Nearly three hundred alumni were present in the Blauwe Zaal yesterday when the 400K investment was announced. This announcement was made by Wim van de Donk, rector and president of the Executive Board in Tilburg, TU/e rector Frank Baaijens and Marc Jansen, director of Capital BOM (Brabant Development Agency).

BOM will contribute 200K and both universities will each contribute 100K. The Tilburg contribution comes from the Starterslift Investments fund, of which, in addition to the university, Avans University of Applied Sciences and Breda University of Applied Sciences are shareholders. With this investment, the institutions and BOM want to support the importance of student startups in the region and set a good example that others may follow. 

Milestone

The investment marks an important milestone for student fund Round One Ventures, which has so far attracted mainly private investors. The aim of the fund is to raise an amount of 2.5 million euros. With the money they invest in student startups in an early phase. "We are extremely proud that the universities, where we started our own studies, believe in our mission," says co-founder and chairman of Round One Jur van Bergen. Van Bergen is working on his master's degree in Finance at Tilburg University. "Our goal with the creation of the fund is to bring innovation, conceived in the lecture rooms, to reality. We do this by helping the young entrepreneurs with financing, networking and guidance."

For the participating educational institutions, valorisation, or making an impact by using knowledge for social issues, is a third legal task in addition to education and research. Alumni of these institutions can use their knowledge, experience and networks to make a major contribution to ambitious students who shape the economy of the future with startups.

That was the reason for bringing together the enterprising alumni networks of both universities last night in the Auditorium. During the evening there was room for the exchange of knowledge, discussion and the possibility of networking. This first edition, which took place at TU/e, will be continued at Tilburg University in 2024.