Our Get Started programme, which helps first-time entrepreneurs move from idea to actual business in 10 weeks, has seen more than 200 entrepreneurs launch their venture. This post is part of an ongoing series where we profile the many different kinds of entrepreneurs that have been part of the programme, how they came up with their ideas and what they learned. Anxious to get started yourself? Check out www.getstarted.nl

Names: Nino Bellengé & Anne van den Boomen

Background:

Nino is employed as a consultant at Vital Innovators.

Anne is currently graduating from the study Health Economics Policy and Law and will start her second master in Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship this September.

Startup: E-ssence

Let’s start with the basics: What is E-ssence?

With E-ssence, we focus on digitalising processes in healthcare. We are developing an app that registers working hours and driven kilometers for homecare employees.

How did you come up with the idea?

Nino: I came up with the original idea when some home care employees I know told me that the registration of kilometers and working hours took a lot of extra time and that was a major annoyance for a lot of people. Around the same time, I started working as a consultant for a healthcare company, so I did some research within our network, which confirmed that this was a big pain point. I was determined we could make administration in healthcare easier and more reliable, and so E-ssence was born.

How did Anne join the team? Where did you meet and decided to work together?

Nino: I did an initial trial at a healthcare company using several smartwatches; just to test the waters. I got so many positive reactions from homecare workers, that I realized I needed help to make progress faster.

Anne: I already knew Nino through the sustainable healthcare challenge, which he had organized and where I was an ambassador. So when he started searching through his LinkedIN network to find somebody that would fit the team, he quickly found me. The timing was perfect as I was just finishing my studies and was looking for a job.

What milestones are you most proud of so far?

So far we are very happy with the trial we did. That set so much in motion. For example, we currently had dinner with the financial director of a big healthcare company and that opened up the way to our first investment. We are currently working on the business case for that and the app will be developed soon.

In what stage is the company right now?

At the moment, we have one good lead to our launching customer and the first version of the app will be ready soon. After summer, we will go live for that specific company and we hope to get more good leads at 4 other companies.

What is the goal in the end for E-ssence?

Currently, we’re focussing on the registration of driven kilometers and working hours but in the end, we want to use all the collected data for optimising other processes and we hope to automate more types of registration if possible.

What will you remember most from the Get Started programme?

Although the sessions have a similar structure every week there is a lot of variation in the content. From how to deal with investors to how to compose a team and talking to customers. That was very educative for us and opened a world I didn’t know before. While the group of people that participate in the programme is very diverse in terms of backgrounds, they all share the same enthusiasm about their startup. It was fantastic to be part of such a community and we’ve had so many nice and good conversations.

What is your advice to other people who are thinking about launching a startup?

Starting a business doesn’t just happen overnight. You have to learn that if you don’t do anything, literally nothing happens, which that is completely different compared to working for a bigger organisation. So if you want to make it happen you need to be determined.

Are you ready to launch your startup?! Applications for the new batch of our Get Started programme close on September 11! Apply now via www.getstarted.nl