Entrepreneurship

“Without new tech companies, the Netherlands cannot be strong.”

– Vincent Karremans

Last week, YES!Delft celebrated its 20th anniversary. The event was graced by several prominent figures, including Prince Constantijn, an advocate for tech start-ups since 2006, and Vincent Karremans, the freshly appointed Minister of Economic Affairs. Most important, however, were all the entrepreneurs who studied at TU Delft and founded remarkable tech companies. I talked to Jan van der Tempel and David Cerda Saltzmann of Ampelmann, Eline van Beest of Night Balance, Eliane Khoury of VFA Solutions, and Menno Gravemaker of Momo Medical. There were many others present as well, but these TU Delft alumni  are particularly dear to me because they took entrepreneurship classes at the Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship (DCE).

Vincent Karremans, himself a former student-entrepreneur and alumnus of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), recently published a book called Student Entrepreneur. The subtitle of his book reflects the typical Rotterdam approach to entrepreneurship: How to build a successful company without experience, network, or money. No education necessary, no business plan, just go for it. Just do it!

That might work for EUR start-up ideas such as importing shirts from China, or launching a website to connect employers and students, but it does not work for the technological entrepreneurship we pursue at TU Delft. As the Deep Tech Fund noted, we need “knowledge-intensive start-ups and scale-ups in sectors such as photonics, quantum technology, nanotech, and high tech to strengthen the technological expertise and international competitive position of the Netherlands”.

A frequently-asked question is whether entrepreneurship can be taught. I usually compare it to composing music. At a conservatory of music, you acquire the essential skills for composition: counterpoint, harmony, instrumentation, orchestration. You cannot expect to deliver the next Beethoven, but you can teach the necessary skills to someone with the creative gift to become the next Beethoven. Beethoven himself studied under composers such as Haydn and Salieri.

Just as babies are not delivered by storks, start-ups don’t appear out of thin air

The same applies to entrepreneurship. The DCE offers a wide range of entrepreneurship courses. We might not produce the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, but we teach enterprising students the essential skills for technological entrepreneurship. The inimitable Bill Aulet, Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, explains it crystal clearly: “Entrepreneurship is something that can be taught – and is taught at MIT, and other institutions – and there are processes you can follow, a framework you can create […] It just requires a significant amount of discipline.” The Just do it! mentality does not build new tech companies. You need the spirit of a pirate and the discipline of a Navy SEAL.

YES!Delft is an excellent incubator. Young start-ups are nurtured there so they can grow into strong companies. But just as babies are not delivered by storks, start-ups don’t appear out of thin air. Something essential precedes the birth of a baby or a start-up: conception. Many start-ups at YES!Delft have their roots in the entrepreneurship education provided by DCE. TU Delft should really cherish that.