This afternoon i decided to forfeit half a day’s rate and go to the IBBT brokerage event. This event describes itself as a meeting place batween business and innovation in Flanders. Sounded good.
The event started with a speech by Win Dewaele, director of IBBT. This was followed by a presentation by Toon Coppens, co-founder and CTO of Netlog. It was a professional presentation – nothing too new where content was concerned, but it’s refreshing to see a belgian company doing so well.
After that there was a break to mingle and network, and i saw some familiar faces.
The rest of the afternoon were presentations by individual projects or spin-offs.
The first session i attended was about smart vision – but nothing earth-shattering was said there. Some demos of how to give a 3D image, or how to process the image in teleconferencing so your discussion partner is looking at you at all times.
My second session was about Wishbone, a spin-off having developed an algorithm and web tools to manage a mesh network. Mesh networks are fun (though not exactly new), and i hope they’ll take off on this side of the atlantic (i’m told there’s already one in Blankenberge).
The last one was for me the most interesting, letting three spin-offs present themselves: Mobixx, focusing on mobile websites and conversion of regular sites to mobile sites. VodTec offering tools to serve and convert videos fast. And KPIware with tools for business intelligence based on academic research, and offering simple output for busy managers.
I had to leave after that, missing the buffet and post-networking.
Anyway – what strikes me about the innovation and startup world in Belgium is:
- there’s more happening then you’d think.
- but overall it’s not that vibrant.
There might be two causes to the latter: our academic training which doesn’t really encourage creativity as such – and our social and tax system.
Don’t take me wrong: i’m all for a system that cares for the weak by making everyone contribute. It’s just that for most human beings, having to choose between a secure situation and one where you’re not, the first one might win out.
(not to mention the money it costs to start a company, and the money it costs to keep it going)
Anyhow, i don’t have any viable alternative to offer, allowing best of both worlds. Grounds for innovation there.