[OPENING TUNE]
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: If you want to do business in Europe...
...the Netherlands is a good starting point.
It is located in the heart of mainland Europe and has an excellent infrastructure.
Also the business climate in the Netherlands...
...is reliable, strong and internationally focused.
Everyone speaks English.
All in all it is a first-class country to start your business.
Let's hear what foreign entrepreneurs have to say about the Netherlands...
...and Dutch people.
CHRISTINE BRINKMAN: Setting up a business in the Netherlands...
...or putting in place a company in the Netherlands is quite easy.
So there are no massive capital requirements.
The corporate governance structure is quite flexible and simple.
So you can easily tailor the group structure to your needs.
VOICE-OVER: Entrepreneurially vibrant.
CRISTINE BRINKMAN: Energizing.
HUGO NIEZEN: Get things done.
RUBEN NIEUWENHUIS: Open-minded.
MARTIJN ROORDINK: In your face.
DON GINSEL: Cosy.
Gezellig is actually the word.
MAARTEN PLESMAN: Talent.
MARIKEN VAN DEN BOOGAARD: It is about inclusivity.
DAVID VAN TRAA: Cool and progressive.
RUBEN NIEUWENHUIS: Global. A global city.
DON GINSEL: Well-connected.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Welcome gentlemen, good to have you here.
AVISHAI TRABELSI: Good to be here.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Why did you start your business Quicargo in the Netherlands?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: We are a logistic platform.
And I can call the Netherlands the heaven of logistics.
Because of the harbour, you have Schiphol and Rotterdam.
And Venlo is a logistic big hub.
So it is very good for our business.
Secondly, it is quite a small ecosystem and we can make small mistakes.
And we can learn quite fast from our performance...
...and from our new early adapter clients.
So it was a very smart decision from our side.
Now I can tell it after I am long enough here and this is the main reason.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Is it a good starting point because you can test drive?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: Yes, exactly.
Business-wise our logistics sector is very strong...
...and at a centralized point in Europe.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: And then you can expand.
AVISHAI TRABELSI: From a business perspective...
...it is easy to get feedback from the market right away.
The most important thing when you start a business...
...is to make sure that you are selling something that people actually need.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: And after that you want to expand to rest of Europe, right?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: Correct, yes.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Willem, you work for StartupDelta.
How does StartupDelta help start-ups?
WILLEM DROST: When they come into the country here...
...for instance like Avishai who I have worked with as a mentor...
...they come to the country and go and establish themselves...
...trying to find out how to take maximum advantage of Holland...
...as the best place to start and grow and internationalize their business.
So, we are not only looking at how you are going to establish yourself nationally...
...looking for funding, looking for network partners...
...and putting him into contact with the right customers...
...but we also look at going across the border.
So Avishai's company Quicargo is coming with us next month...
...to Hannover Messe in Germany to start developing the German market.
So we are not looking at Holland as the only country.
We are also looking at it as the best platform in Europe...
...to develop your business on a European scale.
So that is another major purpose of StartupDelta.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Can you tell us something about the Dutch infrastructure?
WILLEM DROST: Dutch infrastructure...
...is not just the logistical part that Avishai is talking about...
...the roads, the harbours and that kind of stuff.
That is very important for his business.
But if you are a pure tech start-up a very important part is also...
...the whole technological infrastructure.
Amsterdam is the largest internet network point here in Western Europe.
That's why you have billions of dollars of data centres being built...
...by big companies like Microsoft and Google in the Netherlands.
So that very good technological IT infrastructure...
...is very important as a tool...
...to attract foreign companies in the technological field.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Do you agree?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: Yes. I absolutely agree.
But there is also one thing that you did not discuss.
If you are an IT company...
...you need to hire high-skilled developers.
And it is easy to convince a Brazilian developer to come over to Amsterdam.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Really?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: Yes, it is super nice for them.
So, it is a well-branded country and city to come to.
And it is super important in the IT-business...
...because there is a big lack of developers anywhere.
That is a very important point.
WILLEM DROST: It is true. I see that every day.
Companies from all over the world are coming to this country.
Young people really are attracted by the quality of life in Holland.
And Avishai is experiencing that not because we not only speak Dutch.
It is the whole mentality, the culture.
It is also the creativity you have here, the very international orientation.
Everybody feels themselves at home here very easily.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Is the international focus in the business climate as well?
WILLEM DROST: Sure, of course.
This is our tradition.
For hundreds of years there has been that outward focus.
First we had hundreds of large multinationals choosing Holland...
...as a starting point for operating in Europe.
Now you see a sort of a next wave.
In the days of technology you see all these young tech companies coming to countries...
...not only because of the infrastructure...
...but also because of the quality of living that they find here...
...and this international orientation.
Because tech business is a global business.
And Holland is a very good spot to tap into the global business.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: How would you describe the Dutch people?
[LAUGHING]
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Be honest.
AVISHAI TRABELSI: How honest? Just kidding.
From a business perspective I was very happy to see...
...they are really open-minded to innovation and sustainability.
This is one of the main focuses we are targeting.
And they are actually willing to try.
You don't need to come with a lot of track record.
And as a start-up, you don't have anything.
So you just call: you are my first client, do you want to try?
Try that in other countries and it is so so.
Here apparently it worked.
That is very important if you are starting...
...especially if it is something that is new to the market.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: What is it like to do business with them?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: I think it is quite direct.
The negotiations are always good fun but Israel also came with that.
So I think it is a good match in negotiations and trading.
And it is very open international-wise as well.
English is very important because sometimes you can lose things in language.
You can cover it with good language and we have it here.
Once you have got an agreement which is not easy...
...but once you got one it is actually happening.
It is not so obvious when you do it in other areas in the world.
There you can sign the contract but the execution is totally different.
Surprisingly really this is a very important part.
We can focus on our business...
...because actually the ecosystem and the businesses also respect the deal.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: So they are reliable and pay on time?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: Exactly. So all these things are happening.
That let us focus on the innovation or the growth instead of the administration...
...and all these annoying things you need to do as a small company.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: So business-wise it is nice to work with them.
But how are they on a private basis?
[ALL LAUGHING]
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: You can still be honest.
AVISHAI TRABELSI: I am purely honest.
One thing is that I am working hard.
It is a lot of hours per week or even weekends.
But once I have got my free time I don't like to plan.
I just like to do anything that I want to do now and just relax.
And I got some Dutch friends and I need to book one month in advance.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Yes that happens.
AVISHAI TRABELSI: To drink a coffee or a beer.
That is one thing that I am still catching up with...
...trying to schedule my private agenda as well.
Apart from that it is very open.
I know Amsterdam.
For me is a very big international community.
So I have friends from all over the world.
It is quite easy.
I think it is not too difficult for the Dutch local community to integrate...
...because there is already many years this combination.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: But do you speak Dutch?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: No. I am trying.
I am trying and every Saturday I cancel unfortunately my course...
...but everyone speaks perfect English.
So on the negative side it is difficult for me to learn.
But on the positive side the communication is easy.
So, I am still working on it unfortunately.
WILLEM DROST: Yes, that is the practice.
That is the practice. I hear that all the time.
When they are here in Holland like for two years you say...
...when are you finally going to learn some Dutch.
They say I try to but as soon as I try they start speaking English to me.
I can never practice.
But anyway, further to what Avishai is saying...
...Holland is the perfect place to start, grow and internationalise your business.
Not only do they learn to operate in a very international environment...
...but also as we are going to experience in Germany...
...even the large German companies love to work with Dutch firms.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Do you speak German as well?
WILLEM DROST: Sure.
They love to work with Dutch start-ups because they are so creative.
The Germans think it through too long before something will materialize.
So the Dutch are much quicker on their feet and much more creative.
They learn that in Holland as well because that has been the tradition here.
Creativity, trying out things is a merchant mentality...
...rather than engineer it to the end and never get anything accomplished.
This whole environment of being creative and quick on your feet...
...and trying to find new innovative ways of doing stuff...
...is not only good for operating well in Holland...
...but you can also use that capacity to go to France and Germany...
...countries where they are more engineering organized...
...where they are very strict and very regimental...
...and work in a more open kind of thinking way of operating.
And that is really critical in the world of technology.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Do you speak French as well?
Do you speak German, English and French?
WILLEM DROST: I used to.
I can brush it up if necessary.
But it is very important.
It is one of the things that people learn here too.
Yes, it is all Europe, but there are still very distinctive business climates.
Germany has a very different business climate than France has.
You really need to adapt to it.
The Dutch are used to it because 70% of what we produce goes across the border.
So everybody is used to these different business climates.
That is also what you learn.
So if you have an American company here they really learn that it is not so easy.
What works in Holland does not necessarily work in Germany or France.
So people learn how to adapt to these different business climates.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Also, it is very handy that they are multilingual.
WILLEM DROST: Sure.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: How easy is it to start a business in the Netherlands...
...compared to other EU countries?
WILLEM DROST: It is actually way, way easier.
I would say the UK would be slightly easier.
But it is also a way of learning your way around here.
That's why that orange carpet is so important.
People in our network tell you how to do that...
...not only help you with the right legal form for a business...
...but also how to go about it.
So if you don't know I will say I will help you with it.
So when you put all the pieces together...
...and when you use the orange carpet route...
...you will find out that it is surprisingly easy...
...way quicker than starting a company in Germany or France.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: Avishai, did the Netherlands...
...really roll out the orange carpet for you?
AVISHAI TRABELSI: Absolutely.
First of course, it is a very important tip let's say.
Ask questions and try to understand the ecosystem...
...before you start the task one by one.
So try to understand what you can get from the parties that are involved in...
...let's call it to get a soft landing in the Netherlands.
And once you know who is doing what...
...and maybe it is easy to ask StartupDelta...
...or any other facilitator available who are the parties.
Once you know it is quite easy to get the information...
...and to get the help in the process.
So yes, but there is one thing to improve.
I did not know about those parties involved until I asked questions.
So maybe you can do the marketing or at least make it more accessible...
...for really people that are just coming and start asking the questions.
Somehow you should get it right away.
Then it will save them a lot of time and effort.
NADIA-JANE BRISTOLL: That is a good idea.
Thank you both for all your information and for being here.
It is fair to conclude that the Netherlands has a lot to offer to entrepreneurs...
...who want to start to roll out and expand their business here.
The Netherlands offers you a high-quality work environment.
...and an excellent infrastructure...
...with an internationally oriented English speaking population.
And as Avishai mentioned the Netherlands roll out the orange carpet...
...for you as an entrepreneur.
Good luck with your business.
[CLOSING TUNE]