Entrepreneurship support at
the University of Twente:
Acceleration of Growth
Dr. Aard J. Groen
Head of department Entrepreneurship, marketing, strategy
and international management
Scientific director NIKOS,
a.j.groen@utwente.nl
Presentation
• NIKOS
• Opportunities and results of spin off
program TOP from University of Twente
• Successes but also issues to solve
• Approach of design of support structure
• Firm level
• University level
• Q&A
Research
• Business Development
• TOP
• NENSI
• KEB
• Bepart
• Mephi
• Global starts
Research
Research
Business
Business
Development
Development
Support
Support
• Training & consultancy
• Market orientation HTSF
• KVGO/ VNO-NCW
• Rabo
• International consultancy
Entrepreneurship
in
networks
Training
Training
and
and
Consultancy
Consultancy
• The role of entrepreneurial networking
• University-Industry Interaction (ECIU)
• E-commerce in SME’s
• Global start ups
• Database of knowledge intensive firms
• Marie Curie Training site
• High Tech Small firm Conference
Teaching
Teaching
• Teaching
• Minor Entrepreneurship, international management
• High tech business development
• Msc Innovative Entrepreneurship & business
development
• ECIU Master Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Activitities in NIKOS
Forms of creating value in different
research types
Fundamental
Demonstrator
Integrator/
Applicator
Opportunity
Recognition
Publication or IPR
External 2 nd opinion on
technology
Incentive for inventor
Social culture
researchers
Proprietary IPR
Incentive for inventor
External 2nd opinion on
business aspects
Scouting for business
ideas
Market-pull and
product-based
technology
development
Seed money
Opportunity
Preparation
Role of technology in
value chain
Application for
grants/subsidy
(NWO, EU, STW)
Demolab feasibility
Business model
Market data
PMC
Spin-off creation (TOP)
Entrepreneurial process
Investors
Opportunity
Exploitation
Concept creation
(Industrial) scientific
networking
External
communication
(science,
education, society)
Business network
Business Development
Process
Business valuation of
technology
Licensing/Codevelopment with
industry (grants)
Incubator (labs, offices,
administration)
Science Park
Production and
commercialization
Management
multidisciplinarity
Valorization Process
Research Process
PMC
Nano, IT, Biomedtech and entrepreneurship research:
From fundamental to multidisciplinary work
Healthcare@UT
Healthcare@UT
MESA
embedded
systems
nanomedicine
CTIT
!
teleBusiness medicine
development &
Tech dynamics
BMTI
IGS-
NIKOS
The entrepreneurial process
Entrepreneur
Opportunity
recognition
Opportunity
development
Environment
Value
creation
Evolving
sociotechnical
landscapes
3
A patchwork
of regimes
2
Novel
“configurations
that work”
1
[1] Novelty, shaped by existing regime
[2] Evolves, is taken up, may modify regime
[3] Landscape is transformed
How to stimulate growth in high tech
based firms?
• Laissez faire, the invisible hand of the
market will do its work
• Governmental intervention, The visible
hand steers the region: e.g.transfer
state service organisations to the
region; or start an university
• Co-ordinate many visible hands by
building entrepreneurial networks on
micro level
Support throughout enterprise
genesis process
Organisation
Idea generation
Entrepreneurship
Network
TOP
ENT-Training
Coaching
Concept
development
Accelerator
Incubator
Technopark
development
Venture capital &
financing
Housing/facilities
(technopark)
organisational support (CI)
training,
courses,
networks
“Train the trainer”
Monitoring entrepreneurship development
What are the needs of an entrepreneur?
Scope:
Scope:
from
• Facilities
from
• Personel
idea
ideato
to
• Arrangements & Systems Strategy
Strategy
• Knowledge
Skills:
Skills:
Patterns
Patternsof
of
Organisation
Organisation
• Contacts with:
- clients
- suppliers
- experts
- colleagues
- support agents
• Ideas
• Assessing the opportunity
• Strategic processes
• Business plan
Entrepreneur
and
Enterprise
Social
Social
NetworkNetworkContacts
Contacts
Scale:
Scale:Economy:
Economy:
Financial
Financialmeans
means
• Own capital
• bridging development period
• Financing investments
- Venture Capital
- Loans
Support instruments
Scope:
Scope:
• Ideas
Strategic Coach
from
• Facilities
from
• Assessing the opportunity
Knowledge &
• Personel
idea
to
idea
to
Space
• Strategic processes
• Arrangements & Systems Strategy
Strategy
• Knowledge
• Business plan
Organisational
support
Entrepreneur
Scale:
Skills:
Scale:Economy:
Economy:
Skills:
andtraining & Financial
Coaching,
Patterns
of
Financialmeans
means
Patterns of
Enterprise
Courses
Organisation
Organisation
• Contacts with:
- clients
Contacts
- suppliers
- experts
Brokerage
- colleagues
- support agents
• Own capital
Social
Social • bridging development period
Soft loans
NetworkNetwork-• Financing investments
Capital
Contacts
Contacts - Ventureparticipation
- Loans
Spin off Companies University of
Twente
Economic results:
• 500 firms in TOP program (since 1985)
• Approx. 400 survived
• Total direct employment in region >
3000 fte
• Indirect employment ?
• Clustering: ICT, biomedical, process
technologies, nano (around Mesa+)
Issues
•
•
•
•
Spin offs are small (medium) sized
Growth is small
Distance to market  death valley
IP returns to University until now via direct
financing of research and infrastructure
• IP: patents are recently taken by UT: aim long
term growth of IP returns
• What about creating business in/with existing
firms?
Issues
• Market orientation versus technology orientation
• Operational effectiveness versus Strategic
flexibility
• Service or product / production
• Strategic partnering (TIMP)
• Management competencies
• Building of industrial networks
• Global arena
Factors explaining growth of high tech start ups
Scope:
Scope:
Balanced teams
from
Facilities
from
combining
idea
to
• Personel
idea
to
management,
Arrangements
Strategy
commercial& &Systems Strategy
Knowledge
technology skills
• Ideas
Growth ambition
• Assessing the opportunity
Strategic
based on
• Strategicfocus
processes
insights in T-M-O dynamics &
• Business plan
value creation
Entrepreneur
Skills:
Skills:
and
Patterns
of
Entrepreneurial
and
Patterns of
Enterprise
Organisation
orientation
Organisation market
Scale:
Scale:Economy:
Economy:
Financial
Financialmeans
means
• Own capital
• Contacts with:
Overcoming death valley
Strong connections with
Social
Social • bridging(time-to-market
- clients
development vs
period
market
(suppliers-clients)
Network- suppliers
Network• Financing
investments
investments)
through access
- experts
Contacts - Venture
Managing
strong & weak Contacts
to Capital
venture capital
- colleagues
ties (in business &
(Formal-informal investors)
- Loans
- support agents
academic world)
UT-Entrepreneurship Support
Structure: Innovation Lab Twente
• Decentralised into research institutes, accelerators
• Specialised business development support from
NIKOS and BCvB staff
• Market-academy connection via accelerators
(business developers) in the research institutes
• Utility sharing
• Venture capital network
• UT-strategy, focus on spearheads of research
(converging technologies: Nano-IT-biomed)
• At least 10-15% of academic staff involved in leading
the entrepreneurial activities
Incubators
Business & Technology Centre – BTC-Twente
Twente Life Sciences
Business Accelerator
Nanotech accelerator
Entrepreneurship in the curriculum (1)
3yr Bachelor / elective Minor
1 & 2 year Master programme
Entrepreneurship in the curriculum (2)
• Advanced Technologies
– Bachelor programme with “entrepreneurship and business
development” as a specialisation
• Industrial Design
– In Bachelor programme: Market-oriented entrepreneurship
• Business & Information Technolgies
– In Master programme: Business Development in Networks
• For Ph D students: Business planning and
technology dynamics
• For all students (elective):
– Become your own Boss
– Managing an SME
Characteristics of successful support
of entrepreneurial processes
• Multi-dimensional (strategy,
organisation, networking, economics)
• Multi-level networking: firm level,
regional level, global networks
enhancing University Industry
Interaction across technological fields
• Multi-actor: combining heterogeneous
competencies e.g. creativity,technology,
and marketing competencies
New Program for generating High
potential entrepreneurial teams
creating business out of UTtechnology
Group based support/selection
• Kansrijk eigen baas (200 firms created in 2,5
year in Achterhoek)
• Individual trajectories (self selection based)
• Group based (n=60, 4-6 months)
• Self selection + assessment
• Intensive training, ideas brought in, process
of enterprise concept development
•
•
•
•
High Tech / High potential
Group based selection process
Enterprising with knowledge
Group based (n=60, 4-6 months) +
team/concept based 1 year
Target groups students Saxion, UT &
persons with work experience
Using high potential business
concepts UT
High Tech / High potential
Group based selection process
1. Self selection + assessment
2. Intensive training, general ideas brought in,
process of enterprise concept development
3. Selection of high potential T-M-F teams
matched with high potential business
concepts
4. Small group/personal coaching with high
level business coaches
5. Network with international VC-funds
6. Office space 1000m2
Expected Results
• Groups of 60 persons
• 30 firms based on own idea development of
participants (after 5 years 25 firms,
employment >250)
• 5 firms based on high potential ideas
matched with teams based on selection
during program (after 5 years, 2-3 firms,
employment >250)
• 2 groups per year, 3 years  employment
after 8 year >3000
Questions and remarks?