Startups need more than just money

Innovative startups are indispensable for the transitions our society is facing. However, the step from idea to upscaling often remains the biggest challenge. It is precisely in this phase that guidance and access to networks are essential.

Anyone who thinks that banking is just a matter of crunching numbers to ensure a positive bottom line for the bank will be in for a surprise when they meet Rabobank's Startup and Scale-up team. No spreadsheets under their arms, no unreachable offices, no conversations full of jargon. In everything they do, Vincent Ruis, Stijn Mandigers, Michel Ziekman, and John-Paul van Heel are part of the same ecosystem they focus on from a business perspective.

And so they can be found at events, workshops, lectures, and drinks parties that startups in the Brainport region themselves consider so important. The monthly walk-in consultation hours at The Gate, the monthly Demos Pitches & Drinks, events from Automotive Campus to the BIC, and of course all Gerard & Anton Community meetings—no gathering goes by without us seeing one of Rabobank's Start-up and Scale-up Bankers walking around. In addition, the team has a workspace at the High Tech Campus, where they speak to many (potential) customers and organize various events.

“And it's definitely not because we expect to be able to close a deal right away,” Michel Ziekman is quick to point out. “For us, it's about understanding where the movement is. Who has the ideas that could lead to success in ten years' time? You can only find that out if you are actually part of the circuits where those ideas are discussed and tested. It always starts with listening.”

New product

Developing a new product or landing your first customer is one thing; growing a business sustainably is quite another. Many young companies find that the step to the next phase is accompanied by questions for which there are no standard solutions. Where do you find capital to break through internationally? How do you build a governance structure that gives investors confidence? And who can you bounce ideas off about strategy and market choices?

“Those are precisely the moments when many entrepreneurs are searching for answers,” says Michel Ziekman. He works with Rabobank’s Startup & Scale-Up Team, which focuses entirely on companies in this growth phase. “Our work is not only about financing, but above all about helping to remove barriers that prevent entrepreneurs from growing.”

The difficult gap between prototype and market

John-Paul van Heel sees that many startups with a good idea or prototype get stuck in the transition to a scalable business. Banks are traditionally cautious at this stage, because there is often no proven track record yet. “Yet this is precisely where support is most needed. If a company can’t make that leap, good innovations disappear from view.”

That is why Rabobank has developed forms of financing that offer opportunities for young companies with potential, but without a fully proven revenue model. “We are not only concerned with the past, but above all with the future prospects of the innovation,” says Van Heel.

Rabobank Startup and Scale-up Team

But listening carefully is also a skill. “Of course, when the founder gives his or her pitch at such an event, everyone in the audience hears the same story,” adds Van Heel. “But you only really understand it if you’ve also heard the pitches that preceded it. And those of the competitors. That’s precisely why we can respond to the needs and challenges that these startups and scale-ups encounter along the way.”

Because, let's be honest, at the end of the day, it's still all about the financial services that Rabobank offers. Vincent Ruis: "Successfully setting up a startup and scaling it up to a mature company are challenging tasks. Our team is committed to helping these entrepreneurs develop more successfully and more quickly. With our financial products and services, our international network, and our knowledge, we help them realize their ambitions. Think, for example, of bank financing, an introduction to investors, or bringing them into contact with launching customers in their market."

Network as leverage

Just as important as money is access to a network of partners, investors, and peers. “An introduction at the right moment can be decisive,” explains Ziekman. “Many entrepreneurs say that one good contact has helped their growth more than any loan.”

The Startup & Scale-Up Team, therefore wants to function explicitly as a connector. Not only within the Netherlands, but also internationally. For scale-ups that are taking the step across the border, this can be a decisive factor.

This approach is in line with the broader role that Rabobank wants to play in the Brainport ecosystem. Ziekman: “As part of the innovation ecosystem in Brainport, we speak the language of the founders. That is crucial to really adding value.”

Advice tailored to the phase

What a start-up needs depends greatly on the phase the company is in. The first steps often involve product development and market validation. In a later phase, international strategy, governance, and attracting talent play a greater role.

“We try to be a relevant discussion partner for entrepreneurs in all these stages,” says Stijn Mandigers. “That can be very practical – for example, helping to think about financing structures – but also strategic, such as the question of which markets have priority.”

Innovators Community Event

The role of the connector also has a concrete platform. During Dutch Design Week, Rabobank is organizing the Innovators Community Event for the second time this year. This is where startups, scale-ups, and investors meet.

According to Mandigers, such meetings are important for keeping the ecosystem alive. “Innovation does not happen in isolation. It is about cross-pollination between different parties. We see it as our role to facilitate those conversations.”

Making an impact

The significance of this support extends beyond the success of individual companies. Startups and scale-ups bring technologies to the market that contribute to societal challenges: from the energy transition to better healthcare. When they fail due to a lack of capital, network, or knowledge, society loses more than just a business.

That is why Ziekman sees the role of banks in this domain as broader than just that of a financier. “As an institution, we can help create the conditions in which entrepreneurs can actually make an impact with their ideas. That is not only good for them, but for society as a whole.”

On October 23, during Dutch Design Week, the second edition of the Innovators Community Event will take place—the place where startups, scale-ups, and investors meet. Want to know more? Call or email startup & scale-up banker Michel Ziekman at +31 (0)6 25 51 20 15.