{"id":7061426,"date":"2026-09-19T21:12:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T21:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/angel-investor\/dutch-startup-changemakers-stefan-braam\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T21:12:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T21:12:34","slug":"dutch-startup-changemakers-stefan-braam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7061426","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Startup Changemakers: Stefan Braam"},"content":{"rendered":"


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We had a chat with Stefan Braam, the Startup incubation lead at <\/span>UtrechtInc<\/span><\/a>, an incubator for early-stage tech startups. UtrechtInc is the #10 university startup incubator worldwide, with a mission to connect scientists and entrepreneurs to the right people, skills and strategies to turn ideas into leading technology companies. Find out what Stefan loves about the startup world, which lessons for founders he shared with us and what he predicts for the Dutch ecosystem in the near future.
\"A<\/span>1. Hi Stefan, thank you for agreeing to do the interview. Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you entered the startup world?<\/b><\/p>\n

I started here in Utrecht and did an MBA. During my studies, I founded my startup with a couple of friends in the early 2000s. It wasn\u2019t even called a startup then. We had started a company where we wanted to make mobile phone numbers searchable for whoever wanted to be found on the internet. The company failed, but we had a lot of fun, we learned a lot. After a couple of months, we found out that we were a little bit too early to use the network effect that you need when starting an internet company. That was my first encounter with entrepreneurship, and I liked it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Later on, I joined the corporate world when I worked as a Digital Product Developer for bigger companies like KLM airlines and RTL media. One of my last roles was for a small energy company where they sent me to Silicon Valley to learn more about the Lean Startup methodology. I immediately thought this is the way I want to work. I was already familiar with that way of working from collaboration with technical developers. The scrum and agile way of working and applying the iterative approach to company building was very interesting to me. At the same time, I realised that it was never going to happen at that small company. They just weren\u2019t ready to take that step and to really become entrepreneurial. So I quit my job and found this great job at <\/span>UtrechtInc<\/span><\/a> three and a half years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. What\u2019s your mission as the Startup incubation lead at UtrechtInc<\/a>, an incubator for early-stage tech startups?<\/b><\/p>\n

UtrechtInc<\/span><\/a> has been here for the past ten years. We\u2019ve made many mistakes already, so by now, we know what works and what doesn\u2019t. Our mission is to create the best circumstances for startups to succeed. And also to fail. If you\u2019re bound to fail, we\u2019d rather have you fail quickly. If you compare us to maybe a greenhouse or literally an incubator and want to grow a tomato plant, perhaps we can take care of the right lighting, the right temperature, the proper moisture, etc. Our mission for the tomato plants is to grow as fast as possible, bearing as many tomatoes as possible. Of course, the plant will also grow outside of the greenhouse, but probably in the greenhouse, it will grow faster and bigger.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. What is it about tech startups that particularly attracts you, and how are you shaping the startup ecosystem in Utrecht?<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a bit of a nerd. So being surrounded by all these tech startups is really an attractive environment for me. And it\u2019s cool to work with people that say yes, by default, especially after many years of working in the corporate world, where everyone\u2019s standard answer is no.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What I think is really important about the ecosystem in Utrecht is that with all the networks and the other startups that we have here, the facilities and all the events, Utrecht is becoming more and more the obvious city for startups to go to for scalable technology and AI when it comes to health, education and sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Could you share the top 3 lessons for founders you learned over the years in the startup world?<\/b><\/p>\n