Eindhoven tech leaders open the gate to startup success

Several of Eindhoven’s technology leaders are joining forces to help tech startups get off on the right foot. Collaborators including Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE), Brainport Development, the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), Fontys University of Applied Sciences and Summa College are teaming up to create a new tech startup support center, known as The Gate. Their goal: to help give the increasing number of entrepreneurial researchers, students and other tech starters from the region an optimal start in the launch of their businesses.

According to the signed MoU, TUE will contribute its business development division to The Gate. This will be supplemented with business developers from BOM and Brainport Development. The latter will also contribute a communication budget of almost 400,000 euros. In addition, BOM is contributing via a new revolving fund of at least 500,000 euros. This is for funding of companies during the very early startup phase, at which point commercial investors will not yet get involved due to the high-risk profile. Startups can use this to finance feasibility studies, for instance. Fontys and Summa both provide links to their own Center for Entrepreneurship, and Fontys makes expert student capacity available to the tech startups. The Gate will be located in the startup hub Alpha on the TUE campus.

“Startups are increasingly important for innovation and economic progress but also for solutions in areas such as health and sustainability,” says TUE president Robert-Jan Smits. “We strongly encourage our researchers and students to be entrepreneurial. Clear and accessible support is a natural part of this to optimize the chances that solutions actually reach the market. And this applies just as much to smart ideas that arise in the other knowledge institutions in the region.”