Elizabeth Kleinveld is the host of Breaking Banks Europe, the world’s #1 FinTech podcast and radio show. She’s a startup matchmaker and ecosystem builder, especially for FinTech, Renewable Energy, and Mobility and Sustainability. In our interview, learn more about her role as Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp, her role as Founding Partner at Great Stuff Ventures, and check out her view on the current state of the Dutch ecosystem.

1. Hi Elizabeth. Thank you for agreeing to do the interview. Please tell us about your background and your connection to the startup world.

Thank you for having me! I was in tech and then I joined ABN AMRO, one of the sponsors of Startupbootcamp in 2012. So I became a mentor and loved working with startups so much that at a certain point, I decided I could do more for these companies outside and inside of the bank. 

I started investing in some of the startups I was mentoring. In 2015, I left the bank and went to an ecosystem builder called Holland FinTech. In 2016 when Startupbootcamp announced they were having a FinTech and CyberSecurity program, they asked me to come on board. I’ve been there ever since and now I’m the Head of Acceleration and one of the FinTech experts. My role is to ensure that startups have the best quality program during the 12 weeks. That goes from what kind of courses, one-on-one sessions, industry experts, and functional experts they have access to.

2. As a Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp, you’re providing the right content, coaches, and connections to the startups that are part of your equity programs. Tell us more about your mission.

Besides ensuring that startups have the best possible experience, I work with the Program Directors in different areas. These are vertical-based programs like Renewable Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Food and Agriculture, so we really need industry veterans. 

Sometimes these experts are not only people who have worked in these industries but also investors who have had their own startups. We have to add significant value to these startups who haven’t even had a pre-seed round yet. 

3. You’re also the Founding Partner at Great Stuff Ventures, a group of entrepreneurs and industry veterans investing their capital in great people doing great stuff. How did Great Stuff Ventures start?

I was seeing so much deal flow working at Startupbootcamp and Holland FinTech. After doing certain investments in the startups I have been mentoring, my husband and I decided to professionalize this. Together with two other people, we started Great Stuff Ventures. We have now invested in 31 companies over two vintages. We have approximately 20 different people. And we will be starting our third vintage soon. 

We’re sector agnostic but we like to invest in companies we mentored. So many members at Great Stuff Ventures are also mentors at Startupbootcamp, even though we have invested in startups from other accelerators.

A number of Great Stuff Ventures members have had companies themselves or they still do though that’s not the case for everybody. Some people had an exit with FinTech companies, travel companies, etc., but it’s not a requirement for members.

4. You advise startups and scale-ups on go-to-market strategy, business development, connecting to corporates, and becoming investor-ready. Could you tell us more about that?

How do we coach companies to become investor-ready? We give them a number of questions they fill in and then I do a role-play with them. It’s as if I would be looking to invest in them. They need to answer these questions, they have to have a financial model that’s ready and that actually talks to their investor deck. There were so many times I’ve seen companies submit financial models and what is actually in the model is not the same thing as what they’re telling me in their deck. In that case, I don’t want to talk to them as an investor. We don’t want them to have the pains that we saw in startups that we haven’t invested in. 

In terms of connecting to corporates, it’s not always the right time. First I want to see that they have a case study where they’ve proven they can do something with another company. It can be a corporate or another SME in their own country. Based on that and some other traction they have, they can reach out to a corporate. The Corporate Innovations teams might be able to help them out or not. It could be that it’s too early to connect. Maybe a year later the timing will be perfect. It’s crucial to connect at the right time and have a very concrete ask. If the ask is not clear, then it won’t go through.

Mentoring a startup is one of the best gifts you can give if you have knowledge or a network. And I would encourage anyone who has an hour a week to reach out to one of the accelerators like Startupbootcamp. Not only will the startups gain so much, but you will gain too. I fully changed my job because I was so excited to work with all these talented people.

5. What’s going well in the startup ecosystem in the Netherlands at the moment? Which challenges is the ecosystem facing?

I think the Dutch startup ecosystem is very international. If you don’t know Dutch you can still flourish. But it’s also true that nowadays, less startups are starting every year in comparison to ten years ago, so they’re fewer to choose from as an investor. 

Overall funding in startups has been decreasing in the past three quarters. But it hasn’t decreased at such a steep rate in the Netherlands as it has in the US or other parts of Europe. And even though we’re continuing to see more investment, pre-seed companies are the ones suffering the most since COVID and since the interest rates went off. I do see a lot of angels and VCs working together in the Netherlands and I like that. People are willing to share deals and deal flow. 

The one thing I miss as an angel investor is incentives. The government knows this, we have been asking for incentives that you have in the UK as an angel and nothing has happened about it for over ten years. I find that really disappointing because it’s detourant to innovation and having a vibrant startup ecosystem.

Thank you very much for sharing your insights with us. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

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