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About InnoEnergy

InnoEnergy is dedicated to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the European sustainable energy field by bringing together academics, businesses and research institutes.

InnoEnergy supports technical innovations of renewable energy and will be a social partner of this year’s TU/e Contest. InnoEnergy developed the ‘InnoEnergy Master School’ and the ‘Highway program’ for entrepreneurial students and start-ups.

Tom Huizer, Business Creation Trainee at InnoEnergy, coaches TU/e Contest participants with sustainable energy initiatives. What makes a start-up successful according to Tom? And why is a strong team so important?

A successful start-up

The success of a start-up depends on its competency profile. Tom: 'We map out the competency levels of startups, according to four areas: technology, team, market and finance. Breaking competence down in separate areas makes it easier to identify qualities and challenges. For start-ups it is important to pass in all facets, that is a prerequisite for success.

Engineering students often score higher on the 'technology' domain and lower on the ‘market’ domain. For example: they often develop beautiful and complex innovations, without properly studying their market. We call this a ‘product push’, because the technological innovation does not come from the customer’s needs. That is not necessarily wrong, as the mobile phone was a ’product push’. Yet it is usually important to have a good understanding of the market, most of time you should be aware of what problems you are trying to solve.

4 domains of a start-up profile:

1. Technology
   Is the invention of a high-quality level?

2. Team
   Complement team members each other? Are they open to other ideas?

3. Market
   Does the invention solves an existing problem? Is there sufficient demand?

4. Finance
   What is the business model? Is the invention attractive enough to investors?

What features are important to entrepreneurs?

Perseverance is an important feature for start-ups, innovation is not easy and requires patience. As an entrepreneur you often face setbacks, sometimes it can take years before your hard work is rewarded. Tom: '' I think that young entrepreneurs, like me, are lacking patience. We are used to the speed at which we realize things. ’’

Besides perseverance you have to be curious; what does the future look like? How can we make it better? Moreover, you must be a team player. If you want to develop a good idea, you need a team. You can not do it by yourself. This awareness is crucial. ''

3 characteristics of a successful entrepreneur

1. Perseverance
2. Curiosity
3. Team player

What characterizes successful teams?

Members of a successful team are open to different views and methods. Therefore, strong teams are often multidisciplinary. Tom: '' A technical specialist will not transform into a business guru. In this case, an organization expert can be a valuable addition.’’

InnoEnergy has a large European network, they connect different parties within the sector, such as research institutes, universities, industries, businesses and students. This way, they speed up technological innovation. Start-ups within InnoEnergy are able to use this network. The result? They develop their startup a lot faster.

Tips from Tom - for future TU/e Contest Participants

Tom: "My advice? Just do it! Being an entrepreneur is really cool. The TU/e Contest is a great way to explore if entrepreneurship suits you. Do you have an idea or prototype? Venture out! Collect feedback and test your product. Ultimately others determine whether you have a good idea or not. You have to convince others, because you need them to realize and sell your product. Discovering what the world needs outside the university is important. Doing an internship or volunteer work can help you with this. Do you love innovation and development? Sign up for the next TU/e Contest!

InnoEnergy Master's school 'and' Highway'

MSc program for students

Do you love entrepreneurship and do you have sustainable energy interests? Then you can follow the InnoEnergy Master School after your bachelor!

During this MSc program you will be prepared for entrepreneurship. You will complete part of your degree at a partner university of InnoEnergy, like Stockholm or Barcelona. Read more …

Highway for graduates

Are you (almost) graduating? InnoEnergy 'Highway' supports ambitious start-ups in improving their technology, developing their business models, excluding financial risks and creating a winning team.