Category: News

This month Leornova is in our spotlight! The company is focused on providing the skills that are needed in the digital age, especially for higher education staff. We asked the founders, Evelien and Elisabeth, six questions:

1. What problem are you solving?

Leornova’s mission is to empower higher education staff to build the skill sets they need to be the change agents within their organisations.

2. What drives you?

We founded Leornova to contribute to the digital readiness and sustainable future of the field of higher education. Working in internationalisation of higher education at a research university ourselves, we are confronted with these challenges on a daily basis.

3. What support did you get from Mercator Launch?

During the Venture Track, we received coaching from Brechtje en Saskia and were appointed a mentor from our field. Our coach pushed us to look at the bigger picture and to keep working towards a solid business plan. Our mentor made some valuable suggestions as to financials and people in his network. This saved us a lot of time (and money). 

4. When is Leornova successful?

Leornova is successful when we inspire and empower future generations by reshaping the field of higher education. We want to build towards an internationally-connected, sustainable, and digital world.

5. What do you need to make this happen?

We started Leornova because we feel that there is still so much opportunity to improve the knowledge about internationalisation, digitalisation, and sustainability in higher education. We believe the synergy between these fields is the way forward.

6. What tip would you offer other entrepreneurs?

We love that we are not financially dependant on our business. We both work four days a week, and that takes the financial pressure off our business and allows us to experiment. It is a fact that most companies do not make any profit in the first 2-3 years… Therefore our tip would be to make sure you have a great business partner so that the process is fun as well!

Inspired? sign up for our IMPROVE program!

In our series “Catching up with …”, we catch up with former IMPROVERS to see how they are doing and what they are working on!

Ken Koontz started his own company. He consults, designs and produces interactive experiences and games that have an applied purpose. From learning objectives to increasing engagement to behavioural interventions, his work uses the power of play to teach, connect and inspire for lasting effect.

Ken is one of our IMPROVE alumni. We’re curious to find out what he’s up to these days.

How did you originally come up with the idea to start your own business?

“I have been working in game development since 2007. A couple of years ago, I moved to The Netherlands because I got a great job at the Radboud University – Creative Director of GEMH Lab. I was hired to increase engagement of participants in studies through games, one of them was able to significantly decrease weekly smoking rates over time, with higher doses of gameplay leading to better outcomes. The link this job had to social and behavioural sciences and psychology, it just clicked with me. I was able to create tools to help study and observe behaviour. It felt like a very honest environment at GEMH Lab and I really enjoyed the fact that my work was helping people. I had found my niche!

After my project at Radboud ended, I decided I wanted to keep working on social and applied games to help people, so I started my own company. Starting a company in a foreign country can be challenging (I am originally from North Carolina in the United States). Luckily, the system in The Netherlands is so welcoming to young starting entrepreneurs, even if they’re from another country. 😊 My next challenge was to define my services; what do I offer that is so unique that people will hire me? How do I explain what I do and sell it? And that’s when I found the IMPROVE programme at Mercator Launch. The first part of the programme helped me realize that I already knew a thing or two about setting up a business, but the second part helped me figure out how to grow my business. My business coach Brechtje helped me compartmentalize what I needed to do and this really helped me in my process. I needed to take one step at a time.”

What are you currently working on?

“Right now, I’m finishing up my last project for Radboud University. This project aims to create awareness of social media use for people. We are creating an app where youth can reflect on their social media use and what they find important in life, regain control and agency of their relationship with social media and ultimately improve their wellbeing.

After this project is finished, I am really proud to say I have my first two official customers signed up already! For one of my new projects, I’ll be working to develop a playable game prototype with the University of California, Berkeley that tries to prevent aggression and promote prosocial development. This project is the first step toward providing at-risk youth with access to an innovative, youth-centered, engaging intervention for positive development.”

What challenges did you face over the last year?

“The biggest hurdle I had was to figure out how to explain to people what it is that I do. It is hard for me to tell people what I do in a way that just anyone can understand. The mentor I was paired with during my IMPROVE programme was close to my industry and had a marketing background. He helped me understand what my company actually is. I always thought: I make video games.

But my added value is that I am the interface between science and development. I am the one who can integrate the science in the game, maintain its integrity and still be fun. My mentor helped me see that. Now my story is clear and I’m working on how to pitch it. The only thing left to do is… figuring out how to explain what I’m doing to my mom, haha.”

What is your ultimate goal with your company?

“Now I could say I want my company to go BIG! But the truth is, I really just want to enjoy my work, contribute to creating helpful and meaningful games and work enough to sustain my desired lifestyle. Doing what I do gives me the freedom to work anywhere, and that’s what I love: being able to live where I want, do what I’m good at and hopefully help some people on the way!”

What inspires you to do better every day?

“Fear is a double edge sword to me, it is a great motivator but fear of failure, fear of not making it is a constant struggle. When I get up, ‘fear’ is the first thing that runs through my head: you have got to get up and do it today, or else! Once I get up, the motivation and eagerness to do great things helps me to keep going. Then I get into this flow state and lose track of time just because I love what I’m doing so much!”

Do you have one last tip for entrepreneurs (to be) who want to turn their passion into their job?

“Something you hear a lot is ‘if you are doing something you love, you don’t have to worry about money’. In a way I agree, but my tip is: if you turn your passion into your job, find another passion. Then you have something to get lost into whenever you hit a brick or when you’re in a slump. So, get a passion to be able to reignite passion into your company!”

Sign up for IMPROVE now!

1. Hero Entrepreneurs

After a successful first edition of Hero Entrepreneurs in 2019, the Radboud University and University of Applied Science Arnhem – Nijmegen (HAN) are organising the second edition online on the 9^th of February! That’s in less than two weeks. So, time to decide to sign up (which you definitely should do 😉). Curious what we’ve got in store for you at this event? Continue reading to discover what we have organised for you.

During ‘Meet the experts’, from 6 to 7 PM, you can talk to experts and ask them anything you want about starting your own business. Furthermore, local heroes like BEO Lifestyle, Sit & Heat, Proforto and Van Eigen Deeg  will share their success stories and tell you all about how they founded their startup.

After you have seen and talked to the experts and local heroes, it’s time for the big players: the national heroes take the stage! Inspirator, author and successful entrepreneur Arko van Brakel is our host for the evening and will give us an inspirational speech. Kleertjes.com founder Claudia Willemsen shares her story about how she became market leader in her field in just a few years since she started her business from the attic of her own home. Next, founder of Radboudumc spinoff Thirona, Eva van Rikxoort, will talk about the booming AI technology she developed and how the pandemic has helped her grow the business.

After our national heroes, it’s time to enjoy the rest of the evening at our very fun and educational afterparty! Professional pub quiz company Upbeatles hosts 2 pub quizzes, and student DJ association SoundLab Nijmegen will turn your living room into a dancefloor! Not into quizzing or dancing? There’s also a place to meet fellow students and entrepreneurs!

So, what are you waiting for? Sign up here.

2. Masterclasses

Are you ready to take your entrepreneurial skills to the next level? We’ve got you covered! In February and March, we will host 4 masterclasses on 4 very important topics! The subjects of the masterclasses will be: Build your founding team, Get connected, Pitch perfectly and Promote your startup. The masterclasses will take place on Wednesdays and will last between 3 to 5 hours each. They will be both informative and interactive, which allows you to put your newfound knowledge and skills into practice immediately. On this webpage you will find short descriptions about each masterclass. Hopefully, we will see you there!

3. Innovation Competition

More than 80% of the PhD candidates pursue a career in industry, start their own company or end up working in the public sector. The Innovation Competition is a training program designed for researchers who want to innovate and discover the commercial applications or services from their own research and technology. Last week, we have announced the first semi-finalists who will participate in a three-day training course. On February 24^th, we will announce the finalists who will pitch their business idea in front of a jury during the grand finale. Oh, and did we mention that the winner will receive €10.000 to invest in their innovation? This is a competition to watch! Stay tuned and find out who will win this competition…

“HAN Center for Entrepreneurship is the department within the HAN University of Applied Sciences for young ambitious (student) entrepreneurs at the HAN and is active on the campus in Arnhem and Nijmegen. Our mission is to inform and inspire HAN students about entrepreneurship, and to train and guide them in their entrepreneurial journey. In doing this, we aim to create an extra, or new, professional perspective for them in which students can create and add social value.

We offer interesting workshops and organise inspiring events. Students can also do a minor in which they can found and grow their startup and develop themselves as an entrepreneur. In addition to that we offer startup guidance, coaching and support in obtaining funds for their company. We also facilitate students in combining their business with their study curriculum. They can even do an internship or graduate at their own company! Students can also rely on our large and external network to help them scale up.

Want to know more about what we can do for you? Go to our website and schedule an appointment with one of our business coaches. We are ready to help you make your entrepreneurial dreams come true! Already graduated? Good news: alumni up to 2 years after graduation are also welcome at our center.”

Do you want to know more about the Center for Entrepreneurship? Mail Mathilde van Wijk

“I usually start off my day quietly by reading a book or watching a series in the early morning. At 8:00 AM I get up, have breakfast and prepare for the day!

At 09:00 AM, I crawl behind my laptop for the Marketing meeting with the Mercator Launch marketing team. We go through our weekly planning: which events are coming up? What articles and blogs do we have to write and share? And, not unimportantly: which entrepreneurs are we going to put in the spotlight this month? It is nice to meet each other every week to discuss our marketing & communication plan and check how everyone’s doing.

After the meeting, I attend my online lecture ‘Introduction to Language and Speech Technology’. Next to my job at Mercator Launch, I am in my first year of the Master Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Social Sciences. On average, I spend 4.5 days a week studying for my Masters. However, since my study program is very flexible, I thought it would be valuable to work alongside it and gain experience in content creation. Before I joined the Mercator Launch team, I was the website manager of the Radboud Research Facilities (RRF). The RRF manager, Ed Koster, pointed out that Mercator Launch was looking for additional support on Marketing & Communication. That’s how I ended up as their Content Officer which involves writing posts, blogs, articles and analyzing our content. It is nice to combine my studies and work as they each focus on very different topics.

After my lecture, I quickly grab some lunch and go to the Zoom meeting for growth hacking. Growth hacking is a creative, low-cost and experiment-driven strategy to help organizations acquire and retain customers. With the Mercator Launch marketing team, we work in 2-week-sprints in which we improve aspects like webpage visits and social media engagement. By implementing small but creative changes followed by data collection and analysis, we can make smart and substantiated decisions for our next marketing activities. We really have to think outside the box and the great thing about growth hacking is that every two-week-sprint, a different ML business coach joins our growth hacking team. As a result, I work with all my colleagues on a regular basis, even though I only work for Mercator Launch one day a week.

After a brainstorm that went in all possible directions, a creative idea suddenly emerged on how we can promote our Hero Entrepreneurs event even better. More about this soon… 😉

After the growth hacking meeting, I start with my to do list that rose from our marketing meeting. I prepare a number of social media posts and ensure that the articles are published on our website. I check with my team if I can help with anything else and then I grab my tennis racket to go hit some balls on the university tennis court with my buddy.

All in all, it was a fun and productive day that ends with a dinner together with my roommates.”

We know by now that images have an impact on people who are coping with dementia. The right image can spark a long forgotten memory and will bring a moment of clarity for people who can not easily acces their past. For a moment they are father, mother, spouse, grandma or grandpa again. Tolooba provides a streaming service for memories.

We asked them 6 questions:

1. What is your Value Proposition?
Tolooba develops data driven software solutions to enhance health and well-being for people with memory decline due to ageing or illness. 

Tolooba complies with the following SDG goals:

• SDG goal 3: Good health and well-being

2. What’s your mission?

We want to help people use their memory as long as possible and thus enhance health and well-being for people with memory decline.

3. How did Mercator Launch help you?

Mercator Launch has opened doors for us and connected us to valuable contacts. The business coaches also provided us with useful tips and feedback on our business plan. The coaches know a lot about the entrepreneurial ecosystem and are able to spot opportunities.

4. What are the future plans for Tolooba?

Our plan is to help at least a million people improve their lives. To achieve this, we aim to grow and go international within 5 years. Ultimately, we want to work on prevention of memory loss rather than help people better cope with it.

5. What do you need to make this happen?

At this moment we need funding for signing a key partnership with Philips and for further developing our scientific prototype into our first market ready prototype. We need this in order to activate the license deal that we already agreed upon with our launching customer.

6. If you can give one piece of advice to future entrepreneurs, what would it be?

Challenge yourself to learn and develop a little more every day. Where you start is probably not where you will end up anyway.

Want to challenge yourself? Contact us!

Visit Tolooba’s website here: https://www.tolooba.com/en/

How did you end up at Mercator Launch?

“Two years ago, I applied for the student marketing position at Mercator Launch. Based on my love for and experience in event management, they asked me to join the team as the event coordinator.

I have been organizing events since high school and during my studies I joined various event committees and organized many formal and informal excursions, weekends and lustrum activities. I also had an internship at an event agency that organized festivals all over the world.

In two years´ time, I have been able to organize major events for Mercator Launch, from the first edition of Women in Business to Hero Entrepreneurs, where Tony’s Chocolonely and Swapfiets were the keynote speakers. While organizing these events, I became increasingly involved in the marketing and communication processes. And it is precisely this combination that interests me and makes this the ideal job for me. So, when the permanent position for marketing & communication advisor became available, I did not hesitate for a moment. I was able to start the minute after I handed in my thesis (ok, it was a month 😉).”

What is your ultimate goal for Mercator Launch?

“That nobody – and I mean nobody – on campus doesn’t know Mercator Launch. In a while that is, I just got started. 😊”

Where can we find you if you’re not at the Mercator Launch (home) office?

“I like to do fun and crazy things with friends such as game nights, or organizing competitions such as cake baking, all you can eat and painting competitions. I’m also a big fan of VRIJMIBO’s (Friday afternoon drinks) and like to have drinks with friends or go to festivals. Oh, and my guilty pleasure? Binging Temptation Island and RuPaul’s Dragrace.”

Do you have a question about Florine’s crazy hobbies or a great idea for an article that you would like to see in the newsletter? Let her know and send an e-mail to

2020 was an eventful year, especially for entrepreneurs. But despite and perhaps precisely because of the extraordinary circumstances this year, there were a lot of innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs who were determined to make their startup a success! In this closing month of the year, Mercator Launch puts a successful startup in the limelight each day. Startups that we are particularly proud of. We asked our business coaches why these companies deserve their place in this list. So, keep an eye on our channels and discover our top 20 of 2020!

3D Neuro

Rob: “3D neuro managed to find a niche market on customized implants for electrophysiology and started excelling and delivering in that segment. As researchers they provided qualitatively high products to solve problems of other researchers”

Aerocount

Brechtje: “Aerocount took major steps this year. No wonder they were nominated as student startup of the year and won the Jan Terlouw competition. The startup finished it’s prototype, committed launching customers, designed their manufacturing process and attracted sufficient investments to start sales in 2021.”

Charmtop

Brechtje: “Charmtop develops easy to use hardware to include elderly in the digital age. The company was impacted heavily by the covid lockdown and needed to change their plans several times. They have been very creative in finding solutions to continue the development and testing of their proprietary software and hardware.”

Crowdience

Brechtje: “Crowdience / ikonderzoekmee.nl is up and running! And… contributing to an inclusive society in a unique way.”

Dearly

Rob: “The team of Dearly excels in determination of achieving their goals. No matter how many problems appear, Quirine always solves them and focuses on the progress of her business.”

De Lerende Mens

Brechtje: “De Lerende Mens develops innovative digital products with which children learn to read better, based on cool techniques such as gamification, virtual, augmented reality, and the most recent scientific insights. In this difficult year when going to school wasn’t normal, these products have made a huge difference.”

Flowview

Brechtje: “FlowView is moving fast! The company was founded in April of this year. They are working on their first MVP and expect to launch already in 2021. In addition, they entered into a very promising collaboration and attracted its first investment directly after from Health Holland.”

Gelijkspel

Rob: “How can a team of medical students contribute to the life of people having Alzheimer disease? The team of GelijkSpel introduced gamification to improve the interaction between people having Alzheimer disease and their close ones? Now that’s creating social impact!”

Ji Shin Martial Arts

Brechtje: “Mariska from Ji Shin Martial Arts was able to transform the research results from her PhD into a sports programme that improves resilience in vulnerable people, like young women or people with a disability. The trainings are fun and make the participants physically and mentally stronger. Since the program can be copied by other sport centers, it’s a great way to make exercising possible for everyone”

Labm8

Brechtje: “Labm8 develops an ‘automated chemistry robot’. How cool is that! In 2020, Lab8 managed to finalize the complex development of the robot and is now testing it at Radboud University.”

Micro-Cosmos

Britta: “The idea for Micro-Cosmos originates from the Dutch Hacking Health – a hackathon to stimulate innovations in health care. In 2017, the dome of Micro-Cosmos was invented to protect patients from disturbing sound and light in order to increase sleep in hospitals. Despite troubling times in hospitals due to COVID-19, Micro-Cosmos has managed to raise funding, develop their next prototype and initiate a pilot project at the Intensive Care of Radboudumc. Proud of the progress Micro-Cosmos has made, we are looking forward to the first implementation of the dome to improve patient’s sleep and recovery.”

Mindtrace

Rob: “How can society benefit from scientific knowledge from the field of Neuroscience? The team of Mindtrace manages to translate this knowledge into tangible problems solving products . Now that is an example of bringing science to society.”

Pixelstad

Ed: “In addition to his master’s degree at the management faculty and a temporary full-time job, Roger was able to keep the focus on his company Pixelstad. He has always taken small steps and followed the advice of the Mercator Launch business coaches. Currently, he has developed a prototype using the Gelderland Valoriseert Voucher. Roger has a number of parties with enthusiasm for the application and is now looking for his first paying customer.”

Plexuz

Rob: “Now what is possible to achieve in actions next to your study. The team of Plexuz shows us you can be a successful student and startup at the same time. And by offering an app to enhance preparations for exams they help other students be successful as well”

Sexual Healing

Ed: “Nienke from Sexual Healing contacted us via the Design Academy Eindhoven. We put her in touch with sexologists from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Radboudumc. Furthermore, we’ve helped her validate her idea throughout our IMPROVE program. Britta has helped her with finding a cofounder. She’s doing very well at this moment and I couldn’t be more proud!”

Soluxa

Brechtje: “I don’t have to say much. Just check out Soluxa’s solar panel pilot on the Huygens Building 🙂 “

Sustainables

Britta: “Plastic. It is so convenient and familiar in our daily lives, but the impact on the environment is huge. At biochemical laboratories it is common to use disposables which results in over 800 liter plastic waste on a monthly basis. While this waste is currently burned, Sustainables aims to clean and recycle it. Taking action to combat climate change is one of the SDGs and Sustainables takes this job really serious.”

Tolooba

Ed: “With RMBR, Tolooba develops software that retrieves ‘hidden’ memories for people suffering from dementia. That’s just awesome!”

Van Eigen Deeg

Rob: “How does it get better than this? The cookies from Van Eigen Deeg are delicious, healthier cookies in environmentally friendly packaging. And they just fall on your doormat when you want them the most. Plus our favorite giveaway to our IMPROVERS!”

Volta Energy

Britta: “Volta Energy contributes to the global climate goals by replacing diesel aggregates with solar-based alternatives. As one of our first Improvers, it is great to see the progress Volta Energy is making. Last year, despite COVID-19, they raised a tremendous amount of money to scale their business. With this opportunity to scale, the founders are truly changing construction sites and make the world a little bit more sustainable. That is the impact we love to see!”

Ready to take your entrepreneurial skills to the next level? We’ve got you covered! In February and March of 2021, Mercator Launch will host four masterclasses. The subjects of the masterclasses will be: Build your founding team, Get connected, Pitch perfectly and Promote your startup.

Build your founding team

Founding a startup takes place in an uncertain and complex environment, and requires a broad spectrum of knowledge, experience and skills. More often than not, a single founder does not have all the required abilities. This is one of the reasons to find the right co-founder(s) and assemble a team in order to succeed. However, finding a co-founder is easier said than done. In this masterclass, you will gain insight into your own competences and skills as well as the vision of your startup, and what qualities to look for in a co-founder. This way, you can eventually make that perfect match and expand your team!

Get connected

An important part of being an entrepreneur and business owner is networking. Networking can bring you valuable contacts that could take your startup to the next level. This masterclass is all about communication and relationships. You will map your current network, learn how to start networking and how to sustain professional relationships and connections.

Pitch perfectly

Pitching is key when you try to sell your ideas. A great pitch can be just as important as a good business plan. Accordingly, pitching is a skill you should definitely put time and effort into. After this masterclass, you know exactly what to do and what not to do while pitching, in a way that you are able to pitch your startup to anyone.

Promote your startup

Last but not least, this masterclass is very useful when your startup is in the phase of entering the market. You want to generate a lot of attention for your startup and create awareness amongst your target audience. To do this, you will need a well thought out strategy. In the masterclass, you will learn how to translate your goals and message into a functional marketing plan!

The masterclasses will take place in February and March of 2021 and will last between 3 to 5 hours each. They will be both informative and interactive, which allows you to put your newfound knowledge and skills into practise immediately.

Interested? More information and detailed descriptions of each of the masterclasses will follow in January, so stay tuned!

Do you already have some questions regarding entrepreneurship?

Contact us