Toastie talk

Protecting Your Startup's Name and Logo • October 15

Join us for an informal and interactive Toastie Talk with Maud Kerstholt, from the Netherlands Patent Office. With a background in biomedical sciences, technology, and bioinformatics, she now brings that scientific knowledge to the world of intellectual property.

Maud will give startups a practical introduction to the different types of IP protection. You will discover what applies to you and where to go with your questions.

You can attend and hear about:

  • An introduction to the different types of IP: patents, trademarks, copyright, licensing, trade secrets and model rights
  • Which type of protection matters most depending on your startup
  • Key requirements and considerations to keep in mind early on
  • Where to direct your specific IP questions

➡️ Sign up HERE and grab a Toastie while you tune in the conversation

October 15 • 2:30 - 5:30 PM

Intellectual Property: The Early Decisions That Shape Your Startup

⚖️ Intellectual Property: The Early Decisions That Shape Your Startup
What should you patent? What should you keep secret? And what should you clarify before spinning out of academia?

Nucleate Netherlands is hosting an afternoon at UtrechtInc exploring the hidden intellectual property decisions that shape the future of a biotech startup. Together with experts from the field, the session covers common early patent mistakes, practical lessons from founders and investors, and what technology transfer offices look for when academic science starts moving toward company creation.

The afternoon includes a talk on early patent mistakes by EP&C, a panel discussion on the hidden IP decisions that shape a biotech startup’s future, an audience Q&A, networking drinks, and optional free 1-on-1 sessions with EP&C patent attorneys. Places for the 1-on-1 sessions are limited and must be requested at signup.

For: PhD students, postdocs, researchers, aspiring life sciences and biotech founders, early-stage startup teams, and anyone curious about how IP affects the journey from academic discovery to biotech company.

Programme:

14:30 Welcome from Nucleate Netherlands and UtrechtInc
14:45 EP&C talk: Patent mistakes biotech startups make early
15:15 Coffee break
15:30 Panel: The Hidden IP Decisions That Shape a Biotech Startup’s Future
16:15 Audience Q&A
16:30 Networking drinks and optional 1-on-1 EP&C clinic sessions
17:30 End of event

📅 October 15 | 14:30 to 17:30
📍 The Garage Room, UtrechtInc, Vening Meinesz building C, Princetonlaan 6, Utrecht
🎟️ Free, Register here

October 16 • 10:30 - 14:00 uur

Finance Friday: Building the future, together

💰 Finance Friday: Building the Future, Together

A practical event on financing growth plans, organised together with Lectoraat Financieel-Economische Innovatie (Hogeschool Utrecht), Qredits, ROM Utrecht Region, AtVenture Platform, and Utrecht University.

The programme includes practical insights on financing, founder experiences, and workshops led by financiers. Opening by Professor Edwin Weesie, with entrepreneur and alumni Madelon Bracke and Code-V rockstar Veronike Fikse.

Choose your workshop on the day (in Dutch)

Startkapitaalfinanciering en gender-lens — Stijn Rademaker (Utrecht University)
Micro en MKB-kredieten — André Dolsma (Qredits)
Angel investing — Tessa de Flines (AtVenture Platform)
Financieringsinstrumenten — Irene van de Poll (ROM Utrecht Region)

Moderated by Linda Boissevain van den Tillaart.

Lunch included.

For: Female entrepreneurs from the Utrecht region and female students.

📅 October 16 | 10:30 to 14:00 (including lunch)
📍 Hogeschool Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 15, Centrale hal, Utrecht
🎟️ Free — registration link in the comments of the LinkedIn post

Masterclass Internationaliseren (ROM Utrecht Region) • October 28

Join a full-day, hands-on masterclass led by Gritd, organised by ROM Utrecht Region. One enthusiastic customer abroad doesn’t make a market, and this workshop helps you explore and validate your international growth opportunities in a structured way.

You will apply the insights directly to your own company, so you leave with a concrete approach to internationalising rather than just theory. It is aimed at companies that want to start exporting, expand their international activities, or feel their current approach isn’t delivering enough.

You can attend and hear about:

  • Where your company currently stands on the market adoption curve
  • Who your customer abroad is and who actually makes the buying decision
  • What your next milestone is and how to tell whether you are on the right track
  • How to validate your international growth plans before investing further

📅 October 28 | 09:00 to 17:00
📍 ROM Utrecht Region office, Euclideslaan 1, Utrecht
💶 €149 excl. VAT per company (one participant per company; contact ROM to bring a second person)
🌐 Dutch

➡️ Sign up on the ROM Utrecht Region website HERE (The masterclass goes ahead with a minimum of 8 participants, and you’ll receive a confirmation once it’s confirmed).

Get to know us

Join Meet UtrechtInc: Your gateway to the startup ecosystem

Get a tour of our incubator

Are you a researcher, scientist, medical professional or student in Utrecht and you want to learn what a startup incubator does and how we could help you set up your own business? Are you passionate about health, education, sustainability or AI? And are you considering starting a scalable business? Come to our monthly open event Meet UtrechtInc. Visit our startup incubator, get a tour, and learn what an incubator does and how it can help you on your startup journey. Join us for an afternoon of startup insights and inspiration.

Why UtrechtInc?

Since 2009, we have supported over 430 startups, raised €747M in funding, and currently host 35+ active companies at the Science Park. Whether you have a “half-baked” idea or a full research project, you’re joining a community with a 61% survival rate.

Is Meet UtrechtInc right for you?

  • For researchers & scientists: Find out how to turn your academic research into a science-based spin-off with support from UU and UMCU.
  • For students: If you have an idea and want to learn about our Student Validation Program.
  • For existing founders: If you are looking for a community of 400+ graduates and a mentorship network in the Netherlands.
  • For talent: Meet founders who are looking for co-founders or early employees to join their tech startups
  • For curious minds: Get a taste of entrepreneurship.

Agenda

15:30 | Tour & introduction incubator, feedback on your business idea and ambitions
16:30 | Open community drinks with in-house entrepreneurs and scientists

Where are we located?

UtrechtInc is located at Princetonlaan 6, Vening Meinesz Building C (VMC), 3584 CB Utrecht, Netherlands, on Utrecht Science Park. The entrance is on the left side of the building, approximately 50 metres past the main entrance. The front office and reception are on the ground floor; startup offices are on the second floor.

The easiest way to plan your public transport route to Utrecht Science Park is via 9292.nl – enter “UtrechtInc, Princetonlaan 6, Utrecht” as your destination. For directions by public transport, tram 20,21,22 and bus lines 12 and 28 from Utrecht Centraal run directly to Utrecht Science Park (approximately 20 minutes).

Register here

Expert Classes: Non-Dilutive Financing Strategies • November 6

Expert Classes: Non-Dilutive Financing Strategies for Early-Stage Life Sciences Companies

Join us for an expert class on how to fund your life sciences startup without giving away more equity than you need to. This workshop covers the main non-dilutive financing options available from startup stage through Series A, and shows how to match them to your development milestones.

Through practical examples and case studies, you will learn how to find the funding sources that fit your company and build a capital-efficient strategy that extends your runway.

You can attend and hear about:

  • An overview of non-dilutive options: grants, tax incentives, strategic partnerships, foundation funding, venture debt and royalty-based financing
  • How to identify the most suitable funding sources for your company
  • How to align your financing with your development milestones
  • How to build a fundraising strategy that extends runway and minimizes dilution

📅 November 6 | 13:00 to 18:00
📍 UtrechtInc, Utrecht Science Park

➡️ Places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Send an e-mail to miranda.de.regt@iventus.nl to secure your spot.

November 12 • 5.30PM

Pizza Night for Founders

Founders & Pizza Night #4 – Utrecht

We’re back for a fourth round of Founders & Pizza Night. As always, expect a couple of short talks, open conversation, and pizza and drinks in a relaxed setting, a chance to swap notes with other founders in the Utrecht region.

Whether you’ve already got a startup off the ground or just an idea you’re exploring, you’re welcome to join.

Theme and speakers to be announced soon.

📍 Where: Dotslash, Utrecht
📅 When: November 12, 2026
⏰ Time: From 5:30 PM

Register here
November 24 • 16:00 – 18:30

Team up with a Startup

🤝 The Perfect Match: Team up with a Startup
The matchmaking event to connect talents with startups.

For talents:
Are you looking for a job, a co-founder position or an intership at a startup? This event is perfect for professionals and students that are considering to become part of a startup team as an employee, co-founder or intern (no freelance).

For startups:
Are you looking for the talent that will help your startup grow? At Team up with a Startup you will meet startup founders, scientists, business developers, marketeers and IT professionals

External Startups:
Want to join the talent pool? Non-UtrechtInc startups are welcome! After registering, please send a one-pager to nanna@utrechtinc.nl.

You can register for free until November 17.

Program:
16:00 Walk in
16:30 Opening & startup pitches
17:15 Meet & greet startups <> talents
18:00 Networking drinks
18:30 Closing of the event

All participants are kindly requested to join the full event due to the event set up.

The event is open to all startup founders, also outside UtrechtInc.

📅 November 24 | 16:00 – 18:30
📍 UtrechtInc, Utrecht Science Park
🎟️ Register here

Get to know us

Join Meet UtrechtInc: Your gateway to the startup ecosystem

November 26 from 3.30 PM

If you can´t make it, no worries. We organize this event every last Thursday of the month.

Get a tour of our incubator

Are you a researcher, scientist, medical professional or student in Utrecht and you want to learn what a startup incubator does and how we could help you set up your own business? Are you passionate about health, education, sustainability or AI? And are you considering starting a scalable business? Come to our monthly open event Meet UtrechtInc. Visit our startup incubator, get a tour, and learn what an incubator does and how it can help you on your startup journey. Join us for an afternoon of startup insights and inspiration.

The tour takes place every last Thursday of the month from 3.30 PM.

Why UtrechtInc?

Since 2009, we have supported over 430 startups, raised €747M in funding, and currently host 35+ active companies at the Science Park. Whether you have a “half-baked” idea or a full research project, you’re joining a community with a 61% survival rate.

Is Meet UtrechtInc right for you?

  • For researchers & scientists: Find out how to turn your academic research into a science-based spin-off with support from UU and UMCU.
  • For students: If you have an idea and want to learn about our Student Validation Program.
  • For existing founders: If you are looking for a community of 400+ graduates and a mentorship network in the Netherlands.
  • For talent: Meet founders who are looking for co-founders or early employees to join their tech startups
  • For curious minds: Get a taste of entrepreneurship.

Agenda

15:30 | Tour & introduction incubator, feedback on your business idea and ambitions
16:30 | Open community drinks with in-house entrepreneurs and scientists

Where are we located?

UtrechtInc is located at Princetonlaan 6, Vening Meinesz Building C (VMC), 3584 CB Utrecht, Netherlands, on Utrecht Science Park. The entrance is on the left side of the building, approximately 50 metres past the main entrance. The front office and reception are on the ground floor; startup offices are on the second floor.

The easiest way to plan your public transport route to Utrecht Science Park is via 9292.nl – enter “UtrechtInc, Princetonlaan 6, Utrecht” as your destination. For directions by public transport, tram 20,21,22 and bus lines 12 and 28 from Utrecht Centraal run directly to Utrecht Science Park (approximately 20 minutes).

Register here
November 26 • 13:00 to 16:00

Creating a successful Medical Device Development Roadmap

 

On November 26, UtrechtInc is hosting a workshop on building a successful medical device development roadmap, organised by Stichting MedtechPartners.

If you’re developing a medical device and trying to understand MDR, this practical afternoon covers both the product and company sides of regulatory requirements, led by two experts.

Programme:
13:00 Introduction by Joep Welschen, Stichting MedtechPartners
13:15 Value development & regulatory requirements – product focus
14:45 Regulatory requirements & milestones – company focus
16:00 Closing

Speakers:
Jan-Bart Hak – Director Medical Devices Europe at ProPharma Group, with over 20 years of experience in clinical research and regulatory affairs for medical devices.
Willem Baelde – Founder of Baelde Consulting, specialising in quality and regulatory management for medical device companies in highly regulated industries.

Stay after 16.00 for the UtrechtInc open community drinks and meet other founders.

📅 November 26 | 13:00 – 16:00
📍 UtrechtInc, Utrecht
🔗 Register here 

Events