StartupsAnoniem launches to break taboos in Dutch startup ecosystem
5 March, 2021 by
StartupsAnoniem launches to break taboos in Dutch startup ecosystem
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StartupsAnoniem, a new website launching today, is a place where startup founders, employees, investors and other stakeholders in the Dutch startup community can anonymously ask questions, comment, offer advice, and share positive as well as negative experiences. 

The Dutch startup ecosystem is flourishing as never before. This is in part due to the increase in information sharing over the past couple years. Organizations like StartupDelta, StartupAmsterdam, and databases and media outlets like Dutchstartupdatabase, StartupJuncture and Silicon Canals, contribute greatly to this.

“Still, a lot of important issues remain unvoiced”, says Samir Saberi, one of the founders of StartupsAnoniem.

People from the Dutch startup scene do not always feel at ease speaking freely about the challenges and struggles they face along the way, their failures, or their successes. This is to some extent because of the competitive nature of the startup world.

But Saberi thinks that there might be another reason. “The Dutch are famous for their directness and talking openly about such sensitive issues as euthanasia and same-sex marriage. But it’s equally true that there is a strong stigma on failure in Dutch society. Failure is not something you talk very easily about as an entrepreneur in the Netherlands,” explains Saberi.

As a result of this, Dutch startup communities don’t have much room for entrepreneurs to share these kinds of experiences. “Failure is something to be ashamed about. Clients, investors and sometimes even family and friends expect you to constantly have it all figured out and under control. This makes it difficult to ask for help if you’re lost,” said Saberi.

StartupsAnoniem is aiming to break this taboo. The website consists of a “read and write” section. You can anonymously ask for advice, admit something that didn’t go so well, or just unwind by sharing any and all of your experiences on the platform. Because of the cosmopolitan nature of the Dutch startup ecosystem, visitors are encouraged to write down their stories in both Dutch and English.

Raise the tide for all boats

In 2014, Dana Severson and Nick Ciske launched a similar platform in the US called Startups Anonymous. Saberi commented on this: “Startup ecosystems are a glocal phenomena. They are successful because of the density of their local networks, but they learn and benefit tremendously by collaborating with each other. I have therefore sought to partner with Startups Anonymous and I am glad Dana felt the same.”

The partnership currently includes plans to exchange content between the two platforms. StartupsAnoniem is therefore already filled with a number of posts that originally appeared on StartupAnonymous.

StartupsAnoniem wants to provide those in the Dutch startup community with this platform as an outlet. But according to Saberi, the website has another important objective as well: “I think that we can learn a lot from each other if we talk about the problems we face without self-censorship. I therefore encourage everybody to share relevant experiences and offer advice so we can raise the tide for all boats and take the Dutch startup ecosystem to the next level.”

Disclosure: Samir Saberi, a co-founder of StartupJuncture, is one of the founders of StartupsAnoniem. 

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