Embrace the system to succeed

When I meet founders of healthtech startups, I often - luckily - meet savvy entrepreneurs hellbent on flipping the table to solve a significant problem within healthcare and potentially revolutionize the world, perhaps sometimes even provide a lasting legacy. This is by no means bad; after all, it’s this spirit, ambition and tenacity that has… Continue reading Embrace the system to succeed

Make it simple to buy

Are you unwillingly driving customers away from you by having a complex, 'inside out' business model? You should definitely check. If you do, you should do your utmost to align your business model with how your customers are running their business and make an effort to just slide right in as the perfect solution to… Continue reading Make it simple to buy

How to win with corporates

I have always held a strong belief in the outsize value of strategic partnerships. And I must confess it has been a frustrating pain to be part of and watch a lot of good intentions end in absolutely nothing. I am by no means alone with that experience. In fact I think it's fair to… Continue reading How to win with corporates

Moving aside

The other day I met a startup founder, who had been struggling getting his business of the ground as a business for the past couple of years. Despite claiming the ambition of millions of users worldwide, he had only reached a couple of thousand within the first couple of years. While there is always reason… Continue reading Moving aside

The end of free money

Few things have been such an important catalyst for entrepreneurs and startups over the last 15 years as the availability of basically free money. Not only has it been associated with low costs of borrowing. It has also provided investors with a higher appetite for risk as they have lacked other more ‘safe’ alternatives for… Continue reading The end of free money

Solve my problem, please

Normally, we’re used to seeing startups looking to solve the problems of their customers. But lately, I have realized that there is actually quite a lot of startups, who are essentially asking their customers to solve their own problems. I typically see it in outreach emails asking me to go to a service or a… Continue reading Solve my problem, please

The ‘know all’ fallacy

Some of the most charismatic and persuasive people I have ever met have also been the ones who have been the most convinced that they had it all figured out and knew everything. Until they didn’t. I am not suggesting that they all failed. But a good number of them did. Because they thought they… Continue reading The ‘know all’ fallacy

A challenge of a generation

Aside from climate change one of the most daunting trends facing us in the Western world is the thought that for the first time in generations, there is every chance that our kids are NOT going to be better off than we were compared to our parents and the generations before that. In the US,… Continue reading A challenge of a generation