Thinking like a startup: Tomorrow better than today

Startups and scale-ups play a key role in Breda’s economic profile. Their agility and speed bring the innovation that is needed. “You need those speedboats alongside the oil tanker,” says REWIN director Stephanie ter Borg. “If we let things drift, we won’t make any progress. Breda will then become economically vulnerable.”

According to Stephanie, there is plenty of entrepreneurship in the region, but sometimes a sense of urgency is lacking. “It’s nice and friendly here, but without investing in innovation and knowledge transfer, we won’t be able to afford that friendliness in the future. With the Innovation District, the city has made clear choices. Now it’s time to follow through, otherwise we’ll miss out on talent and businesses.”

Matthijs Hut, Startup & Scale-up programme manager at REWIN and responsible for the incubator and B’WISE’s programme, sees every day how the ecosystem works. “For the incubator, we select at the door: anyone who comes in here must fit the DNA of the place. That means entrepreneurs strengthen one another. Our role is to ensure that the conditions for success are better tomorrow than they are today.” B’WISE’s programme is crucial in this regard. “A workspace alone is not enough. It’s about guidance, funding and building a community. Only then are you relevant.”

A telling example is No Waste Army, which is fighting food waste from the incubator together with Boerschappen. “They make use of our programme, interns from Breda work there, and they are already having a nationwide impact,” says Matthijs. “That shows how a strong ecosystem can work.” Breda Robotics, a hybrid learning environment, experience centre and knowledge platform focused on robotics, proves that too. “It wasn’t conceived at a drawing board, but emerged from companies, education and government working together. The choice of focus areas is a huge help in this respect. It shows what we’re good at, so that you attract the right parties,” says Stephanie.

According to them, the challenge lies in showing courage and taking risks. “We teach startups to dare to make decisions based on 70% of the information,” says Matthijs. “Don’t wait until everything is certain. The same applies to the Innovation District: think like a startup. If everything succeeds, you’re not ambitious enough. You can choose that, but given the potential here, that would be a shame.”

What can the Innovation District deliver in concrete terms? Stephanie paints a picture of a ribbon of innovation: “First, you come across students with an idea, then a startup in a small office, further along a scale-up and a corporate with an innovation department. And eventually, a company that breaks through globally. You literally walk among them and see it happening. That is the strength of a thriving ecosystem.”