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Entrepreneurship in Belgium: Co-founder of StartUps.be Karen Boers

09:41 04/05/2015

Name: Karen Boers
Nationality:
Belgian
Age:
37
Location:
Brussels
Sector:
  Tech

Karen Boers is changing the face of tech entrepreneurship in Belgium, one start-up at a time. She co-founded StartUps.be in 2013 to provide tech entrepreneurs with the resources, network and coaching they need to succeed in Belgium and abroad.  Karen spoke with communications specialist, Meg Stringer from word.eu about the work of raising tech start-ups from the ground.

What resources do you offer tech start-ups?
Karen Boers:
The tech sector is a real ‘wild-west’ for entrepreneurs, with innovation occurring every second and with very few rules of the road. We give entrepreneurs the resources to grow and thrive in this ultra-competitive and constantly changing landscape. The resources we offer are super broad from handbooks to workshops, and they’ve helped hundreds of start-ups save precious time and resources. With StartUps.be, there’s no need to hunt around the Internet or call your local commune to learn how to start a business. We have all the resources you need online or in-person. 

What about networking?
Our network is one of our most powerful assets, providing access to investors and the chance to accelerate start-ups through collaboration and cross-fertilisation. Government agencies and import/export agencies use our network too to connect with the tech community and advocate for Belgian start-ups abroad. We’re proud that in just a few years, we’ve become the go-to platform for matchmaking within the start-up community and between the private and public sectors.  

And coaching?
Coaching is a growing part of our work, enabling tech entrepreneurs to learn from industry insiders, financiers, management experts and more. Through these 1-on-1 relationships, our entrepreneurs have successfully turned ideas with potential into profitable businesses. Our coaches have shown entrepreneurs how to navigate setbacks, identify new opportunities and manage teams in ways they never could before. The progress we’ve witnessed is truly remarkable.

Belgian ministers have shown a real interest in your policy views. What have you achieved so far?
Together with our community, we created the Belgian start-up manifesto to show policymakers how to grow 10,000 start-ups and 100,000 jobs in just five years. Most ministers want Belgium to lead in the digital economy and we’re ecstatic to see that many are pushing reforms through much faster than we anticipated. Tax shelters for angel investors, tax deductions for start-ups and greater flexibility for crowd funding are just some of the exciting changes on the horizon. None of this would be possible without the start-up community speaking with one, powerful voice.

You’ve been a big advocate in Belgium for 'failing forward’, the idea that failure is part of success in business. Tell us about what this means to you and the tech community?
Bankruptcy in Belgium can end your business career, whilst in the US it’s often a healthy consequence of risk taking. This is because the US embraces a culture of ‘failing forward’ where there is less stigmatisation. One of our key roles is to give entrepreneurs the freedom to dream, to experiment and to take risks without paralysing fear. Creating this cultural shift in Belgium would be transformational for the country and it’s one of the most important parts of our mission.  

What kind of risks have you taken in business and in life?
I took a huge risk when I co-founded StartUps.be. I didn’t take a salary for 16 months and invested all of my savings in the organisation. I’m relieved that my instincts were right, and I’m so proud of the results we have achieved in just two years. I now have three full-time staff and two interns who help to improve our services and grow our community. Of course we have failed along the way, but that’s how we learn and improve. When it comes to my personal life, I am raising five children with my partner…need I say more! Having this big, beautiful family is the biggest risk I ever took, and it’s the one with the greatest rewards. 

How did you get started with this work?
I co-founded StartUps.be after eight years working in human resources, marketing and later management for iminds, a research institute founded by the Flemish government to stimulate tech innovation. iminds runs much like a start-up with limited funds and an innovative spirit. During this time, I experienced myself the challenges of running a lean, creative business in Belgium and co-founded StartUps.be to fill these gaps. Thankfully, the tech community embraced me, despite the cultural divides in Belgium, I think because I came from a neutral, research background. I wasn’t a competitor; I was and remain an advocate for entrepreneurs and tech innovation.

Have an entrepreneur for the next story? Know of a particularly entrepreneurial woman? We want to know! Contact webmaster@thebulletin.be.

Written by Meg Stringer