Three student ventures with impact, thanks to Tilburg University Challenge

Better for the environment and healthier

We start this story in a small production plant. This is where sweetener Erytrithol is made on a local scale. Healthier and tastier than synthetic sweeteners or Stevia. And the first factory to produce this substance in Europe. At the time of our visit, Erythritol is extracted from apple peels left over as a residual stream from a well-known apple pie baker. Healthy, fair, and better for the environment.

Ahead, the plant exists only on paper. But that it is coming is clear. The idea sprang from the minds of Daniel Gelsing and Anouk van Anrooij, who won the Ideation Award at the 2021 Tilburg University Challenge. Meanwhile, the two are involved in Rabobank's Rabo Food Forward program, where entrepreneurs, consumers, students and government seek solutions to challenging food issues. They are also working with partners from Food Tech Brainport on a way to produce sugar substitute Erythritol from waste streams. "This substance is not new, but right now we usually don't know the origin of Erythritol," Daniel explains. "Then you have no idea what's in it. That can be different, we think. Produced locally and from residual streams that already exist. Like those apple peels. All from the idea of making the healthiest product possible with the least environmental impact."

Understanding Society

Making an impact. It is - besides research and education - one of the core tasks of Tilburg University. Not for nothing has the payoff been 'Understanding Society' for a number of years. With high-quality knowledge of economics, business studies and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, humanities and digital sciences, and theology in-house, the potential to make real change is ample. Tilburg University Challenge, together with the university's entrepreneurship programs, offers the possibility to cash in on those opportunities. With the condition that the plans of participating teams touch on at least one of the regional economic spearheads: high-tech logistics, circular economy, and energy transition.

Partners of the Challenge are happy to stimulate that impact, says Lilian Damen-Evers, Cooperative Director Rabobank Tilburg and Surroundings, as these kinds of plans ultimately contribute to a stronger and more sustainable economy in the entire region. Bas Kapitein (General Director Midpoint Brabant) and Bram van den Hoogen (Marketing Communications Manager BOM) also concur. "In Midpoint Brabant, new ideas really get a chance, by working closely together," says Bas. This has a

positive influence on the business climate, he continues. "By putting people at the center of business and innovation, we create not only economic but also social impact. Partly because of this, this is a region where people like to live, work and play."

Getting to work yourself

During Tilburg University Challenge, Daniel Gelsing learned an important lesson, namely: don't fall in love with your idea. With joy in his eyes, "If you have thought of something, you quickly think: we have solved the problem. Surely everyone wants to invest in this? Until you get sharp questions from more experienced people, as was the case during the challenge. Then you suddenly think: hey, we haven't thought about this very carefully yet." Business Developer Richard Heesen nods affirmatively. From Midpoint Brabant, he guides start-ups. Also during the challenge, Richard Heesen is available as a coach and sparring partner for the students. "They have to get to work themselves. They have to pull the cart. That is entrepreneurship," he says. From Midpoint Brabant he can help by linking the start-up to market parties, such as a launching customer or the Brabant start-up organization Braventure. Finding financing is also supported. "But then the idea, the plan must already be good in the basics. And there must also be the will to constantly validate, adjust, and test again. It's very much about self-responsibility. Students must first have a sense of hey, this is what it's all about."

How was that for Anouk and Daniel? They won the Challenge with a plan for a sustainable, healthy drink, only to now end up with local, eco-friendly production of Erythritol. "The values we started with remained the same. But the plan itself has changed. And that's a good thing. If you stick to your first idea then the chances of it really becoming a success are very small."

Fail safely

"The challenge is a good way to work with plans in a focused, structured way and within a clear time frame." Speaking is Edward van de Pol, responsible for strategy around entrepreneurship, among other things, at Tilburg University. "A kind of community emerges. Not only of partners or companies from the region but also of students from other studies who could possibly bring their expertise and knowledge to a team's plan. So it becomes a multidisciplinary approach."

Innovative solutions to societal challenges: that's what we need students for, Edward continues. They are less inhibited by experience, and really dare to think in different directions. "The Challenge provides an environment to experiment and try out in a safe way. That something fails is also part of it. And that's possible here. You get answers you might not be looking for. You don't want to hear that maybe your idea should be different, making it a better fit for your purpose or target audience. That's also part of entrepreneurship. So you have to dare to be vulnerable. In the end, that will only make your idea better."

Basic conditions arranged

For successful entrepreneurship - besides a good idea and entrepreneurial skills - certain prerequisites are also indispensable. Where do you locate your company, for example? And are there sufficient parties present who can support you financially?

support? In that sense, the broad spectrum of partners committed to the Tilburg University Challenge is impressive. During the competition, students can contact Midpoint Brabant, the Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij, and the municipality of Tilburg, among others. The jury includes the province of North Brabant (Martijn Gruijthuijsen), Midpoint Brabant (Ralf Daggers), Rabobank (Lilian Damen-Evers), and the BOM (Brigit van Dijk - van de Reijt).

Teunis van der Hofstad, who won in the 2020 Business Ready category with his company Dmyzer, got into the Incubator of IQONIC (Tilburg University's entrepreneurship program) through the Challenge. "Getting a kick in the butt," Teunis says with a broad smile about what prompted him to apply for the Challenge. "If you don't talk to anyone, your idea remains just an idea."

Data is becoming increasingly important for companies, Teunis and his companions saw after graduating. But SMEs often don't have access to it. What if we could get their data to a flexible shell of students and data scientists in a secure way, so they could get to work on these companies' issues? That's basically the idea behind their company. And things are going well for Dmyzer. An initial pilot with two larger companies will start in September 2022 to create volume and best practices in advance. "We kept that talking and reflecting in after the Challenge," Teunis says. Once in a while, they sit down with their coach Karen Lanning. They also spar with other entrepreneurs and partners during IQONIC's networking events. "It is so important to regularly check whether you are still on the right track. You can't manage that by yourself. Someone who is not involved in your project is much better able to ask those critical questions. That only makes the plan better."

Strengthen the region

Of course, businesses always arise, even without such competition. Just look at Freek van Litsenburg, who had already set up his company Bigger Picture Clothing - sustainably produced clothing that allows you to support a good cause through purchase - well before the Challenge. Through his participation in the contest - he won in the 2021 Business Ready category - he built a network that he can still fall back on today, he says. "I run the business on my own. As a result, sometimes I feel the need to spar with someone else. I now have so many valuable contacts at the university, through the challenge and through LinkedIn that I can just call for a cup of coffee. That is incredibly valuable to me."

With the Tilburg University Challenge, the university and partners are making entrepreneurship accessible to a larger group of young entrepreneurs. By lowering barriers, providing a network, and making opportunities accessible. Even for those who find the first step exciting, who do not see themselves as entrepreneurs, or for ideas that are still in their infancy. Edward van de Pol: "The challenge gives these kinds of plans a boost. It sparks something that might otherwise remain untouched."

There is not only an interest for the students. For companies in the region, the Challenge means connecting them with fresh thinkers, and brainpower they can put to good use. By working together to create and maintain an open and accessible ecosystem, those talents stick around. And that, in turn, is good for the business climate in the region. Plus: students get to know your company, in a cool, substantive way. Former winner Daniel Gelsing: "As a starting entrepreneur you quickly think that you mainly need money, but what matters most is knowledge, social capital, and an ecosystem that gets excited about your idea.

An ecosystem that gets excited about your idea. Through the Challenge, we built a network and knowledge of entrepreneurship that we still benefit from today."

This article came about through interviews with Lilian Damen-Evers (Cooperative Director Rabobank Tilburg and Surroundings), Edward van de Pol (Strategy Ecosystems & Entrepreneurship Tilburg University), Martijn Gruijthuijsen (Provincial Executive of North Brabant), Bas Kapitein (General Director Midpoint Brabant), Richard Heesen (Business Developer Midpoint Brabant), Bram van den Hoogen (Marketing Communications Manager BOM), Freek van Litsenburg (Bigger Picture Clothing), Daniel Gelsing (AnDa), Teunis van der Hofstad (Dmyzer) and Luc Lebens (Director Soapbox).