The Business Development Program is for ideators and innovators: if you see a problem and want to build a solution, if you want to leave your mark, if you want to leave the world a better place than when you found it, this is the program for you. You do not have to have a complete framework of your business plan yet — that is, after all, what we are here to help you with — but you need an idea and a vision.
The core mission of VentureLab North is to empower aspiring entrepreneurs. The road from innovative idea to successful business is neither well-paved nor signposted, and it is easy to get lost on the way to market. That’s why we developed the one-year Business Development Program, which provides essential training and knowledge through three core components:
Do you have an idea you want to turn into a reality? Applications are now open for our next Business Development Program: Group 19 begins in October this year and runs till the end of September 2024 — sign up now and don’t miss out!
The central component of the Business Development Program is the weekly group workshops that run every Friday over the course of the year (excluding holidays and summer break). The workshop content is designed to provide you with the skills and tools necessary for ideators and early-stage entrepreneurs to strategise, validate product-market fit, evaluate their value proposition, pitch their idea, and develop a business model, all helped by the experience and expertise of a community of entrepreneurs, industry specialists, researchers, and local ecosystem leaders. We think one past participant said it best when they summed up their VentureLab North experience: “You don’t know what you don’t know”.
Workshops are interactive and run for three hours; a morning session runs from 9am till 12pm, and an afternoon session runs from 1pm till 4pm. On days with both a morning and an afternoon session, lunch will be catered. The workshops are coordinated by VentureLab North, and we handpick our trainers for their domain-, industry-, or entrepreneurship-specific expertise. This is also a great opportunity to build your network and possibly your team as you mingle and learn with other like-minded participants.
Your entrepreneurial journey through the program will be supported by the advice and guidance of an individual mentor. You will be assigned a mentor who matches your needs and requirements for personal, team, and business development. Your relationship with your mentor plays a key role in making your time at VentureLab a success. You have 48 hours available to spend with your mentor across the program, and it is up to you to make the most of them.
Things you can expect from your mentor and mentoring sessions include the following:
On top of your mentor hours, you will also have a maximum of 10 hours of expert coaching available to you. Expert coaches provide specific support or advice beyond the advice your mentor or the workshop program can provide.
Instead of conventional assessments, progress and development in VentureLab is tracked through three Business Panel Presentations, one at the end of each of the learning modules. In the presentations you will stand before a panel of experts (leaders in the Groningen entrepreneur ecosystem, the University, or business and investment) and pitch your idea, drawing on all the lessons you have taken from the trainers, mentors, and expert coaches. The panel members are there to evaluate your idea, provide insights and feedback, and interrogate the assumptions and expectations you present. Their feedback will provide valuable insights for your business development through the program and beyond.
VentureLab North is not the place for people who want to set up a bakery or a restaurant. We are here for those who want to make something new or fix a problem that hasn’t been solved yet, or perhaps just hasn’t been solved in your exact way. Deep tech, SaaS, energy, health, AI, researchers, students, PhDs, as long as you have an idea, you are welcome here. You can join the program as an individual or as part of a team, with flexible pricing arrangements for both.
The simplest goal of the Business Development Program is to equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools and competencies that will allow them to build a business plan that they can take into the world. But what you can achieve as part of the program is so much bigger. Participation in VentureLab can open up a whole new way of thinking, a world of opportunities and contacts, or a new direction — you will get out of the program what you put in, and every little extra will find reward. Each participant who completes the program to the expected standards will receive certificates of participation, but it is the knowledge, experience, and network that you gain that is the real trophy.
The application process is simple: all you need to bring is an innovative business idea with a focus on impact, a compelling video pitch, and ambition and commitment. The pitch video is part of the application process, after which you are invited for an interview. If you get into the program, there is a participation fee (learn more about the pricing schemes and the possibilities for subsidies here), and you will need to be able to attend the Friday workshops on-site at VentureLab North, located at Startup City on the Zernike Campus in Groningen.
We welcome a new group three times a year. Any questions? Check out our FAQs page, and if you can’t find the answers, don’t hesitate to contact us!
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