Start to scale. Startup and Scale-up Founder Stories.

Immediately after graduating from TU Delft, Sander and Auke developed an innovative product called HeatCycle - which recovers all heat from household wastewater. That led them to win the ASN World Prize in 2020. Later they added the sleek and smart AO heatpump, that won the iF Design Award 2024 out of almost 11,000 entries from 72 countries. Today, DeWarmte is well underway to inst

Let me introduce Inventor, Biodesigner and Entrepreneur: Bob Hendrikx.With a background in Architectural Engineering Bob strives for a world in which we work in symbiosis with nature. In 2020 he founded Loop Biotech, on a mission to revolutionize the funeral industry - through coffins that turn people into plant food.Bob's journey received widespread attention, making headlines in

With a masters degree in Complex Systems, Josefien Groot went from national boxing champion to Scale-up CEO, advocating for a sustainable future. Before reaching the age of 21, she had already established and sold her first business specializing in circular products. In 2017, she co-founded QLayers alongside Ruben Geutjens. Her significant contributions have been widely recognized

After he completed his master in strategic product design from Delft University, Dorus began to do graphic studio work together with his fellow student Delft Tom. From a deep love for music and the determination to stand up against the industry with products that produce massive electronic waste - they started Gerrard Street, in 2015, which was later renamed Repeat Audio. Today, Re

With Master’s degrees in Strategy and Marketing, she excelled in mobility. From cutting carbon footprint at General Motors to boosting fleet growth at Greenwheels. In 2021, Bibi co-founded umob with Raymon Pouwels. They secured 8M in funding within two years. And today, umob stands as the first MaaS operator in the Netherlands to integrate all three e-moped operators (Check, GO S

In the last episode of this year, Up!Rotterdam's Lars & Lisette reflect on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Rotterdam and its development over the past 4 years. We'll talk about:How our scale-up ecosystem developed over the past 4 years;Who you found the most interesting founders this year;All you ever wanted to know about Up!Rotterdam.Links mentioned:People: Lars Crama, Lisett

During his PhD research, Wang explored robots' societal impact on the elderly, especially with dementia. In 2015, he left that and founded Tinybots, to make a tangible difference for those with cognitive challenges. Today, their care robot Tessa is a proven solution for patient self-reliance, used by care providers all over the Netherlands on a daily basis. In this episode, we'll t

With a Master in Hydraulic Engineering from Delft Technical University and an Executive MBA from INSEAD, he spent 15 years with Shell, where his latest roles included Investment Director for Shell ventures as well as Commercial Head for Shell Hydrogen.In 2021, he was asked by Koolen Industries as the first employee of Battolyser Systems, a cleantech company with patented technology

Joris Biskop is the former CTO of Luxexcel, 3d printing lens specialist, which was recently acquired by Meta for €400 million. Based on his insights there, he founded Addoptics, of which he is now the CEO. Addoptics is a smart manufacturer of optics, serving an impressive list of customers worldwide from their office in Rotterdam.We'll cover the following topics:The opportunities

With a background in biology and a passion for environmental conservation, George embarked on a unique journey that led him from asset management to the world of oyster reef restoration. After completing this MBA from Rotterdam School of Management, he founded Oyster Heaven - on a mission to make marine regeneration financially sustainable.We'll cover the following topics:Cleaning