IS427:AY1314T1 Europe (G1) - Cities: Ghent (Post-Trip)

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Ghent, Belgium	Lille, France	Munich, Germany

Journal

We arrived at our first stop – Ghent, after a 12-hour long flight from Singapore to Frankfurt, a 1-hour transit to Brussels then a bus ride to our destination. For most of us, this is probably the first time stepping onto the soil of Europe. We were all hyped up and prepared for the wonderful experience over the next few days.

Ghent is a very small and ancient city of Belgium. Everyone commutes to work or play by mainly bicycles or even by foot. Private vehicles were very rare and it does not seem wise to own one in such a small city. We got a chance to tour the city on horse carriages as well as a river cruise tour to view the magnificent and marvel of old architectures. All the buildings looked very preserved and castle-like. And they surround the city centre which makes Ghent look like a little medieval city where knights and horseman belongs.

However, do not be tricked by this facade, Ghent is also a place for the foodies and drinkers. The lip smacking Belgium waffles and chocolates are heavenly! We were also introduced to the famous “nose” candy which was recommended by the tour guide during our walk around Ghent. This interesting candy, in the shape of a nose, could be kept for 2weeks! Other than these snacks, we were very privileged to be hosted by iMinds to lunch by the river at Lys and Scheldt which serves local cuisines such as stewed beef and pumpkin soup. These were just some of the many dishes that we have tasted. Furthermore, we even had free flow ribs in the evening for dinner! To top it off, bottles after bottles of red wine and jugs after jugs of beer teased our taste buds further. This small city really has many surprises.

The next day began early with a simple buffet breakfast at ibis. We gobbled down coffee as we hurriedly put the finishing touches on our slides. After breakfast, we took a tram ride and quickly found ourselves at iMinds’ office.

In the cosy Atari meeting room, Jan Coppens started off with a presentation of iMinds.

iMinds

iMinds is an independent research institute specialising in ICT within 5 application domains: Media, Health, Energy, Smart City and Manufacturing.

Under its incubation program, iMinds currently has over 50 startups. These startups mostly grow out from ideas and technologies developed under the iMinds research programmes. External idea owners are also welcomed. To facilitate this, iMinds actively carries out workshop to equip their researchers and external idea owners with the skills to recognise business opportunities.

Following the inception of the companies, iMinds continues to play a very active role. On top of the €50 to €500 granted to startups under under their preseed and seed funding, startups with iMinds also get access to coaching, facilities, networking and also internationalisation.

Following Jan Coppens’ talk, we had a lively discussion with each of the 9 founders. With Jan Coppen’s talk still fresh in our heads, we were able to see the role that iMinds played in shaping each company. This gave us a very valuable and insightful perspective.

Insights

Expansion strategies of startups are clearly influenced by iMinds’ direction

“Grow local, go global” is one of the emphasis of iMinds, and this has clearly shaped the direction of at least half the companies we studied. The notable ones are Twikit, Zeticon, Comsof and Tinkertouch, all of whom have made their first steps outside Europe. While most of them are only just starting out, we can definitely sense a strong commitment from the founders to further internationalise.

iMinds’ research-oriented approach leads to an overemphasis on product

A recurring point we noted was that the founders often placed more emphasis on the product, rather than the business. Zeticon’s founder noted that 80% of their staff are software developers. Similar sentiments were also shared by Enprove and Comsof. This characteristic likely follows from the fact that iMinds is first-and-foremost a research institute. Hence, it houses many startups which were initiated by the researchers. This results in a stronger technical aspect to the company, relative to their business (specifically, marketing) aspect.

Fast moving

Clearly evident is also the fast-moving and dynamic environment that the startups thrive in. Much to our surprise, a number of companies have taken on new directions, partnerships and even technologies since we last studied them. Enprove, for example, has moved into testing of meter-less monitoring system, a move that positions them at the forefront of energy monitoring technologies. Graphine has also revealed their recent move into the mobile gaming market.

Startup scene is still young in Ghent

Limited human capital. Home to a very young startup scene, we’ve also noticed that most of the startups in Ghent are greatly limited in manpower. I guess it was not much of a surprise that most startups revealed team sizes of less than 10. This was in sharp contrast to the companies we’ve visited in Munich.

Nature of startups in iMinds reflects the strength of the city’s talent pool

A unique strength of iMinds stems from the very fact that Ghent has 5 universities, offering a good mix of arts and science. This allows iMinds, and its startups, access to a huge pool of research and creative talents. This is evident from the creative angle often featured by the startups we saw. Twikit, for instance, considers themselves as much a creative company as it is a software company.

Startups

• Small Town Heroes
  • Bigger clients prefer a more complete solution

• Enprove
  • Target your competitors’ business rivals
  • Partnering locally with international firms could provide a safe path to internationalisation (Trade off: Passive approach with low control)

• Twikit
  • Customers are willing to pay more for customisability

• Zeticon
  • It’s hard to gauge and plan for the cost of a freemium business model

• TinkerTouch
  • A service company is always hard to scale (In the context of Ghent, a small country with limited and expensive human capital)

• Enprove
  • Universities are a good source for experimental and new technologies.

• Graphine
  • Geographical distance is a critical constraint when it comes to internationalisation
  • Clients prefer dealing with companies with a local presence

• Limecraft
  • A good product is not enough to tackle a market that is resistant to change

• Comsof
  • A well designed, technically-sound solution is prerequisite to scaling

Onward journey

Our time at Ghent concluded with the end of 8 company discussions, and very quickly, we were scooted off into a minibus onwards to Lille, France.

Take aways

• Entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ghent is still young
• Ghent has huge potential to become a unique startup hub
  • A fusion between creative hub and tech hub
  • Rebellious streak to challenge status quo
  • Strength of 5 universities
  • Collaborative initiatives convert research to business
  • Small geography & market compels startups to go global

Presentation Slides

You can retrieve a copy of our presentation slides here.