Build your company with imec.istart in The Netherlands

In collaboration with our partner Novel-T

What we do

Let's accelerate your business!

The world’s #1 business accelerator and the most entrepreneurial university of the Netherlands have joined forces. Imec.istart.nl offers tech startups - with their headquarters in the Netherlands - pre-seed funding (between 100.000 and up to 250.000 euro per startup,) and tailored support to succeed and grow globally.

We support and partner with the most ambitious pre-seed startups – often as their first investor. Imec.istart launched in 2021 in the Netherlands, but the program can count on many years of experience of both the imec.istart acceleration program in Belgium, and the business support of university incubator Novel-T.

Who are we looking for?

imec.istart The Netherlands welcomes startups who have a

Tech product (this can be software or hardware, deeptech or shallowtech)
Working proof of concept
Complementary founding team
Headquarters in the Netherlands

How it works

When joining the imec.istart Accelerator program in The Netherlands, you can expect the following:

Access to COACHING

Personal coaching by your Venture Acceleration Manager, a sparring partner and trusted contact on a day-to-day basis
A broad range of workshops and one-on-one follow-up tracks, given by topnotch experts
Our inhouse-developed Innovatrix, the tool to monitor your progress
A diverse network of 100+ experienced experts and mentors

Access to FINANCE

€100,000 pre-seed funding -divided in €50.000 for 6% equity and €50,000 as a convertible loan-, and you can apply for up to € 150.000 in extra investment (totalling €250.000) ;
A “funding need” assessment and financial scenario built to target and address the right investor type;
Present your solution and financial needs to our broad investor ecosystem, comprising over 100+ different investors and financiers in the Netherlands and abroad;
A financial roadmap for the next five years – with the right investments in mind – and become ‘investor ready’.

Access to TECHNOLOGY

Access to world-leading research and innovation institutes and hubs, for state of the art technology in the field of nanoelectronics, nano and bioscience, robotics, and digital technologies;
Easier access to the expertise and technology portfolio of over 5,000 bright minds from over 90 nationalities and numerous research partnerships with local and global players;
The opportunity to pitch your solution to a panel of judges of imec experts who will advise you on the most relevant technology, services, and knowledge.

Access to COMMUNITY

Establish long-term relationships and partnerships;
Around 300 startups providing you with the chance to share best practices, experiences, and the know-how to tackle specific problems;
Become part of our alumni network and continue to participate in specific programs and events;
A number of innovation services at a reduced price provided by our international partner network;
Support to expand internationally in a more advanced stage of your imec.istart.nl trajectory.

Access to TALENT

Support to find the right talents (both junior and senior) for internships, Expert-in-Residence roles, and vacancies;
Access to the Global Accelerator Network (GAN,) which is a network of independent start-up studios and accelerators around the world;
Support on the human aspects of entrepreneurship: create, strengthen and reinforce successful team dynamics, like shared leadership (vision, norms, cooperated goals), constructive conflict, and psychological saf

Access to REVENUE

Follow all the necessary steps to realize a successful product launch within different markets or regions, together with the imec.istart.nl coaches. Including product-market fit-gap analysis, market landscape analysis, barriers to market entry, etc.;
An international network – allowing you to connect with international partners and investors, attend the most interesting events, do business in specific target markets and attract your first international clients, and set up a remote office;
Soft-landing programs to gain relevant market insights and information and international deep-dive missions towards specific markets to enable market entry.

Access to COACHING

Personal coaching by your Venture Acceleration Manager, a sparring partner and trusted contact on a day-to-day basis
A broad range of workshops and one-on-one follow-up tracks, given by topnotch experts
Our inhouse-developed Innovatrix, the tool to monitor your progress
A diverse network of 100+ experienced experts and mentors

We'll let our alumni do the talking

Charlotte Kjellander is founder and CEO of Touchwaves, a deeptech startup aimed at smart textiles, printed electronics and integrated sensors to monitor key bio-signals like HR, HRV, BR, and SpO₂. Touchwaves is an alumni of our acclaimed business accelerator program. Charlotte shares her experience with the program in this video.

You'll be in good company

Some startups that have followed the imec.istart acceleration program in The Netherlands

View all startups

When can you join our program?

For the program in The Netherlands we launch 2 competitive calls of one month with the following starting dates:

The most interesting part of the imec.istart program for us is getting more knowledge, getting a new network, new customers, finding new partners with whom we could collaborate and of course get funding to make the next step with our startup.

Luuk Wiehink

EARN-E

Thanks to the accelerator program of imec.istart, the coaching of Novel-T and the help of business developer Tim de Kraker, we have grown from collaborations with two to eleven schools in no time at all.” In addition, a recent pilot has shown that students who use TeachBuddy achieve an average final grade that is half a point higher.