What direct link is going to affect your business? That was one of the tantalizing questions entrepreneurs discussed with each other during the kick-off of the Business Accelerator, at the Munttheater in Weert. The Business Accelerator is a goal-oriented entrepreneurial program in which entrepreneurs, together with coaches, experts and fellow entrepreneurs, work step by step to accelerate their business.
The Business Accelerator shakes entrepreneurs awake and lets them look at their own future with different eyes. The kick-off gave a foretaste of what's in store for them. Trend forecasters Wim van Rooijen and Jan-Henk Bouman (Fountainheads) playfully took the entrepreneurs on a dizzying ride with new trends and developments such as Metaverse (Internet 3.0), Digital Twins and GPT-3. That these developments will have an impact on the business world within the foreseeable future is obvious, but what that impact will be in the long, medium and short term is what the entrepreneurs then discussed with each other. "As an entrepreneur you have to think about 'the job to be done', or in other words what added value do you offer your customers? Only when you have that in focus can you properly anticipate the future and take advantage of opportunities," Jan-Henk Bouman told the entrepreneurs.
Blueprint for innovation and acceleration
Blueprint for innovation and acceleration
Business Accelerator was developed by Business Lapps and consists of six work sessions in which SME entrepreneurs (from 5 employees) discover together where they stand as an entrepreneur and as a company. They learn to determine their focus, discover new opportunities, map out the essential building blocks with Business Model Canvas and create a blueprint on the basis of which they can accelerate their business. Topics such as sustainability and digitalization will be covered extensively.
New friendships
The conversations during the kick-off are animated and open. "That is the power of Business Accelerator," says Hans de Kinderen, director of Rabobank Weerterland and Cranendonck.
"Entrepreneurs get to know each other and each other's business, they will share a lot with each other in the coming six months. A bond of trust, new collaborations and often even friendships will be created. As Rabobank, we think it's important for entrepreneurs to think about their future and how they can upgrade their business model and make it more sustainable, based on current issues and developments."
ESZL Vouchers
Business Accelerator is an initiative of the Rabobank. The total cost is €4,450 excluding VAT. Rabobank will cover part of this (€1,000). ESZL will make vouchers of €1,725 available to SME entrepreneurs in South Limburg. The next round will start in the fall.