Riding the Storm: Philip Hess (Senz Umbrellas) on Innovation and Resilience in Entrepreneurship

Building hands-free charging solutions for the Autonomous Vehicle Revolution with ROCSYS CEO Crijn Bouman

Crijn Bouman is a pioneer in EV charging. In 2005 - long before EVs were a hype - he co-founded Epyon, one of Europe’s first fast-charging startups. That company later sold to ABB, where he grew their EV charging business in over 50 countries. In 2019, he founded Rocsys, making EV charging fully autonomous through a smart combination of Computer Vision, Soft Robotics and AI. With offices in the Netherlands and Portland, Rocsys serves fleet operators: From automated trucks in the port of Rotterdam to robotaxis in the streets of San Francisco. He’s a man on a mission — and if all goes to plan, one day he’ll fall asleep in a robotaxi in Rijswijk and wake up in St. Tropez. In this episode, we'll talk about: * Picking the right niche to serve a future market; * Selling your startup to a corporate…  and coming back for round two. * How to build a team across two continents, to scale in Europe and the US Links mentioned: * People: Crijn Bouman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/crijn-bouman-01103a1/], Hans Streng [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhstreng/?originalSubdomain=nl], Ras Lalmy [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalmy/], Parya Lotfi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paryalotfi/], Herbert ten Have [https://www.linkedin.com/in/herberttenhave/], Job Nijs [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jobnijs/] * Companies: ROCSYS [https://www.rocsys.com/], EPYON [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epyon], ABB [https://new.abb.com/benelux], TU Delft [https://www.tudelft.nl/], Source [https://www.source.ag/], Meatable [https://www.meatable.com/], Revolut [https://www.revolut.com/], Ampelmann [https://www.ampelmann.nl/], Rivion [https://www.rivion.nl/] * Books: Clayton Christensen - Innovators Dilemma [https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/the-innovator-s-dilemma/9200000046029289/?Referrer=ADVNLGOO002008N-S--9200000046029289-PMAX-C-19783161832&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm7q-BhDRARIsACD6-fWWbZ6_14lkkwSzyy_VlVM7aAIraha9ZxxyhsuwFkj1TdpniN1dsUkaAklTEALw_wcB], James Collins - Good to grade [https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/good-to-great/1001004009058329/?Referrer=ADVNLGOO002008N-S--1001004009058329-PMAX-C-19783161832&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm7q-BhDRARIsACD6-fVIDHN6W8GLVjYB5L6UWg8YtjWVPUNIs0LJ7BWVnlolTg1s2jhMxMEaAsFBEALw_wcB], Andrew Growth - High Output Management [https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/f/high-output-management/9300000039745556/]  * Other: www.hackyourcareer.com [http://www.hackyourcareer.com], Daft Punk - Giorgio by Moroder  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhl-Cs1-sG4]

Turning CO₂ into future-proof building materials - with Marta Sjögren from Paebbl

Marta spent over a decade backing startups as a VC. Now, she’s on the other side of the table, scaling Paebbl across Europe - balancing deep-tech innovation, manufacturing at scale, and a fast-growing team. She’s building a company that could change the way we build the world. A serial migrant, obsessed with frameworks, and here to share her story. In this conversation, we’ll cover Martha's journey: * What did she learn going from investor to founder?  * What’s it really like scaling a deep-tech startup that has to build factories instead of just writing code? * And… why did she ignore investors who told her co-CEOs don’t work?  Links mentioned: * People: Marta Sjogren [https://www.linkedin.com/in/martassjogren/], Andreas Saari [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreassaari/], Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau [https://www.linkedin.com/in/constantijn-van-oranje-nassau-0280b38/], Pol Knops [https://www.linkedin.com/in/polknops/] * Companies: Paebbl [https://paebbl.com/], Techleap [https://techleap.nl/], Slush [https://slush.org/], Upstream Festival [https://www.upstreamfestival.com/] * Other: Finder [https://app.dealroom.co/companies/paebbl], Paebbl Showcase [https://youtu.be/PqTyRuZbmsQ?si=Nf5wWAaIE6iieRo6], Oura ring, [https://ouraring.com/]Vacancies at Paebbl [https://careers.paebbl.com/jobs],  Queen - Under Pressure [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I]

Crafting safe digital habits for the next generation with Marjolein van Tilburg

Marjolein is a driving force for digital well-being and responsible tech. In 2022, she left a successful career as a lawyer, mediator, and privacy expert to launch ChatLicense, helping families navigate responsible use of smartphones. What started as a simple idea quickly became a fast-growing company, blending digital literacy with real-world impact. From pitching a wireframe at CES to winning startup competitions from Rotterdam to Silicon Valley, ChatLicense has built serious momentum.  Today, with support from telco operators and local governments, parents and kids across the country use ChatLicense to build healthier digital habits. In this episode, we'll talk about: * Why we must educate kids on the use of smartphones * How to create your own luck through serendipity * The Dynamics of Co-Founders and Team Evolution Links mentioned: * People: Marjolein van Tilburg [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjoleinvantilburg/], Martine de Leeuw [https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinedeleeuw/], Marie-José van den Boomgaard [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-jos%C3%A9-van-den-boomgaard/], Marc Padberg [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcpadberg/], Liesje Goldschmidt [https://www.linkedin.com/in/liesje-goldschmidt-00745323/] * Companies: ChatLicense [https://chatlicense.com/], Microlab Rotterdam [https://www.microlab.nl/], Tekkoo [https://www.tekkoo.nl/] * Other: NL Startup Competition [https://www.erasmusenterprise.com/revealing-the-finalists-of-nl-startup-competition/], Upstream Festival [https://www.upstreamfestival.com/], Mobile World Congress Barcelona [https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/], Erasmus University Challenge [https://erasmusuniversitychallenge.nl/], Frank Sinatra - That’s Life [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnlPtaPxXfc]

Riding the Storm: Philip Hess (Senz Umbrellas) on Innovation and Resilience in Entrepreneurship

Philip co-founded Senz in 2005 with two fellow students. Together they created the 'original storm umbrella' that - pun intended - took the world by storm.  Later on, Philip joined sleep startup Somnox and coached scale-up founders to implement Rockefeller Habits. With his latest venture - Rotterdam Factoring - he is on a mission to become the largest factoring company in the Netherlands, with no more than 10 people on staff. In this episode, we'll cover: * How an innovative storm umbrella - took the world by storm;  * Rockefeller Habits as a framework for growth * How to become a Market Leader with no more than 10 employees Links mentioned: * People: Philip Hess [https://www.linkedin.com/in/philiphess/], Julian Jagtenberg [https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianjagtenberg/], Verne Harnish [https://www.linkedin.com/in/verneharnish/], Erik Rutten [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-rutten-1484574/], Lieke Huisinga [https://www.linkedin.com/in/liekehuisinga/] * Companies:  Senz [https://www.senz.com/], Philips Innovation Awards [https://www.phia.nl/], Somnox [https://start.somnox.com/], Rotterdam Factoring [https://rotterdamfactoring.nl/], KNAB Bank [https://www.knab.nl/zakelijk] * Other: Rockefeller Habits [https://www.monkhouseandcompany.com/guides-resources/what-are-the-rockefeller-habits-and-why-use-them/], OnlyFans Productivity per Employee [https://allwork.space/2024/10/how-are-onlyfans-employees-raking-in-more-revenue-than-employees-at-apple-google-and-microsoft/#:~:text=OnlyFans%20generates%20significantly%20higher%20revenue,28%20times%20higher%20than%20Microsoft's.] * Media: Opgezwolle - Volle Kracht [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZJBJkIZ8c]

Revolutionizing Nuclear Energy: Thorizons' Kiki Lauwers on Molten Salt Reactors and Sustainable Innovation

Kiki leads Thorizon, a revolutionary deeptech company backed by the EU, creating thorium-based molten salt reactors. Thorizon was founded by Lucas Pool and Sander de Groot as a spin-off from the national nuclear research institute of the Netherlands. In 2023, Kiki bemame the CEO. With an Aerospace Engineering degree from TU Delft and an MBA from INSEAD, her journey spans McKinsey, Bol.com, and now the ambitious goal of launching Thorizon’s first reactor. In this episode, we'll talk about: * Kiki’s leap from corporate to leading a nuclear energy scale-up, * The potential of molten salt reactors in changing nuclear perceptions, * The highs and lows of partnerships, funding, and the “nuclear renaissance.” Links mentioned: * People: Kiki Lauwers [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kikilauwers/], Lucas Pool [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasmpool/], Sander de Groot [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanderdegroot1/], Andrew Buskens [https://www.linkedin.com/in/buskens/?originalSubdomain=nl], Nima Salami [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nima-salami/], Jos Lazet [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joslazet/], Daan Giesen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/daangiesen/], Rinke Zonneveld [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rinkezonneveld/] * Companies: Thorizon [https://thorizon.com/], Bol.com [http://bol.com], McKinsey [https://www.mckinsey.com/nl/overview], OasysNow [https://www.oasysnow.com/], Blockrise [https://www.blockrise.com/nl], LessonUp [https://www.lessonup.com/site/nl], InvestNL [https://www.invest-nl.nl/] * Media: EU endorsement Thorizon One molten salt reactor [https://thorizon.com/news/60/thorizon-one-molten-salt-reactor-endorsed-by-eu] * Other: Slush Helsinki [https://slush.org/], European Alliance on Small Modular Reactors [https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/industrial-alliances/european-industrial-alliance-small-modular-reactors_en], Careers at Thorizon [https://thorizon.com/careers], Hackyourcareer.com [http://hackyourcareer.com], DJ F.R.A.N.K. - The One and Only [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHsx01mUhO0]