Start to scale. Startup and Scale-up Founder Stories.
Showcasing the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem of Rotterdam - and our journey to support the startup and scale-up founders responsible. Hosted by Lars Crama, edited by Lisette Braakenburg. (Buma Stemra licence 10682974)
Start to scale. Startup and Scale-up Founder Stories.
Mapiq CEO Sander Schutte on selling to corporates and gearing up for growth in uncertain times.
Sander graduated Cum Laude in Biomedical Engineering at Delft University of Technology. Where he also did his PhD and a postdoc until he co-founded his first company Virtualock in 2009 together with Jasper Schuurmans. In 2014 this lead to their second venture Mapiq, market leader in software for optimizing office space and facilities.
Under his leadership, the company has grown tremendously over the past few years, now operating in more than 20 countries, with over 115 people on staff and with the founders of TomTom as his most recent investors.
Somehow, Sander combines this with riding a motorcycle and making time for conversations like this one today.
In this episode, we'll cover the following topics:
- Leaving academia for a risky path of entrepreneurship;
- Bootstrapping and getting the right investors on board;
- Gearing up for growth in uncertain economic conditions;
Links mentioned:
- People: Sander Schutte, Jasper Schuurmans, Ferdinand Grapperhaus
- Companies: Mapiq, Virtualock, TomTom, InnovationQuarter, Rinkelberg Capital, Techleap Rise, Delft Technology Partners,
- Media: Mapiq - How to win the war for talent, Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the chasm, Robert M. Pirsig - Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Lars’ one-sentence summary
- Other: The Prodigy - Firestarter, KTM 690 Adventure, Jobless Growth