Here's what past participants have to say
Our team was invited to participate in the European PANTHER programme through the University of Twente. The programme is designed to help you take your startup in the technology sector to the next level. The five three-day sessions spread over six months took us on a journey to a series of entrepreneurial universities and universities of applied sciences.
The programme blended classes by professors and other keen business minds with coaching sessions that enabled us to work on our own business plan with input from experienced entrepreneurs and experts. We still look back on these valuable sessions with great pleasure. Since then, we’ve noticed that we have a clearer sense of where new opportunities lie and can assess more critically whether or not a chance is genuine and worth focusing on.
Our team, consisting of three postdoctoral researchers from KU Leuven, participated in the first European PANTHER programme through Flanders Business School in 2018. In five three-day sessions supported by a group of international coaches, we succeeded in developing our idea for an innovative biorefinery technology startup into a concrete, realistic and well-founded business plan. The different locations – Twente, Leuven, Berlin, Eindhoven, Antwerp – and the associated company visits gave us a very varied and inspiring impression of the different aspects of entrepreneurship. We are convinced that the programme and the network of experienced coaches and entrepreneurs it opened to us have been – and will continue to be – of great value in the ongoing development of our company. We can’t recommend it highly enough!
Whisper was invited by Space53 and the University of Twente to participate in the second edition of the PANTHER program. As engineers we did not have any significant previous business experience to speak of. This meant that the PANTHER program contained a wealth of information for us regarding business development, pitching, market research, market entry strategies, financial projections and much, much more. This is not to say that PANTHER is only suited for start-up companies with little or no existing knowledge. During the program we met many people, with a large variety in experience, age, goals and problems. The program truly was the right fit for us and the other participants in the program, irrespective of our backgrounds and goals.
Whisper BV is a company based in Enschede, NL. We specialize in aero acoustic solutions regarding Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). During the program we learned how to analyse existing markets, as well as projections of future market growth. We learned how to best define a market entry strategy based on this information, as well as perform competitor analyses and financial projections. We also learned how to then pitch this idea to potential investors. We developed a large variety of models and strategies to create a better understanding of our business and our position in the world of UAVs with respect to others. PANTHER also gave us the opportunity to discuss our ideas and challenges with many experts, which is an opportunity that you only very rarely get as a start-up company.
Of course, this is only a small sample of the many things we learned during the five sessions we attended. We thank Space53, NOVELT and the University of Twente for the opportunity that we were given. We also highly recommend the PANTHER program to anyone who is looking to create a start-up or develop a new business model or approach within an existing company.
Jorge Ricardo Nova Blanco and Prof. Anne-Mieke Vandamme on behalf of the
KU Leuven Institute for the Future attended the second edition of the Panther program from October 2019 till April 2020. Over a period of seven months, we were inspired by business ecosystems (some of them educational related), business incubators, and well-established businesses in five different locations in Europe. Along the way, relevant guest speakers, lectures, workshops, and peer supporters provided useful insights and reflections to our model. Moreover, a dedicated team of mentors and coaches enriched the discussion and thinking process, allowing us to connect the dots and shape a strong value proposition.
Besides, we had the opportunity to expand and build a network that helped us to develop further synergies. For instance, COVID-19 allow us to apply models developed at Flanders Business School with the expertise of members of the KU Leuven Institute for the Future. We can summarize the Panther program as a transformative experience helping business ideas to transform into a sustainable business plan. In our case, our idea was transformed from an incubator to a content-driven organization with a solid concept.
We appreciate the time and effort of the core team and coaches and the well-developed program.