquisition and retention initiatives. The 30% ruling is one of them. Through this initiative the government encourages businesses to hire international talent. Moreover, there are also several startups and initiatives who focus on developing new skills and building strong teams. They train creatives, marketers, coders, developers, growth hackers or AI specialists. This is the case, as more and more European founders think access to talent is one of the most critical elements when starting up a business. Here are a few of the most successful ones and how they are training talent and help build better teams.
Think School of Creative Leadership – THNK is an antithesis to conventional professional programs. The program participants engage in peer-to-peer, experiential learnings. THNK was founded in 2012.
Growth Tribe – Founded in 2015, Growth Tribe is Europe’s first growth hacking academy. The company operates today in seven countries in Europe. It offers a six-month evening course, as well as 12-month AI and data science traineeships.
Digital Society School – Digital Society School is a 20-week programme for designers, programmers, digital media experts, researchers, copywriters and storytellers. The school is an initiative of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and was founded in 2017.
Always be learning – Always be learning was founded in 2017. This startup helps companies and their teams get a better understanding of their customers. They provide the tools and processes needed to start gathering useful customer insights.
Codam – Codam is an innovative school, based on the education model of the French school 42. Corinne Vigreux, co-founder of TomTom, to set up Codam in September 2018. Codam is a three and a half year coding programme that uses a peer-to-peer learning system instead of a traditional model. No prior experience is needed. It’s open 24/7 and its gamified curriculum is based on experience points and levels.
Neurofied – Founded in 2018, Neurofield combines science with art, using insights from neuro-, cognitive and behavioural psychology to help businesses and teams work succeed.
It’s very well known that one of the main reasons angels and VC invest in certain startups is strong teams. Thus, if you are an entrepreneur or plan to become one, do make sure you put together the right mix of people for your business and that you keep investing in their development constantly along the way.
Until next time, stay calm and true to yourself.
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