Smart and Sustainable: The batch #8 of Techleap.nl’s Rise programme is on an impact mission

Every entrepreneur’s journey is riddled with challenges. Be it formulating the market fit idea, finding the right method of financing, or building the best team, but one challenge that could reign supreme is finding the right support.

Over the years, we have seen entrepreneurs and business leaders turn to other experts in their field to seek guidance. Mark Zuckerberg famously turned to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Paul Graham of The Washington Post for advice. When Satya Nadella was chosen as only the third CEO of Microsoft, he shadowed Netflix chief Reed Hastings to learn the art of management.

While big corporations and billionaire startup founders might have it easy to find support, it is not always easy for many startups and scaleups. If you are a scaleup in the Netherlands then your best option is Techleap.nl‘s Rise programme.

Techleap.nl Rise Programme: what you need to know?

Formerly called StartupDelta, Techleap.nl is a publicly funded non-profit organisation that aims to accelerate the startup ecosystem in the Netherlands. Each year, the organisation selects some of the fast growing Dutch startups for its Rise programme, which acts as a vehicle to build connection and access mentorship.

The claim to fame here is that Techleap.nl gives the selected startups and scaleups the “best” learning and network infrastructure. The scaleups joining the Rise programme get access to leading experts, networks, and resources to learn from the best Dutch entrepreneurs.

Whether a scaleup is trying to go for a funding round or struggling with leadership, the Rise programme aims to be a one stop solution to all the challenges. More than anything, the Rise programme literally puts these selected scaleups in the radar of global investors and brings attention they wouldn’t have otherwise.

In August, Techleap.nl announced the names of nine scaleups that are joining the batch #8 of its Rise programme. Over the next two months, Silicon Canals will bring exclusive interviews with these nine scaleups looking at their journey, their learnings from being part of Rise programme, and their stated goal to disrupt the business they are operating in.

These scaleups are being dubbed as disruptors by Techleap.nl and it is visible from the work that they are doing in their respective fields. From child care and sleep improvement to AI-driven farming and sustainable delivery services, the batch #8 of the Rise programme stands out in every possible way.

Tjarda Voorneman, Lead, Techleap.nl Rise Programme, says, “We are very happy to welcome 9 very ambitious companies to batch #8 of the Rise programme. An exclusive scaling programme that will facilitate them to share insights and learn from other leading Dutch entrepreneurs. This way, we ensure that their process of scaling is accelerated and their network is expanded.”

Sustainability on my mind

The Dutch startup ecosystem is one of the most impactful in the world. In the past few years, we have seen a number of Dutch entrepreneurs build truly impactful startups. The batch #8 of Techleap.nl’s Rise programme highlights these impact startups/scaleups that are also disruptors in their own way.

The first such scaleup is Trunkrs, which aims to turn same day and next day delivery services into a planet friendly solution. In our quest to get online orders on the same day or next day, we often fail to notice the immediate impact on our planet. Trunkrs wants to change that by combining cutting-edge IT solutions with existing resources.

Like startups that have been part of Rise programme before, Trunkrs is also obsessed with delivering a premium customer experience but does so without any compromise on its commitment to sustainability. It plans to have a fully electrified delivery network by the end of 2022 and its ability to optimise the last mile will do good to protect people and the planet.

Like Trunkrs, Connecterra is also on a mission to use technology to enable sustainable farming. Dedicated to empower farmers, the scaleup is using technology to help farmers streamline their operations and thus reducing the industry’s impact on the planet.

At the heart of Connecterra’s tech stack is artificial intelligence software called ida, which is being used in 18 countries across the globe. Being used by some of the world’s leading dairy brands, ida helps “users identify key issues, recommends data-driven solutions, and supports a transition to more sustainable farming.

Care takes centre stage

Another salient theme with Techleap.nl batch #8 of Rise programme is the focus on scaleups on care. Care is a broad term that can apply to a lot of things but we don’t necessarily talk about disruption in the child care space. Sitly wants to change that by revolutionising the way people approach childcare.

The scaleup has built a marketplace that connects families, nannies, and babysitters in 14 countries across the globe. Sitly’s mission comes from a deep understanding of the child care needs of parents around the world. Designed by parents for parents, Sitly has now become one of the world’s largest child care databases and has more than 7 million registered users.

One of the areas that people have started caring deeply about recently is their sleep. Somnox, a Dutch scaleup, wants to help 100 million people around the world achieve better sleep by 2030. The scaleup has built a huggable device that relies on patented technology leveraging biofeedback and breathwork to offer better sleep.

As a sleep companion, Somnox helps people get better night’s sleep by using controlled breathing to reduce stress, lower heart rate, and calm the body and mind. At a time when tech giants like Apple are focusing on sleep as a major health metric, Somnox could be onto delivering a really impactful service to humans.

Champions of Smart Functions

We all live in this hyper-connected world where everything around us is smart including humans. With our homes and all the appliances becoming smart, people are finding it difficult to control and connect with them.

Homey aims to solve that with its technology capable of controlling, automating, and monitoring all household wireless and smart devices. Athom, the mastermind behind Homey, has built the technology to work with smart devices regardless of brand using a single, easy-to-use hub. The smart functionality also extends to the free app, which allows users to connect anything from doorbells and lights to locks and thermostats.

Can you bring smart functionality to the supply chain industry? RTI Blockchain will not only nod to yes but is also demonstrating how it is possible. The scaleup has built an online infrastructure that connects all the partners in the supply chain of load carrier registration across the globe.

The infrastructure includes everyone from suppliers and poolers to shippers, receivers, and other relevant parties. The cleverness of RTI Blockchain’s infrastructure comes alive via a simple automated dashboard where the registration of load carrier transactions becomes as seamless as managing online banking.

Commitment to the future

Samotics, Delmic, and Winc Academy are impact startups doing valuable work for the future. Samotics is fighting energy waste and unplanned downtime of global industrial companies using an AI-driven platform. The platform enables real-time monitoring of energy consumption and equipment to deliver actionable advice.

It also offers a health monitoring system that can prevent equipment failure months in advance. Delmic, on the other hand, is making microscopy solutions accessible across life science, geology, materials science, and nanophotonics. The technology is designed to be greener and user-friendly for light and electron microscopy.

All of this culminates at the need for tech education to scale the technology available to us and build newer technology. Winc Academy wants to solve one of the challenges in this space by offering a flexible approach to tech education.

Through courses that can be completed on a remote basis and at the pace suiting each individual, Winc Academy helps anyone build a career in the tech industry. With its courses built around the latest practical skills that tech employers are looking for when hiring, Winc Academy is definitely looking to change the course of online tech education