Build with us great companies

A startup studio is an enterprise that builds startups. Whereas many incubators and accelerators provide access to resources via programs, mentoring and networks, startup studios invest significant time and money in co-creating startups with co-founders sharing the risk & reward over longer-term, hands-on support. In practice, this means we work together and interact on a daily basis on all topics: product, marketing, recruiting, go-to-market, fundraising, team management, etc. The team will work every day from our office, literally sitting on the same bench alongside the studio core team.

We are a startup studio focused on the transition towards a circular economy. We embed circular solutions across four key global systems where we already have experience:

• Use less resources

• Use materials longer

• Regenerate (increase the use of biomass)

• Use again

We are specifically interested in Sustainable Food, Sustainable Packaging and Organic waste. We also invest in product companies more than in tech. Check out our startups for a better idea of what we are interested in.

As we position ourselves as co-founders and not just investors, we spend considerable time with you before we decide whether we would work together in the long-term. As a result, our process can take between 3-6 months before we invest and during which value is already created. If going fast is more important than going far, we are probably not the right partner for you.

To summarize the different steps of the partnering process:

• Conversation: Our team reviews applications and reach out to applicants who would be strong candidates for our opportunities. We then meet to get to know each other, assess our co-founder match and answer your questions about to co-found with BeeFounders.

• Discovery: You meet the Studio Lead to further evaluate the possibility of working together on the long term. It happens that a workshop is organised with the core team to feel if we are going in the same direction (idea fit).

We are looking for entrepreneurs who are:

• Open to co-create: startups are challenging so being open to feedback and overcoming challenges together is critical.

• Ambitious: we are looking for those who are excited about scaling internationally and want to lead fast growing teams.

• Leader: You have this special gift to rally the troops to your vision, even if disruptive it may be.escription

BeeFounders is not an accelerator nor a consulting agency: our core team commit for the long term and work "hands-on" fulfilling operational and strategic needs working on sales, recrutement, marketing, supply chain, funding etc. Generally, we commit an average of 2 days/week over a 2.5 year period and share offices. Besides being super hands-on, our goal is to ensure that you have the support you need to develop into leader of scalable businesses. We focus on you, not just your business.

Our involvement evolved based on the lifecycle of the startup. While we take an “active” and “hands-on” role at the beginning, we generally maintain strong relationships with the founders and take more an advisor role when the startup become independent and spin out of the studio. The studio remains a key shareholder until an "exit”.

In early stage investing, valuation is one of the most difficult points. In general, it is hard to value a company which hasn’t been created yet or value an idea that hasn’t been tested. We believe that our co-founders should be the largest shareholders as we want their commitment and motivation for the long-term.

Good ideas can come from anywhere. As we look for close relationships with our co-founders, clearly we are interested in businesses we can help start and develop in Belgium but can quickly develop elsewhere. We are also interested to be the partner of ideas that are looking to get started in Europe.