In its inaugural investment, Eindhoven’s Round One Ventures backs Dembrane’s knowledge management tool

Eindhoven-based Round One Ventures, a VC fund that invests in promising student startups, announced on Thursday, May 4, that it has invested in TU/e spin-off Dembrane. 

Dembrane represents a significant milestone for Round One Ventures, marking its inaugural venture into the world of startup funding. 

The announcement comes over a month after receiving funds from the VDL Group.

Dembrane: Next-gen participation tools

Founded by Jorim Theuns and Evelien Nieuwenburg, Dembrane is developing a technology to extract insights from structured dialogues.

With their proprietary methodology, the Dutch startup has developed a powerful tool that enables organisations to tap into the collective knowledge of their members, setting a new standard in knowledge management.

One of the primary advantages of Dembrane’s technology is its ability to eliminate the chaos associated with traditional methods of knowledge extraction, such as relying on post-it notes, enduring endless discussions, and experiencing data loss.

“Our technology pools the knowledge of all members of an organisation and connects a top-down vision with bottom-up needs,” says the founders.” 

Through the Dembrane technology, organisations can enhance stakeholder engagement, while facilitators can efficiently manage the entire process and leverage the wealth of data generated. 

Round One Ventures: Helping enterprising students

Round One is an initiative of student entrepreneurs from Eindhoven, Tilburg, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, supported by the Province of North Brabant. 

By investing early in young technology companies, Round One aims to improve the entrepreneurial climate for students. 

It makes the fund the first of its kind in the southern part of the Netherlands. 

“We are very much looking forward to working intensively with Evelien and Jorim, the founders of Dembrane,” says Jules de Bruin, Deal Flow director at Round One.

“From our first meeting, it became clear that there is an unabated and contagious enthusiasm within this company. When passion finds an equal in strategy, we are convinced that something beautiful can blossom,” adds de Bruin.

Over the next few years, the fund expects to invest more than €2M in student startups to boost the entrepreneurial climate among students.