Scaling Europe’s game-changing startups: Interview with Thijs Powel, Founder of Dealflow.eu and Ventures.eu

Technology in Europe has actually never ever been brief on ability, research study, or passion. Yet, time after time, we see high-potential start-ups battle to safeguard the personal financial investment required to convert their revolutionary research study right into market-ready options. This is the difficulty that Ventures.eu is dealing with head-on– connecting the financing void by determining and sustaining one of the most appealing EU-backed start-ups, guaranteeing they scale efficiently and provide actual effect.

At the heart of this initiative is Thijs Povel, Creator of Dealflow.eu and Ventures.eu, that brings over 15 years of experience in equity capital and personal equity. With Dealflow.eu, he has actually developed a data-driven environment that attaches deeptech start-ups with capitalists and corporates, speeding up commercialisation at a critical point. Ventures.eu takes this objective additionally by proactively buying the highest-potential start-ups arising from this pipe.

Past his operate at Ventures.eu, Thijs and Dealflow.eu play an essential function in the Innovation Radar Bridge project— an EU-funded job campaign developed to reinforce links in between EU-funded trendsetters, capitalists, and policymakers throughout Europe. As one of the 3 companions leading this job together with EU-Startups and Dealroom.co, Dealflow.eu is assisting to form a much more incorporated European advancement environment. While this meeting will certainly concentrate on Ventures.eu and its method to buying deeptech start-ups, it is essential to recognize exactly how this job straightens with more comprehensive initiatives to connect the commercialisation void for EU-funded advancement.

For capitalists, policymakers, and start-ups alike, this conversation uses understandings right into the obstacles of commercialising deeptech advancements and exactly how to conquer them. We’ll discover Ventures.eu’s data-driven financial investment methods, the function of business collaborations, and what it requires to bring even more EU-funded developments to market. Thijs shares vital lessons and experiences that can assist form financial investment choices, plan structures, and start-up development methods.

So Thijs, welcome– thanks for joining us! What influenced you to enhance Dealflow.eu with the development of Ventures.eu? Exactly how did your previous experiences form the vision for this brand-new endeavor fund?

From the first day, the objective was to enhance Dealflow.eu with a VC fund. When the European Compensation sustains a job like Dealflow.eu, it is needed to come to be self-dependent prior to completion of its job.

As Dealflow.eu recognizes, sustains and presents several of one of the most appealing deeptech start-ups in Europe to capitalists and corporates, it made good sense to enhance these tasks with the development of a VC fund– comparable to various other effective assistance organisations such as Plug and Play which likewise deals with the EU Compensation, arranges business days and afterwards buys one of the most appealing start-ups they satisfy with these tasks.

In our help the Compensation, we undoubtedly have actually been seeing a significant void– with several high-potential EU-funded advancements battling to safeguard personal financial investment to range readily despite the fact that they have actually protected substantial client need.

Ventures.eu was produced to connect that void. Our experience of dealing with the owners and sustaining their go-to-market initiatives offers us an one-of-a-kind benefit in choosing the very best European trendsetters and making sure that their items efficiently scale up, which is likewise really essential for the European Compensation, to see even more of its EU-funded jobs get to the marketplace.

Could you describe exactly how your data-driven method to sourcing and vetting start-ups offers you a side over various other equity capital funds? What function does the considerable network from Dealflow.eu play in this?

Many thanks to our information engine, which supplies real-time and AI-enriched details regarding hundreds of start-ups, capitalists, and companies, we have the ability to resource and sustain one of the most appealing brand-new advancements.

Leveraging our network of corporates and assisting them develop transaction with these start-ups permits us to purchase the start-ups when they require it most– when they prepare to scale up their manufacturing as they have actually located item market fit. This offers Ventures.eu an one-of-a-kind chance to spend at the correct time while the business is still very early with little earnings and a great deal of upside capacity.

Among your objectives is to increase the marketplace uptake of groundbreaking EU-funded advancements. What are the vital obstacles you attend converting EU-funded research study right into market-ready items?

One significant difficulty is the “commercialisation void”– several research-driven start-ups have first-rate modern technology however do not have the go-to-market proficiency and financing to range. At Ventures.eu, we give hands-on assistance to assist start-ups fine-tune their go-to-market methods, get in touch with business companions and customers, and safe financial investments to increase their shift from laboratory to market.

What secret elements do you seek when analyzing the capacity of a start-up? Exactly how do you stabilize the scalability of a development with its sustainability and social effect?

We evaluate 3 vital columns: the group, the modern technology, and the prospective market.

Scaling up a start-up is not a very easy effort and calls for actual determination and grit. We invest a great deal of time with our owners and our financial investment trip will certainly last longer than many marital relationships, making it very essential to pick the best group.

The modern technology requires to be absolutely turbulent and deal with a genuine requirement in a huge sufficient market to sustain the start-up development.

At Dealflow.eu, we are effectively lined up with the critical objectives of the European Compensation, favouring business that address pushing international obstacles– whether in medical care, environment, or sophisticated production. Besides, the majority of the start-ups that we satisfy have actually gotten European gives. Necessarily, these start-ups have a valuable effect for culture and in regards to sustainability.

Our company believe that one of the most transformative organizations are those that not just range however likewise produce a significant, favorable effect in culture.

Your focus on hands-on assistance for profile business is fascinating. Could you give an instance of a certain situation where this method has assisted a development got rid of a market uptake obstacle?

A terrific instance is NextSense, a Dutch start-up in the renewable resource industry. With Dealflow.eu, we presented them to vital capitalists throughout our ‘Renewable Resource E-Pitching Occasion’, which contributed in their effective EUR11.5 million Collection A financing round, co-led by Pensioenfonds ABP. This situation highlights exactly how our ecosystem-driven method speeds up the marketplace uptake of groundbreaking advancements– by not just giving resources however likewise proactively assisting in critical collaborations that open development chances.

One more success tale is Circularise, a blockchain system making it possible for end-to-end traceability and safe information exchange in commercial supply chains. Their electronic item keys equip business to shift towards a round economic climate, however they required the best capitalists to range. With Dealflow.eu, we sustained them by preparing vital products, presenting them to critical capitalists, and including them in our e-pitching occasion. Consequently, they protected critical financing in December 2024, additionally driving the fostering of lasting supply chain options.

The rate of advancement in deeptech and AI is accelerating with yearly– exactly how do you determine development patterns early, and what methods do you need to guarantee they get grip on the market?

Many thanks to our collaborate with beginning deeptech start-ups and ingenious corporates, we are running at the leading edge of advancement. We are regularly presented to the cutting edges while likewise in contact with the prospective consumers. Each month we hold a minimum of one in-person business matchmaking occasion, where we combine a certain business with one of the most appealing trendsetters that this business picks in our system, making it possible for corporates to remain to introduce and the start-ups to get substantial grip.

What function do regulative structures play in the effective uptake of these advancements? Exactly how do you assist start-ups browse any type of European guidelines that may prevent their commercialisation?

Governing conformity can make or damage a deeptech start-up, specifically in industries like healthtech, fintech, or AI. We proactively assist our start-ups with regulative difficulties by leveraging our network of lawful specialists and market consultants. Furthermore, our experience dealing with EU establishments aids us expect regulative changes, guaranteeing our profile business remain in advance of conformity needs while keeping their one-upmanship.

Looking in advance, to the following large obstacles and chances you visualize for Ventures.eu– exist any type of arising industries or innovations you’re specifically thrilled to discover in 2025 and past?

We see AI-powered automation, robotics, quantum computer applications, and next-generation environment technology as vital locations of chance. Furthermore, with Europe’s promote critical freedom, we expect enhanced financial investment in semiconductor advancement and cybersecurity. At Ventures.eu, we are concentrated on determining the start-ups that will certainly drive these changes and guaranteeing they have the best assistance to range worldwide.

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