Industrial biotech hub validates start-up ideas

The partners announced that industrial biotech start-ups can apply to join the new program to validate their business plan and to define a clear strategy until April 5^th.  According to Cindy Gerhardt, Business Director Biotech Campus Delft, "operating a startup in this field can represent a challenge due to the capital investments, scale up hurdles and long development times related to it. The Biotech Campus Delft, its main stakeholder Royal DSM and YES!Delft understand these challenges and are determined to support the startups in this field to define a clear strategy to success.

The validation program is open to European startups with innovative technologies and disruptive solutions in (industrial) biotechnology with a tech focus on genetic and metabolic engineering, fermentation and downstream processing. The scope of applications includes food, fuel, bio-based molecules, and bio-materials. 

The ten best teams will be selected and invited to join the Validation Lab: 12 sessions in which the startups will be trained on opportunity framing, customer validation, team building, pitching and value proposition design. On the final day of the Validation Lab (31 July), the teams pitch their business plan for a jury. The prize for the best startup: a voucher providing office space and a lab at DSM’s open innovation campus Biotech Campus Delft, which offers a biotech ecosystem for cooperation and knowledge transfer and the pilot factory BPF.