Judges & Mentors

Judges

• 

  Alexander Mans

  CEO at HMI GROUP
  
  My first big company, Novabox, was founded in 2009 and started out as a Managed Services Provider. Today, we focus on developing new technology and licensing, white-labeling or producing it for others all over the globe. As a shareholding in many companies, from industries like IT, law, real-estate, healthcare, aviation and automotive, I love variety in my life as an entrepreneur. I construct things, I don't necessarily manage them when I can find better people to be at the helm. As I started to like building or starting businesses more and more over time, I realized I didn't necessarily needed to focus on my own ideas. Other (young) people had brilliant plans too, but lacked resources. One of my focus points for 2011/2012 is to provide such resources in form of financial participations, office space, etc. to them from a new holding company named "HMI GROUP".
• 

  Arthur Houtman

  CEO at Vanguard Entertainment Group.
  
  Chief Executive Officer at Vanguard Entertainment Group. The company behind the successful game Gatling Gears for PSN, XBLA and PC. Former director of product development, Disney Online studios
• 

  Bas Allart

  Managing director of Utrecht Valorisation Center
  
  After his study, Bas became co founder and operational manager of a spin-off company from the University Medical Center Utrecht. With the business plan for this company he won the national business plan competition New Venture 2002. After this start up adventure he was shortly involved in the preparations of a seed capital fund at ABN AMRO. In 2005 he came back to Utrecht where he founded UtrechtInc and made it one of the most successful incubators in the Netherlands. Currently he is the founding managing director of the Utrecht Valorisation Center.
• 

  Guido Cramer

  Owner at Fanminds
  
  Fanminds helps brands to focus on their fans to establish real relationships, stimulate and reward fan behavior and supercharge loyalty. Fanminds uses game thinking, dynamics and mechanics (gamification) in business as one of their tools to identify, recognize, stimulate and reward fans. Guido has ten years of experience in general marketing, customer engagement and loyalty.
• 

  Martijn Blom

  Co-founder at the UtrechtInc Investors Club
  
  Martijn Blom is co-founder and board member at the UtrechtInc InvestorsClub which is part of a nationwide network of informal investors. Martijn is active as an informal investor/ serial entrepreneur in companies from Droomzaken (Dreambusiness). His latest start-up is Flight 1337.

• Steef Peters

  Managing consultant at Conclusion.
  
  After a PhD in high energy physics and working for several years at Cern, Geneva, he joined a computer services company as a programmer. In the years after he became system analyst, designer and project manager. He was appointed to manager of the division offering computer services like direct marketing and payment services in 1982. After being responsible for reorganizing the company he joined the mother company, a Dutch bank, as strategist. After that he moved to Lease Plan Holding, as member of the holding management team being responsible for organization development and IT. During 10 years he stayed with the company until he was asked to become part time professor at the Vrije Univeristeit van Amsterdam, teaching strategy, business processes and IT. Till now he is consultant and interim manager specialized in strategy and change management related to IT. Since April 2007 he is appointed as Academic Director of Lemniscaat, School of Management, a business school in the Netherlands offering specialized MBA and DBA programs and part of the Conclusion group. Since January 2011 he is also appointed managing consultant at Conclusion responsible for the health care in the Netherlands.

Mentors

• 

  Alexander Mulder

  Game Designer at Gamifly
  
  An entrepreneur with a bachelor's degree in Game Design and Development and a master's degree in Design for Digital Cultures. Passionate about the endless possibilities when combining life and games. Currently working on a sustainability game that has its roots in motivational design ('gamification').
• 

  Alexandre Janssen

  Specialist new business programs
  
  As Senior Innovation Consultant in the Deloitte Innovation team, his role is to develop new business programs to help the 4500 Deloitte employees operate from an innovative mindset and approach, together with helping clients implementing innovative strategies and ideas. His expertise lies in developing and facilitating different programs to help transform ideas into market ready products or services.
• 

  Arthur Sevenstern

  Fouder of Excellent Presentation
  
  I have had 12 years long career in commercial positions. I started my career during my study Logistical Economics. First as a salesman in a computer store, later as sales manager at an IT service provider and then vertical account manager at SPSS. Before I chose self-employment in early 2006 I was at Nashuatec (now Ricoh) responsible for the top 20% customers. Since my start as an entrepreneur in early 2006 I have focused on the more effective sales and marketing companies. Something I always noticed is that many companies spend fortunes on advertising campaigns (magazines, TV commercials, radio spots, online and e-marketing), but when the sales rep engages with a prospect, , the presentation often fails. I find that many companies underestimate the value of strong presentation and thus waste many commercial opportunities. With this insight I have Excellent Presentation founded in early 2010.
• 

  Desmond Dekker

  Product manager monetization at spill games
  
  Desmond works as a product manager for the End user Monetization department at Spil Games. Spil Games is a games publisher, scouting the best content from the world of online game developers to entertain the 140 million visitors to its sites each month. Desmond works together with online game developers in order to optimize the gross revenue for the Spil games platform.
• 

  Erik van der Pluijm

  Creative Director Business Models Inc
  
  Erik van der Pluijm helps (inter)national organizations create new business models by applying creative thinking and design thinking techniques. Erik’s background includes various design and technology topics such as artificial intelligence, management of creative teams, fine arts and computer programming. Before joining Business Models Inc., Erik was the founder of a high-tech startup specialized in multi-touch equipment and software. Before that, he worked as lead artist and producer in computer games on the Sony Playstation 3 title Killzone 2, where he built a complete 3D art team and prototyped for the PS3.
• 

  Freek van Wensen

  Owner of VanWensenIP
  
  Freek van Wensen is an attorney and a specialist in Intellectual Property law. Under the name VanWensenIP he started “Independent IP Consultancy”.Freek has 15 years experience as an IP consultant, trademark attorney and lawyer. He used to be a partner at Zacco, one of Europe’s largest IP consultancy firms. During these years he served a huge variety of clients. From start ups to multinationals, from the entertainment industry to the field of pharmaceuticals. Now, as a independent consultant, he assists companies in structuring their IP management and he optimizes the added value of external IP advisors.
• 

  Heleen Ririassa

  Founder of Henry and Clark
  
  Heleen Ririassa is the founder of Henry and Clark, a strategic MarCom and PR agency located in Amsterdam. Henry and Clark provides strategy, concept development as well as full blown implementations of: cross-platform campaigns, product launches and internal communication programs.
• 

  Henri Viswat

  Managing Director of Conclusion Financial Professionals
  
  Henri started his career in banking, but after five years discovered that he wanted to make people business his core business. He then held various sales and management positions in temporary staffing and recruitment companies. Henri is currently Managing Director of Conclusion Financial Professionals, a company that is specialized in secondment in the areas finance, banking&insurance and risk management.
• 

  Jan Pieter van Seventer

  Strategy Director Dutch Game Garden
  
  JP van Seventer heeft al tien jaar ervaring in de Nederlandse game industrie als vormgever en designer van games voor console, PC en handhelds. Gefascineerd door het creatieve proces van game design heeft hij een groot aantal jaar W! games geleid als productiedirecteur. Daarnaast geeft hij les aan de Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU) bij Game Design (GDD). Sinds 2008 is JP begonnen als strategisch directeur van de Dutch Game Garden.
• 

  Jelle Prins

  
  
  Jelle enjoys crafting and perfecting new concepts. During the last months of his study "Business Information Systems" in NYC at New York University, he received broad international media coverage with Moop.Me, including WIRED Magazine, and decided to network in the U.S. tech scene. In cooperation with some wellknown names in Silicon Valley, he worked on the first steps of Uber.com. Now back in the Netherlands at Moop.Me Jelle maintains daily contact with partners and customers. He is a regular speaker at conferences at TheNextSpeaker.com, and he advises startups. He is also a big fan of StartupWeekend.org.

• Niels van Hest

  Director at Mansal
  
  Niels van Hest has earned! His passion is communication in a way that encourages action. What do you say, how and when do you it. How do I pitch my award winning pitch. His help always helps to just make the difference needed. "In everything we do together, I ask you where you are, what your goals are, which the obstacles you are facing, and why it is so important to you. Once we have determined that we will assess what is needed from your behavior. What is going well and what can we strengthen and what can be improved and deserves attention. The end result is that you, by your own behavior, positively influences others. Influences the direction of your goals. Have fun, Niels "
• 

  Pim Bouman

  Founder at Gamious
  
  Pim founded and leads innovative games publisher Gamious, which aims to develop and publish exciting and accessible new game formats to new (non-console) gaming platforms, such as mobile & tablet devices and Facebook. He is also board member of the Dutch Games Association. Pim has a lot of experience in the games biz and loves great products, marketing and sound business models. He’s more than willing to share his experience wherever he can.
• 

  Tjeerd Willem Hobma

  Director at Conclusion Energy Consultants
  
  Tjeerd is a leading expert in sustainable business innovation. He has a track record in environmental research and business with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , ITC of Twente University, and TSM Business School. Tjeerd has worked with clients on new business in construction, energy, hitech, automotive and care. He is also the founder of the Institute for Sustainable Mobility in The Netherlands. Since 2010, Tjeerd is leading a new start-up in Conclusion. His team helps organisations to become more effective and profitable through the use of green, social and profitable solutions. Green business is smart business!
• 

  Yorn Soeteman

  Founder of Budget Gaming
  
  Yorn Soeteman, 25, Founder of Budget Gaming and Board Member of the Academic Business Club. Being an enthusiastic gamer he discovered this hobby can be quite costly. Hence, he founded BudgetGaming.nl at the age of 17. Budget Gaming is an organized and professional price comparison website, built with the help of more than thirty volunteers. Yorn is passionate, enthusiastic and has a long term vision. He has experience with silent investors and is a proud supporter of the Right to Play charity fund.

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