1	00:00:03:04	00:00:06:17

In the last part of this webinar,

we take a closer look



2	00:00:06:20	00:00:08:18

at some important business processes



3	00:00:08:21	00:00:12:06

such as digitisation and cybersecurity.



4	00:00:12:09	00:00:17:18

And how do you prepare if you want to

expand your Dutch business internationally?



5	00:00:17:21	00:00:20:16

We will conclude with the advice

that our guests have



6	00:00:20:19	00:00:23:22

for you as an entrepreneur

with a growing business.



7	00:00:24:00	00:00:28:04

Johan, we've talked about taxes,

about staff and financing.



8	00:00:28:07	00:00:30:07

What are the really important processes



9	00:00:30:10	00:00:33:09

that you should look at as an entrepreneur

for growing your business?



10	00:00:33:12	00:00:39:02

I'd say that it's actually the two things

that you just mentioned.



11	00:00:39:05	00:00:42:07

The world becomes

more and more digital these days.



12	00:00:42:10	00:00:48:01

There's a new privacy law in place with a

lot of requirements that you need to meet:



13	00:00:48:04	00:00:52:06

the AVG in Dutch, GDPR in English.



14	00:00:52:09	00:00:54:13

That's really something that has been here



15	00:00:54:16	00:00:59:11

for the last few months, the last year.



16	00:00:59:14	00:01:03:08

So that's really something

to take into consideration.



17	00:01:03:11	00:01:07:22

There's cybercrime these

days that becomes more and more...



18	00:01:11:00	00:01:14:10

That's more here

than it was a few years ago.



19	00:01:14:13	00:01:18:00

So be careful with what you do digitally



20	00:01:18:03	00:01:22:14

to avoid those scenarios.



21	00:01:22:17	00:01:25:17

I think that's an important thing.



22	00:01:25:20	00:01:31:18

And also, once you start

growing international, I think that's



23	00:01:31:21	00:01:36:21

a huge topic to talk about.



24	00:01:36:24	00:01:40:11

Yes, I can imagine.

Especially the part that digitisation...



25	00:01:40:14	00:01:43:16

Your work has changed a bit

in the last few years.



26	00:01:43:19	00:01:48:06

So maybe ask the entrepreneurs.

These aspects that Johan just mentioned



27	00:01:48:09	00:01:51:17

do you pay attention to those as well?

-Yeah, absolutely.



28	00:01:53:05	00:01:55:05

Absolutely, yeah.



29	00:01:55:08	00:02:00:01

In terms of cybersecurity, it's something

that you have to invest in and be careful.



30	00:02:00:04	00:02:03:18

I mean, we can't see it when there's

attacks and stuff on our website.



31	00:02:03:21	00:02:06:13

Additionally, in terms of digitisation



32	00:02:06:16	00:02:10:03

the COVID pandemic has forced us

to do only webinars now.



33	00:02:10:06	00:02:13:14

So unfortunately we're not doing

in-person events for a while.



34	00:02:13:17	00:02:16:18

And the data privacy, yes,

you have to respect all the rules



35	00:02:16:21	00:02:20:15

tell people what you're doing

with their data and get their consent.



36	00:02:20:18	00:02:24:15

All these aspects

are very real in today's world.



37	00:02:24:18	00:02:27:11

Yes, and they're becoming

more real by the day.



38	00:02:27:14	00:02:30:05

Yes, especially the digitisation,

just because of the situation.



39	00:02:30:08	00:02:34:04

And Geta, especially because you

use electronics in your product



40	00:02:34:07	00:02:39:15

I can imagine that it's also...

-First of all, you can't avoid...



41	00:02:39:18	00:02:44:19

You can't pretend that these regulations

don't exist and not take them into account.



42	00:02:44:22	00:02:49:18

But yeah, definitely a lot of...



43	00:02:49:21	00:02:53:12

A lot of the parts of the business are

going online and you have to go digital



44	00:02:53:15	00:02:57:18

in many aspects,

even if you have a physical product.



45	00:02:57:21	00:03:00:15

Because there is the communication

and the interaction with your client



46	00:03:00:18	00:03:05:20

and that's one of the main stakeholders

anyway when you're doing business.



47	00:03:05:23	00:03:08:20

But then when we're talking electronics



48	00:03:08:23	00:03:12:02

I do have to deal with sensors.



49	00:03:12:05	00:03:16:16

Of course, it's still in development.



50	00:03:16:19	00:03:20:19

Of course, it has to go through

certification processes.



51	00:03:20:22	00:03:25:15

But in our design process,

we keep that in mind



52	00:03:25:18	00:03:28:22

so it's getting secured by design



53	00:03:29:00	00:03:32:12

in terms of

how we're developing the software.



54	00:03:32:15	00:03:37:19

It's very sensitive information,

because we're looking at the health



55	00:03:37:22	00:03:41:18

of infants, so



56	00:03:41:21	00:03:45:06

it can't get any more intimate than that.



57	00:03:45:09	00:03:48:17

So you don't only have to look

at digitisation for your company



58	00:03:48:20	00:03:52:06

but also for the product.

So you have it both ways.



59	00:03:52:09	00:03:55:03

Good luck with

trying to figure that out, then.



60	00:03:55:06	00:04:00:08

Well, we're taking our time.

-Good. Smart plan.



61	00:04:00:11	00:04:03:02

Because other than just digitisation



62	00:04:03:05	00:04:05:08

Johan, what other advice

would you give entrepreneurs



63	00:04:05:11	00:04:08:07

who are thinking

of taking their Dutch business abroad?



64	00:04:10:23	00:04:13:23

Look at the potential market

where you're planning on going.



65	00:04:14:01	00:04:19:09

Look at: Is there a need for

the product that you're providing?



66	00:04:19:12	00:04:24:14

Do you have the necessary market knowledge



67	00:04:24:17	00:04:27:19

of that specific country

or will you be needing local people



68	00:04:27:22	00:04:31:05

to help you to get it up and running?



69	00:04:31:08	00:04:35:23

I think those elements are very important.



70	00:04:36:01	00:04:38:21

And I guess that in your case



71	00:04:38:24	00:04:42:01

actually coming from

another country, that's helpful.



72	00:04:42:04	00:04:46:04

You'll probably have your network,

people who can help you



73	00:04:46:07	00:04:48:17

gain access to the foreign market.



74	00:04:48:20	00:04:50:21

So use that, use your network.



75	00:04:50:24	00:04:55:01

And if you don't have one yourself,

there's all kinds of international networks



76	00:04:55:04	00:04:57:04

that you can hook up with.



77	00:04:57:07	00:05:02:18

The Enterprise Europe Network, for one,

is one that can actually help you



78	00:05:02:21	00:05:05:01

launch a product in a different country.



79	00:05:05:04	00:05:07:13

Yes, a really important one.

Good that you mentioned it, Johan.



80	00:05:07:16	00:05:11:22

This webinar is too short

for all the information.



81	00:05:12:00	00:05:16:24

But on business.gov.nl,

you'll find all the information you need



82	00:05:17:02	00:05:21:15

along with specific tips for finding

customers and business partners.



83	00:05:21:18	00:05:24:21

For example,

the Netherlands Enterprise Agency



84	00:05:24:24	00:05:26:22

offers the business partner scan



85	00:05:27:00	00:05:31:01

to quickly provide you with an overview

of potential business partners



86	00:05:31:04	00:05:33:17

in your chosen country.



87	00:05:33:20	00:05:37:16

Geta, which other markets, apart

from the Netherlands, are you looking at?



88	00:05:37:19	00:05:42:06

Actually, we're looking at Scandinavia

for a bunch of reasons



89	00:05:42:09	00:05:47:09

and we have connected

with a distribution company there



90	00:05:47:12	00:05:48:24

for the consumer market.



91	00:05:49:02	00:05:53:17

But then for

the health part of the business



92	00:05:53:20	00:05:57:16

we are looking right now...

Because we are tackling infant mortality



93	00:05:57:19	00:06:03:10

so we looked at a region

that has that specific problem



94	00:06:03:13	00:06:05:24

and that's why we are going to Tanzania



95	00:06:06:02	00:06:09:15

and we are launching there.



96	00:06:09:18	00:06:13:23

That's amazing to be launching.

-We're launching our initial study



97	00:06:14:01	00:06:17:23

in a hospital there,

because we're making a tool for



98	00:06:18:01	00:06:21:03

preventing neonatal mortality.



99	00:06:21:06	00:06:23:19

But also on top of that



100	00:06:23:22	00:06:28:03

because of the nature

of the work that we're doing



101	00:06:28:06	00:06:31:14

I had actually really good support

from the Dutch government



102	00:06:31:17	00:06:36:06

in connecting the business

to the United Nations programmes.



103	00:06:36:09	00:06:40:19

And that was super valuable.

I can't state the value of that.



104	00:06:40:22	00:06:43:02

Wow.

So what does that bring you then?



105	00:06:43:05	00:06:47:08

Literally...

When was it? Last year.



106	00:06:48:16	00:06:54:03

I had the connection with the RVO officer



107	00:06:54:06	00:06:57:13

who is in charge of

connecting Dutch companies



108	00:06:57:16	00:06:59:21

to the UN programmes.



109	00:06:59:24	00:07:05:18

And then I became part of this procurement 

seminar with the United Nations.



110	00:07:05:21	00:07:11:17

I joined the Dutch delegation

to Copenhagen.



111	00:07:11:20	00:07:15:01

Wow, that's quite amazing.

-So then we got to register



112	00:07:15:04	00:07:16:17

as a supplier for the United Nations



113	00:07:16:20	00:07:22:06

which is a really high-value opportunity

for a company like mine.



114	00:07:22:09	00:07:25:21

That's good to know, that these types

of connections can come from that.



115	00:07:25:24	00:07:29:03

So, Karim,

looking three years into the future



116	00:07:29:06	00:07:32:02

what will your goals be?

And maybe in connection with, of course



117	00:07:32:05	00:07:34:13

the government that can take you there?



118	00:07:34:16	00:07:38:10

Honestly, we're looking to

just continue to grow



119	00:07:38:13	00:07:41:04

and, of course,

grow to other countries as well.



120	00:07:41:07	00:07:46:02

The whole system in the Netherlands

is very supportive for entrepreneurship.



121	00:07:46:05	00:07:51:01

From just having access to capital,

having access to labour force



122	00:07:51:04	00:07:53:08

having access to information



123	00:07:53:11	00:07:56:05

and everything readily available

in English as well.



124	00:07:56:08	00:07:59:13

It's just the whole

business mindset, I think



125	00:07:59:16	00:08:02:12

in this whole infrastructure

that we call the Netherlands



126	00:08:02:15	00:08:04:15

that is super helpful.



127	00:08:04:18	00:08:06:24

So that was actually

one of the easiest aspects



128	00:08:07:02	00:08:10:19

because it's so set up in the Netherlands.

-It's just super easy.



129	00:08:10:22	00:08:14:03

It's really incredible.

-Well, that's good to hear, of course.



130	00:08:14:06	00:08:17:17

In retrospect, if that was

one of the easiest and best parts



131	00:08:17:20	00:08:20:19

what was one of the

biggest challenges you had to overcome?



132	00:08:20:22	00:08:23:21

In all honesty, when I started doing this



133	00:08:23:24	00:08:27:09

I just did it out of love

and out of kindness to help people



134	00:08:27:12	00:08:30:12

but that doesn't pay the bills.



135	00:08:30:15	00:08:34:10

So actually,

just to know that I had a business



136	00:08:34:13	00:08:38:08

and what to do to make it

the successful business than it is today



137	00:08:38:11	00:08:42:06

that was really the challenge,

finding what I need to do.



138	00:08:42:09	00:08:45:16

And that's the thing. Knowledge

and knowing what you need to do



139	00:08:45:19	00:08:50:05

is probably, in my opinion,

the most valuable thing.



140	00:08:50:08	00:08:55:05

It's more valuable than money.

It's more valuable than a lot of things.



141	00:08:55:08	00:08:57:21

And I think it's also good

for entrepreneurs at home to hear



142	00:08:57:24	00:09:00:20

that you don't have to

start off with huge capital



143	00:09:00:23	00:09:04:19

but first off with a passion

and that's your driving force.



144	00:09:04:22	00:09:07:06

Because, Geta,

in retrospect for you as well



145	00:09:07:09	00:09:10:12

what was your biggest challenge

in starting Babymoon?



146	00:09:10:15	00:09:14:24

My biggest challenge was



147	00:09:15:02	00:09:19:02

well, it wasn't a challenge. It was just a

process that took a lot of time and effort.



148	00:09:19:05	00:09:22:12

It was figuring out the landscape.



149	00:09:22:15	00:09:27:11

Because I did come to the Netherlands

and I was on the programme.



150	00:09:27:14	00:09:29:23

The programme was done with



151	00:09:30:01	00:09:35:07

and then it took a while to set

up a network here specifically.



152	00:09:35:10	00:09:38:03

And because I'm pretty niche



153	00:09:38:06	00:09:41:13

it took a while

before I found the right people.



154	00:09:43:04	00:09:47:13

Is it something that you would have done 

differently, if you're looking back at it?



155	00:09:47:16	00:09:49:22

I don't think so.



156	00:09:52:06	00:09:55:23

In finding the right people, that you say:

If I would have known this, then...



157	00:09:56:01	00:10:00:09

For example, it's just...



158	00:10:00:12	00:10:04:18

This is not something to put blame on, but



159	00:10:04:21	00:10:08:23

I have a pretty good knowledge

of the international landscape



160	00:10:09:01	00:10:11:16

of the baby carrier world.



161	00:10:11:19	00:10:15:09

And I am fluent in Romanian,

English and Russian



162	00:10:15:12	00:10:17:16

but I didn't know Dutch.



163	00:10:17:19	00:10:21:00

So it was...



164	00:10:21:03	00:10:23:14

But this is a market-specific situation.



165	00:10:23:17	00:10:26:04

I came here



166	00:10:26:07	00:10:31:12

and I was looking for baby carriers

in the Netherlands and I found nothing.



167	00:10:31:15	00:10:34:02

And then I would ask

people in the programme



168	00:10:34:05	00:10:38:22

but they were business-related people,

so they had no network to that.



169	00:10:39:00	00:10:43:00

So it took me actually over a year,

because I didn't know the language



170	00:10:43:03	00:10:45:15

and I didn't have

the local network connections.



171	00:10:45:18	00:10:50:17

But in the end, I have done that.

Maybe it would have been nice



172	00:10:50:20	00:10:54:02

if I did that faster,

but that's that. That's how things are.



173	00:10:54:05	00:10:56:02

So many processes take time.



174	00:10:56:05	00:11:00:23

It's also good to know...

-It turned out that the specific language



175	00:11:01:01	00:11:05:16

in the niche that I'm working in,

is very different in Dutch.



176	00:11:05:19	00:11:08:21

But this is a case-specific situation.



177	00:11:08:24	00:11:11:24

So, Karim, did you also

have a language barrier problem?



178	00:11:12:02	00:11:15:12

I speak Dutch.

-Oh, that's true. So you didn't have it.



179	00:11:15:15	00:11:20:10

But actually, because I'm kind of catering

to an international audience



180	00:11:20:13	00:11:23:21

and my clients are catering

to that same audience



181	00:11:23:24	00:11:25:19

all their communication is done in English.



182	00:11:25:22	00:11:30:05

So it's actually really authentic

when I'm just speaking in my native tongue.



183	00:11:30:08	00:11:33:15

I mean, I can read it.

Basic Dutch is helpful



184	00:11:33:18	00:11:36:23

but it's not mandatory to have a

successful business in the Netherlands.



185	00:11:37:01	00:11:41:02

I can name you tons of expats that I know

that have crazy successful businesses



186	00:11:41:05	00:11:44:17

and their Dutch is niet zo best.



187	00:11:44:20	00:11:47:02

That's good to hear, especially because



188	00:11:47:05	00:11:49:20

we're also talking about

expanding our business internationally.



189	00:11:49:23	00:11:53:22

The language barrier, of course,

in some specific cases could be a thing.



190	00:11:54:00	00:11:58:12

But usually, I mean,

English is quite world-wide spoken.



191	00:11:58:15	00:12:01:12

So how do you think, Karim, first off



192	00:12:01:15	00:12:06:00

you will be able to manage your

international growth in the upcoming years?



193	00:12:06:03	00:12:09:19

With calm and serenity,

meditation and breathing.



194	00:12:09:22	00:12:14:03

It's all about having good people

around you. It really is that.



195	00:12:14:06	00:12:17:13

I cannot stress the fact. Have the people

you click with, people you can trust



196	00:12:17:16	00:12:21:08

people you can rely on

and, you know, you give the trust



197	00:12:21:11	00:12:26:19

and you just do your best and focus on

your clients and the people you work with.



198	00:12:26:22	00:12:29:09

Would you agree with that, Geta?

-Yeah, definitely.



199	00:12:29:12	00:12:32:09

Is there also maybe a difference

when you're growing



200	00:12:32:12	00:12:36:13

and broadening your view internationally

when looking for funding?



201	00:12:36:16	00:12:40:15

Well, you always have to work

with the people you click with.



202	00:12:40:18	00:12:45:02

Wherever you go,

because otherwise it's just



203	00:12:46:24	00:12:48:22

eating you up. You can't.



204	00:12:49:00	00:12:52:21

That's very true and good to mention.

-If you want to



205	00:12:52:24	00:12:57:11

achieve your goal, you can't afford

putting yourself under stress.



206	00:12:57:14	00:13:00:15

You don't throw yourself under the bus.



207	00:13:00:18	00:13:03:18

You have to manage the business



208	00:13:03:21	00:13:06:17

but you also have to manage your own state



209	00:13:06:20	00:13:12:06

and your own sanity and health

so that you can be in a good shape



210	00:13:12:09	00:13:14:19

for the time when you achieve

that goal you're working towards.



211	00:13:14:22	00:13:18:22

So it's important.

-The people around you are most important.



212	00:13:19:00	00:13:22:01

Who you're working with,

but also your funding partners.



213	00:13:22:04	00:13:23:17

That we should really keep in mind.



214	00:13:23:20	00:13:28:05

So Karim, we've heard you talking,

of course, about your Expat Republic.



215	00:13:28:08	00:13:32:20

The walking network, where you were

able to connect people and move on.



216	00:13:32:23	00:13:36:19

But I was really interested:

How did you find people that help you?



217	00:13:39:03	00:13:42:03

Actually the same way.

Via via, through people that I know



218	00:13:42:06	00:13:44:02

or through our own network.



219	00:13:44:05	00:13:48:02

So literally, when I need help

with something, I ask my community.



220	00:13:48:05	00:13:51:12

So Expat Republic.

-Yeah. So that already is so wide



221	00:13:51:15	00:13:54:07

that I can get a lot of reach

and get the help that I need.



222	00:13:54:10	00:13:59:05

It's all about being transparent,

saying: Hey, I need this help.



223	00:13:59:08	00:14:02:05

And you know, you put out positivity

into the world, it comes back to you.



224	00:14:02:08	00:14:05:09

It really is that simple.



225	00:14:05:12	00:14:10:20

Would that also be your advice for all the 

entrepreneurs watching at home right now?



226	00:14:10:23	00:14:13:17

Yes, definitely. Try and connect

with as many people as you can.



227	00:14:13:20	00:14:17:16

Go to networking events,

join different expat Facebook groups



228	00:14:17:19	00:14:21:01

join Dutch groups,

you know, the local community.



229	00:14:21:04	00:14:23:23

Get involved,

get to know people, ask around.



230	00:14:24:01	00:14:27:19

There is a culture in the Netherlands,

a very entrepreneurial culture



231	00:14:27:22	00:14:32:02

about helping one another and that's

very deeply rooted in the culture.



232	00:14:32:05	00:14:35:24

So it was quite easy for me

to get a lot of help.



233	00:14:36:02	00:14:40:04

It's just that business trading mindset

is so omnipresent. So we're very lucky.



234	00:14:40:07	00:14:43:22

And I can imagine

that's different in other countries.



235	00:14:44:00	00:14:47:00

So would that advice be different

if you look outside of the Netherlands?



236	00:14:47:03	00:14:52:04

I think on a general level, there's

a lot of commonality around the world.



237	00:14:52:07	00:14:54:19

People are generally

good people and want to help.



238	00:14:54:22	00:14:57:24

I just find that

the whole business and trade



239	00:14:58:02	00:15:01:13

is so ingrained in the Dutch culture,

also historically.



240	00:15:01:16	00:15:03:24

So I think just the ease

of doing these things



241	00:15:04:02	00:15:07:04

and it's also very efficient

and everything is very well structured.



242	00:15:07:07	00:15:10:23

So it's not so much like...

The structure here is really good



243	00:15:11:01	00:15:15:14

when you compare it to other countries.

That's really the main thing.



244	00:15:15:17	00:15:18:20

Well, that's good to hear.

Glad we are here.



245	00:15:18:23	00:15:21:17

Geta, do you have a last bit of advice

for the entrepreneurs



246	00:15:21:20	00:15:24:06

in how to take that next step?



247	00:15:24:09	00:15:28:10

That next step.

Well, just keep going.



248	00:15:32:09	00:15:36:05

Find your goal and then work towards it.



249	00:15:36:08	00:15:41:19

And then if it's too much, ask for help.



250	00:15:41:22	00:15:44:20

And again, you have to keep in mind



251	00:15:44:23	00:15:47:11

the business is not necessarily forever.



252	00:15:47:14	00:15:50:09

So if it doesn't work,

do not hesitate to stop



253	00:15:50:12	00:15:55:04

do not hesitate to restart,

do not hesitate to restructure



254	00:15:55:07	00:15:58:09

because that's how entrepreneurship works.



255	00:15:58:12	00:16:01:22

And always, if I understand you correctly



256	00:16:02:00	00:16:05:01

remember what your passion is

and keep going for that.



257	00:16:05:04	00:16:10:11

Thank you so much. Thank you all for

your contributions to this webinar today.



258	00:16:10:14	00:16:14:24

So we can conclude that when your business

is up and running and even growing



259	00:16:15:02	00:16:18:18

it becomes important to look

at issues such as data protection.



260	00:16:18:21	00:16:22:06

We get to deal with

the general data protection regulation



261	00:16:22:09	00:16:25:07

the GDPR, or in Dutch: the AVG.



262	00:16:25:10	00:16:28:07

And when you're looking to expand

your business across the borders



263	00:16:28:10	00:16:32:21

you should do research on the best

markets for your products or services.



264	00:16:32:24	00:16:36:06

Last but not least, we've seen

the importance of a good network



265	00:16:36:09	00:16:39:20

and the challenges

of keeping your eyes on the future.



266	00:16:39:23	00:16:42:17

We hope you all manage to stay focused.



267	00:16:44:03	00:16:45:24

We've come to the end of this webinar.



268	00:16:46:02	00:16:48:18

We hope this has been an inspiration

for you as an entrepreneur



269	00:16:48:21	00:16:50:16

running your business in the Netherlands.



270	00:16:50:19	00:16:55:15

For more information,

please visit our website business.gov.nl.



271	00:16:57:05	00:16:59:04

Thank you for watching.

Good luck with your business



272	00:16:59:07	00:17:01:21

and we hope

to welcome you at our next webinar.