Lusoco, located in Twice hub Catalyst on the TU/e Campus, is one of the ten winners of the Academic Startup Competition 2020. This selection allows Lusoco to carry the title "Best Academic Startup of 2020" for one year. The other winning startups are. Bimini Biotech, DeNoize, Digi Bio, IamFluidics, Kaminari Medical, NC Biomatrix, Taylor, uCrowds and VanBoven.
Lusoco was chosen as one of the winners based on their value proposition, the innovative nature of the technology, the potential of their business and revenue model, and the team composition of the startup after a blistering finale in which the top 20 academic startups were selected to pitch before an expert jury.
In addition to the honorable title of "Best Academic Startup of 2020" that they may wear for a year, the startups will participate in an intensive incubation program to enhance their development opportunities. They will also be introduced to a network of entrepreneurs, investors, companies and will have access to a coaching program with dedicated mentors.
Academic Startup Competition
The Academic Startup Competition is an initiative of the Association of Universities (VSNU), the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU), Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI) and Techleap, and is supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. With the election, the organizers put valorization and academic spinoffs within universities in the (inter-)national spotlight.
Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate:
'I look forward to seeing how these entrepreneurs are going to make the world a little better. As innovative startups, they will ensure that we are among the world's best when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship. And that we find smart solutions, create jobs and keep our economy strong. They give shape to the motto "for every global challenge, there is a Dutch solution."
Pieter Duisenberg, president VSNU:
"These startups show that Dutch academic startups are at the forefront of creating groundbreaking innovations for society. This endorses the importance of our goal of becoming the number one ecosystem for academic startups in Europe."
Constantijn van Oranje, envoy at Teachleap.nl:
"These winners and this competition show that the Dutch academic startup ecosystem is bursting with energy and inventiveness; now it's time to catch on and keep up the pace by further professionalizing the knowledge transfer process in the Netherlands. Knowledge alone is not enough, ultimately the market determines whether a company is successful and not the technology and for that you also need entrepreneurship."
Margrethe Jonkman, president Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI):
"Business and employment provide our country with the good starting position we have. Innovative startups offer us the opportunity to go where we couldn't before. By congratulating these ten winners, we show that we are proud of these startups and the ecosystem from which they sprout, but also that this ecosystem deserves continued attention because new challenges require new solutions."
Want to know more about the competition and the startups?
