TTT-AI focusses on building AI spinoffs that are initiated by researchers from one of our partner knowledge institutes. This means that commonly a team exists of only one or two people, often with a strong technical focus. However, to ensure success for a spinoff in the long run, it is important to find complementary skills. So, do you have experience in marketing, sales, product management, software engineering, finances or any field important for startups, then we are looking for you!
Become involved as…Team member or co-founder
Bring your entrepreneurial skills, mindset, and experience to create investor ready start-ups with us.
For the TTT-AI’s Venture Building program we look for team members and co-founders to fulfil a variety of crucial positions within start-ups. TTT-AI works together with researchers that are (interested in) setting up AI based spinoffs. To ensure that the startup team is diverse in their skills, TTT-AI’s business developers are always looking for likeminded people that are interested to join these spinoffs as a co-founder.
However, also later in the lifecycle of new ventures we could use your expertise to create impact for a AI spin-offs. You could also join start-up teams after validation of its feasibility.
You can express your interest in potentially joining a startup by providing your contact details and sharing information on your experience, interests, and skills. After this one of our business developers will contact you for a further introduction and to establish if there is a match and potential for collaboration.
Once a startup in your area of expertise and interest, overcomes the first hurdle of the initial idea validation and/or MVP, the involved TTT-AI business developer will initiate an introduction meeting. This of course, after sharing additional information with both you and the startup. If there is a match, based upon your experience, skills, and corresponding interests you will be asked to join the team. After which agreements regarding compensation in either shares or fees are settled based on the specific startup and situation. This process can vary from startup to startup, since every case has their own challenges and needs.
Often the key element for AI start-ups to succeed lies in establishing the best team. Even more so than for ‘regular’ tech ventures. That is because AI start-ups rely less on Intellectual Property and more on agile software product development with shorter time-to-markets. And where being business saffy makes often the difference.
Whether a researcher chooses to join the start-up as founder and leave the university or chooses to not be as involved, is up to them. But more commonly researchers want to remain in science and research, while at the same time want their research results and innovations to impact society via, for example, a company. We aim to have the researchers and their research institutes involved and aligned with the venture.
TTT-AI is a collaborative alliance
The program is funded through the Thematic Technology Transfer scheme of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and financed with a subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.