My vision for this podcast was always for it to be highly practical and operational, not just inspirational. This is why I’m pairing founder interviews with expert advisor interviews, who share knowledge and insights that are relevant to people building in Belgium. This episode really delivers. It’s jam packed with practical, local advice, 100% tailored to startup founders building in Belgium. Dups is a legal and financial advice firm specialised in startups. Their team, approach and pricing is founder-centric and it’s visible from this interview. Check it out to learn: Belgian specific dos and don’s for fundraising and exitsCommon mistakes seen in Belgian startup founders and how to avoid themImportant things to look out for in the term sheets, specific to Belgium And more...Check out their fundraising guide for a glossary of terms and for a structured, well-written read on the topic. 

In this episode I spoke with Rutger Bevers, founder and CEO of Conversation Starter, a matchmaking platform helping event participants and communities meet the right people and have meaningful 1-on-1 conversations. He's also co-founder of several communities, including Steward Owned and Long Term Society.Based in Antwerp, founded in 2015, Conversation Starter is a Belgian startup born before the ecosystem had the support network it has now.I found Rutger inspiring and impressive. I’ve heard people say that “Belgian founders aren’t ambitious enough”, but Rutger is deeply defying this stereotype. He started coding and teaching before he was even legally allowed to start a company. He has unstoppable ambition and high standards and it’s from these extremely high standards, that Conversation Starter was born. He built for Hasselt's first TEDx event, which Rutger co-organised, and the rest is history.We talked about the tricky balance between working on vs working in your company. Rutger shared how he’s navigating that shift today, hiring his first salesperson, raising new funding, and trying not to get stuck in day-to-day operations.We also explored why communities are moving away from social media and into smaller, curated spaces.ResourcesConversation StarterSteward Ownedimec.istart

SummaryIn this episode I spoke with Vincent Declercq, CEO and Co Founder of Dalton, a startup revolutionizing website optimization through AI. Vincent shares his journey from previous ventures to the inception of Dalton, emphasizing the importance of validation and learning from past mistakes. He discusses the appeal of marketing and growth hacking, the impact of competitive sports on his entrepreneurial spirit, and the significance of finding the right co-founders. The conversation delves into Dalton's innovative approach to website performance, including a case study showcasing impressive conversion rate improvements. Vincent also addresses the technical challenges of building the product, market positioning, and future directions, including pricing strategies and customer engagement.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Dalton and Its Vision01:23 The Journey to Dalton's Creation03:04 Lessons from Previous Ventures05:34 Vincent's Background and Interest in Marketing08:37 The Concept of Growth Hacking10:14 The Impact of Competitive Swimming on Vincent's Career13:34 Finding Co-Founders and Building the Team15:51 Product Overview and Case Study of Dexter21:17 The Technology Behind Dalton24:31 Challenges and Market Positioning27:22 Future Directions and Vision for Dalton30:34 Pricing and Customer Engagement

The startup in focus for this episode is Altheria and I spoke with two of its co-founders, Dimitra, the CEO and Can-David or CD, the Chief Design Officer.Altheria provides immersive virtual reality safety trainings for blue collar workers and its product is actually saving lives and limbs, keeping employees safe all over the world. They gave me a deep dive into their product and its evolution, from fun stories of people walking into each other in the early days to the real impact its having on the ground reducing accidents and increasing learning speed. We talked about what it means to be too early in a market and we ended with a candid discussion on the challenges of being a female leader in a male dominant sector.Link to the viral reddit thread mentioned

Episode SummaryIn this episode I spoke with Marte Greefs, CEO and Co-Founder of Go Ocean, a sister company of Go-Forest, of which Marta was the first employee. Each company is a small team of 2 or 3 people, with restoration partners all over the the world and big ambitions for the future. Go Ocean is on a mission to restore and improves the ocean’s health and biodiversity. They do this by offering  transparent and tangible restoration projects for companies to invest in, ranging from coral or mangrove restoration in the Global South to shellfish reefs and seagrass in our more northern waters. This helps companies compensate their CO₂-emissions, meet their sustainability goals, marketing and comms or even HR goals.I was deeply touched by the founding story behind Go Forest: a tragic event that led to a strong push for positive impact.Marte talked about the challenges of sales and fundraising as an impact business, some of the restoration projects they support, and them broader topics like when to move to an office what to delegate as a founder. She chose Go Forest over a role at the EU Commission (!) and she talked about what helped her make that decision.Founder help recommended by MarteGig and GrowNoaBelgium Startup Ecosystem (and Awards)Chapters00:00 Introduction to Go Ocean and Marte's Journey05:44 Navigating Career Choices: Startups vs. European Commission09:45 The Early Days at Go Forest14:03 Business Model of Go Ocean and Go Forest18:31 How to do Sales and Marketing as an Impact Business22:34 A Different Take on the Carbon Credits Market26:51 From Tragedy to Positive Impact: The Story Behind Go Forest31:21 Current Projects and Future Directions of Go Ocean32:54 Restoration Efforts and Challenges35:24 Building Partnerships for Marine Restoration36:05 Engaging Employees in Ocean Conservation39:13 The Journey to Finding an Office43:01 Aligning Values with Investors46:02 Support Systems for Startups