We organized the symposium Entrepreneurs are the Future at the startup hub NEXT Delft in March 2025!

The goal: to show students that entrepreneurship is also an option after or during your studies, not just the ‘traditional’ corporate path.

We started off with a great opening by Lonneke Versteegh-Reinders, Leadership Coach, who shared her honest story about how she would have preferred to start her entrepreneurial journey much earlier instead of following the corporate path first, and how to apply authentic leadership to your career. This was followed by an inspiring panel discussion with three top young entrepreneurs who all started during their student days. And as the cherry on top, the 16 table leaders engaged with small groups of students in conversation.
Overall, the focus was on these amazing role models who openly and honestly shared their entrepreneurial journeys.

Why start a business during your student years? During your student years, you have few obligations and lots of free time, so it’s a great opportunity to work on ideas. It’s especially fun to meet up with a few friends weekly to try things out (Marsha). Think of it as a big adventure! And as Jacob said: you have two fuck it moments in your life: when you finish your studies or when your kids move out; right now, I’m in a fuck it phase.

For many things, more is possible than you think:

• Looking for a co-founder? Attend Meet Your Cofounder events, like those at Yes!Delft (Marsha).
• No money? Look into funding. But don’t just consider credit cards; also look for investors with a knowledge base, like Graduate ;) (Jacob).
• Don’t know where to start? Dream big but start small. Start with a duct tape version and validate. Keep listening to customers, and the product will evolve with you (Luci)!
• No idea for a business? Join an existing startup early and become a co-founder! (Luci). Let your environment and entities (like investment firms) know what your ambitions are, make it known that you want to be an entrepreneur (Lonneke).
  Overall, be curious, try it out, and remember that as long as you’re learning, you’re winning (Luci)! So, there’s really not much risk ;). The biggest risk is regretting that you never did it! Start before you’re ready!"

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And after the event, we only heard one thing from the students: "I also want to become an entrepreneur!" So mission accomplished!

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