The Netherlands launches Techleap.nl Rise, the showcase for future unicorns

The Netherlands, under the Techleap.nl-program, has officially launched Techleap.nl Rise. With this ambitious programme, Techleap.nl and top entrepreneurs like Pieter van der Does (Adyen), Ali Niknam (bunq), Steven Schuurman (Elastic), Chris Hall (Bynder), Michiel Muller (Picnic) and Gillian Tans (Booking.com) are helping the most promising scale-ups in the Netherlands to grow faster internationally. Scale-ups participating in the first batch are: easee, Floryn, LTO Network, Mapiq, Nico.Lab, Online Payment Platform, Polarsteps, Quicargo, Starred and Wizenoze.

As part of the programme, the entrepreneurs will be put on the international map with corporates, investors and media. Founders are encouraged in groups of ten to fifteen participants to also learn from each other about the challenges of scaling up a company. They receive support and feedback from top Dutch entrepreneurs who share their own insights and lessons learned with the new batch of promising scale-ups. Every quarter Techleap.nl Rise will help a new group of entrepreneurs.

Two unicorns a year, best ecosystem in Europe
The aim of Techleap.nl Rise is to support the emergence and development of world champions in the technology sector, to become less dependent on technological solutions from other countries and to create a climate in which two unicorns per year can ‘rise’. By 2023, Techleap.nl Rise wants to have supported 250 promising scale-ups. The insights from the program will also be shared to further improve the tech-ecosystem in the Netherlands and to define bottlenecks and solutions for the growth challenges of scale-ups.
Strict selection

The criteria to participate are strict: a scale-up qualifies for the program if they meet the following criteria: currently €10M+ is being raised in a funding round or they are preparing to raise it with their next round (which has probably already been funded €1-5M); an annual turnover in excess of €1 million; more than 10 FTEs employed; at least 50% annual growth and a clear understanding of the product/service and the market they serve.

Gillian Tans, Chairwomen Booking.com: “The Techleap.nl Rise program allows me to give back the insights of my own scaleup journey with Booking.com to today’s most promising companies.”

Yves Prevoo, CEO easee: “We are extremely proud and enthusiastic that we have been selected for the first edition of this ambitious program. It is easee’s mission to provide everyone with access to better eye care, poor vision affects some 4.3 billion people worldwide. The current corona crisis has only made the need for e-health solutions such as easee even clearer. Demand for our technology has exploded and we expect that the top entrepreneurs involved in the Techleap Rise program will be able to help us further scale up internationally quickly and efficiently”.

Read more about Techleap Rise.