The above-average success of start-ups from the Brainport Eindhoven region can be directly linked to the specific characteristics and conditions within the region. The high degree of mutual cooperation and the presence of talent and knowledge stand out the most. This becomes evident from research among the 70 former winners of a Gerard & Anton Award, presented annually, since 2014, to ten promising start-ups from the Brainport Eindhoven region. The main distinguishing factors of Brainport are, according to the start-ups surveyed:

• availability of talent and knowledge
• cooperation across the ecosystem (vertical and horizontal)
• availability of suitable work locations (including labs)
• the focus on solving major societal problems (impact-driven)
• the accessibility of knowledge institutions and technical support

The study also reveals that the benefits of Brainport have the greatest impact in the early years of a start-up. As the start-up grows, the bottlenecks also become more prominent. These are in areas such as housing, access to money, bureaucracy, low diversity, and customer relations with corporates.

Exceptional ecosystem

The study shows that the region of birth of those start-ups has an exceptional start-up ecosystem. “We began this research by asking what factors determined the remarkably high success rate of start-ups in Brainport Eindhoven,” explains senior analyst Christian Janssen (Strategy Unit). “According to the companies we surveyed, the cause can mainly be sought in factors that distinguish this region from others. In part, those factors are linked to a tradition of long-term cooperation which has produced a close-knit social network with low replicability.”

Brainport Eindhoven focuses on (deep)tech and the manufacturing industry. Janssen: “Yet, other ecosystems would also do well to further strengthen the specific elements that cause Brainport start-ups to achieve higher success rates.” According to the initiators, the results can not only be used as proof of Brainport’s success but also other regions can benefit from them. Janssen expects that the study will be followed up elsewhere, partly in light of recent studies by Dealroom and Techleap.

The 70 growth companies that won a Gerard & Anton Award in the 2014-2020 period collectively created 3,300 full-time jobs and raised at least 2 billion euros in funding, according to their own data. Most of these start-ups have now reached the stage of scale-up. Of the seventy companies surveyed, 59 demonstrably generated revenue from their own products or services. That’s 84% of the total. 52 of the 59 growth companies have managed to sustain that to date. With that, some 75% can be called long-term successful.

“The strength of Brainport Eindhoven”

Brainport Development director Paul van Nunen sees in the results “new evidence of the unparalleled strength of this ecosystem. It is great to see that the start-ups themselves link exactly those distinctive elements that we have been cherishing and constantly developing for years to their own success. This means not only that we occupy a special position but also that the choice of that position is effective. There’s a good reason for calling Brainport the ‘home of pioneers’.”

City of Eindhoven Alderman Stijn Steenbakkers (Brainport and Economic Affairs): “This research proves the strength of Brainport Eindhoven. Cooperation is key, and we are producing new world players. The many start-ups in our city and region provide more jobs, more than 2 billion in investments, and important solutions for societal challenges in the field of sustainability and health. We remain committed to startups in the coming years, and I look forward to working with new gems in our ecosystem.”

Jeroen van Woerden, director of startup organization The Gate: “It is great to see that the distinctive factors of this region are already widely recognized. This report underlines that, among other recently published reports. The Gate aims to increase the success rate of start-ups in this region. In addition to celebrating successes, we also look at what can be improved in the future.”

The entire report can be downloaded here (in Dutch).