As RBR discovered earlier this summer, the Dutch have an innate penchant for problem solving which has translated into a booming technology industry. Eindhoven, the mechatronics mecca in the southern Netherlands, is known as the ?Brainport? and one of the seven best new global cities for startups. And now it?s home to another stroke of Dutch ingenuity: High Tech XL.
An expansion of the already popular Startupbootcamp accelerator network, High Tech XL is a new startup development program co-funded by VC firm Dutch Expansion Capital and global accounting firm Ernst & Young. But unlike the majority of programs focused on software development, High Tech XL is joining the ranks of the few, the promising?the hardware bootcamps.
The idea for the new program came from Dutch Expansion Capital upon realizing it was giving the same advice, over and over, to hardware startups. Recognizing several universal issues facing these businesses, DEC wanted to streamline the solution. Rather than mentoring on a case by case basis, why not develop an accelerator program to assist several companies at once? So, DEC partnered with a Big Four accounting firm and one of the largest global accelerator networks, and centered the new program in the heart of Brainport, the High Tech Campus.
High Tech XL is currently searching for its ten inaugural teams to come to headquarters on Campus for two 3-month rounds of mentoring. Where the teams come from doesn?t matter?the startup search is global?but where they?re going (both literally and figuratively) does.
Ideally, the program is looking for solid teams of two to four people with complementary skills, both technical and commercial. Also desirable is a disruptive technology with a prototype or proof of principle, though lacking a tangible product shouldn?t discourage potential applicants.
The specific areas High Tech XL is looking at within the high tech hardware universe include startups advancing the Internet of Things/M2M; the semiconductor industry; advanced robotics, advanced materials (like graphene); med-tech and autonomous vehicles. The High Tech Campus will serve the accelerator?s hardware-driven startups, as the area is already home to several international high tech companies, including Philips.
Originally, the Campus belonged solely to Philips and housed 3,000 researchers, but in its transition, the population has grown to 9,000 of the brightest research and development minds from 250 companies. What makes the Campus ideal for a hardware accelerator is the collaborative community, in which ideas are less a company?s property and more a think tank?s creation.
This is how High Tech XL plans to overcome the challenges limiting hardware startups. One of the hardest tasks?making connections with the ?right people??is subverted by nature of the Startupbootcamp method of community interaction. Through the course of the program, startups will work with 110 mentors (hopefully 150 by the program start date), and have the opportunity to pitch their products to over 200 investors for funding.
The other major difficulties hardware startups face are, unsurprisingly, financial. Without enough initial capital, entering the market is nearly impossible. And further, most startups don?t account for supply chain scalability to keep up with product demands.
?We saw all those mistakes? and we thought you?ll have a much stronger and better company if you have all those from the start,? said Bart Lugard, Head of Team Selection at Startupbootcamp HighTechXL. ?A good supply chain, improved connections, you bring in the right people, the right methods and you have people behind who can fund it [rather than having to boostrap] that can give you the capital needed for market entry then you have a really nice mix for building a ?startup on steroids?.?
While High Tech XL isn?t providing additional funding for its startups, the exposure they?ve assembled for the ten teams could result in very serious investment offers. Knowing the VCs interested in the program, High Tech XL is looking mostly for startups with a projected capital between $668,000 and $3.4 million. Each team will also receive about $20,000 toward living expenses.
So if you?re a hardware startup, or know someone who is, and haven?t heard of High Tech XL, listen up. The submission deadline is coming soon?October 1, 2013. Send in your application, or get in line for the Open Skype Pitch Days coming up August 29th and September 3rd.
Just bear in mind, the Dutch take their innovation seriously. Indien gij iets doet, doe het dan goed. If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well. And by well, High Tech XL means full-time, high intensity efforts from every member of the team. It is an accelerator, after all.
