Confidence in the future: the continuation of TTT

Let’s first look back. How would you summarize the past 5 years?

Maurits: “For me, it was a pleasant experience from the start to work on TTT. I have done quite a few projects in my career, but this was really great.”

Nico: “I would summarize it as unexpectedly bizarrely successful, both in terms of the number of cases we have helped and the follow-up financing they have received. But also how we as a consortium have become accustomed to each other and really trust each other. It no longer matters where a case comes from, because the success of one is a success for the whole of the Netherlands. That is such a leap forward.”

Was that something you didn’t expect?

Nico: “Not to this level. This increased collaboration has also had side effects. Now, we also work together more in other areas and we were also able to draw up joint deal terms. Together we have managed to connect the various steps in the valorization landscape, partly thanks to TTT.”

Maurits: “We now know that we all have the same goal in mind, namely better valorisation of research in the Netherlands. For the continuation of TTT, we also want to broaden the consortia so that we can work as a national platform. That is unique.”

So there will be a continuation of the scheme?

Nico: “We are working together on four plans: GreenTech, MedTech, AI, and DeepTech. Smart Industry will become DeepTech, because we want to focus more on the ‘hard science’ where a hardware component is essential.”

Maurits: “As for Circular Technology, that will fall under GreenTech. The circular aspect will be strengthened with biobased, water, energy, and agri-food.”

Why is it so important that this is continued?

Nico: “One of the problems with fundamental DeepTech is the fact that there are very few experts who understand business development in DeepTech. In addition, you need to have a very long breath. In the early phase, there is structurally too little money for fundamental DeepTech, but with the two times €25,000 in the academic phase, we are already making a huge difference.”

Maurits: “It is a catalyst and a kickstart indeed. And it also does something with the mindset of researchers. They receive a budget very quickly and then feel the confidence to really do something with it. It has been shown that this is also a way to retain talent in that early phase. To give an example: a winner of the Academic Startup Competition would not have existed if TTT had not been able to act so quickly to provide a voucher. The CTO’s visa expired and something had to be done.”

Nico: “Exactly. When you see how much talent the Netherlands lost in that early phase because there was not the right funding, you will be shocked. At least five of the spin-offs from TTT Smart Industry would not have existed without the scheme, because the researchers were not allowed to stay in the country without funding. So the instrument is not only a catalyst for capital, but also for talent.”

Talent and capital are therefore important ingredients for successful tech transfer. What else is needed?

Maurits: “The phase in which companies start scaling up remains very complicated. We are talking about large investments of more than €20 million.”

Nico: “The Netherlands does have early-stage capital, but too little venture capital. That is a recurring problem. Then they say: ‘come back when you have your first customer,’ but that is not how it works in DeepTech. Investors therefore have to take a greater risk.”

Maurits: “A number of cases that I know are dependent on foreign investors, because there are almost no Dutch investors who invest in that focus area. That is worrying because those companies ultimately have to stay in the Netherlands.”

Nico: “We are incredibly good at starting things, but we are lagging behind when it comes to growing scale-ups into unicorns. We have a big step to take in that. That said, we have already made a huge leap in valorisation in itself in the past five years. Think of the growth fund programmes and the development of all kinds of clusters. So a lot is already going well.”

How do you see the future of tech transfer in the Netherlands?

Nico: “I hope for two things. The first is that we can get structural financing after the next five years. That is related to the second point: that the TTT approach will have become so common that it is self-evident that we work together in this way.”

Maurits: “Yes, I think so too. And I also feel a bit like that proud coach. If in ten years there is one spin-off that is doing great, then I can say that it started thanks to TTT.”

Nico: “Indeed, I sometimes speak to founders who say that without TTT they would not exist, then they would have had to stop. So I also want to give a huge compliment to all the KTOs that have worked incredibly professionally. They make the first selection and these are always high-quality companies.”

Maurits: “In five years, no spin-offs have collapsed with pillar 2 investment and that have had the full support of TTT. That is truly unique.”

The new programmes are now being reviewed. When will we know more about the follow-up?

Nico: “Fingers crossed that all four programmes will be approved! If that is the case, we can probably start in the new academic year.”

Maurits: “I expect it will not be due to the quality of the consortia and the proposals. We have really built something beautiful in the past five years.”