With the support of ScaleNL San Francisco – Holland in the Valley – the first edition of the program focused on one of the most essential innovation hubs in the world: Silicon Valley.
Through our local Dutch partners such as YesDelft!, Academic Startup Competition, Techleap, InvestNL, and Up!Rotterdam, we reached top tech companies from The Netherlands, a country known for its innovation spirit. After receiving over 130 applications, there were 2 rigorous selection rounds based on our US-NL community’s feedback and the insights of an independent Selection Board to select the 10 companies. It was a pleasure to announce the participation of Bits of Stock, Expivi, Givt, Lalaland, Momo Medical, Orbisk, Qlayers, Somnox, Syntho, Xinaps, and the scale up in residence, BOTS for this first edition.
With the help of local American institutions Boom Chicago, the US Embassy in The Netherlands and our partner Wilson Sonsini we kicked off the program early April. Every week the teams attended online expert sessions with US locals on topics like Fundraising in Silicon Valley, Hiring in the US, Defining a go-to-market for the US and Marketing to an American audience. These were often followed up with 1-1 time with the experts, so the startups could focus on their specific company challenges and questions. Founders were connected with US local Advisors that supported them regular with their own company challenges. And every week, a Founder with experience in bridging the US-NL gap would share their story and host an ask-me-anything for the cohort. The group also got together in person to take part in Fundraising Bootcamp at CIC Rotterdam: a 1-week intensive workshop to deep dive into the VC and investment world, taking charge of your fundraising strategy and honing the investor pitch to make the right first impression.
Finally, it was time to go to the US in person and get personally introduced to the local ecosystems in San Francisco & the Bay Area (known as Silicon Valley), and Los Angeles. Hosted by Silicon Valley Bank, the Consulate General of The Netherlands in San Francisco, NBSO LA and BioScienceLA the Founders were privy to the latest trends and frameworks, VC feedback pitches, curated networking events, and 1-1’s with the local ecosystem players relevant to them. Connections and mentorship were the goal, with each company gaining an average of 15 relevant long-term connections to their business.
To ensure that the nation-wide ScaleNL US community would get a chance to meet and support these teams, we finished off the program with the ScaleNL Accelerator Showcase.
After San Francisco and Los Angeles, there are 5 more key hubs in the US which ScaleNL is present in: New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami. We’ve just opened applications for the East Coast edition 2023, that will focus on New York City & Boston. Dutch startups can apply until September 23rd or learn more about the program here.
Thank you to the partners who have supported us this far, and who continue to support our mission going forward: asr insurances, Friesland Campina, Invest-NL, Palo Alto Networks, Rabobank, SelectUSA Investment Summit, Silicon Valley Bank, Taylor Wessing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Interested in becoming a US-based mentor? Apply to join the ScaleNL Ecosystem.