3.7 min read

Birdhouse Enters New Phase

Anke Artois I Marketing & Communications

Birdhouse has come a long way since its inception in 2016. The company has evolved into a community of extraordinary people, including investors, mentors & startups and scale-up founders, all working together to support and guide (other) startups to reach their full potential. Today, we are proud to have accelerated over 150 companies and to have become a leading accelerator in Europe.

Needless to say that founding Birdhouse, way back in 2016, was one of our most significant milestones. Close to 40 people got together, spent time on being a mentor in our new accelerator program and even invested €10k each afterwards. We received an overwhelming support from the market and partnered with Belfius, a few months later.

Another big milestone was us switching to a completely tailor-made program for our startups, ensuring that they receive the right kind of support to succeed. From this point on we decided that we would only shape the program after the startups of each cohort are chosen. No cohort chosen? No program. Tailor-made.

Birdhouse is recently establishing itself as a leader in the AgeTech industry, which is poised to grow exponentially over the next decade. To support this industry, We’ve created a network of mentors, advisors and investors who are dedicated to helping startups in this specific field. The company is proud to say that it has the best AgeTech network out there and has already guided various startups from all over Europe.

In a next phase, Birdhouse plans to expand its offerings to more verticals globally. The company's goal is to support all these incredible startups and help them reach their full potential. To achieve this, Birdhouse recently launched its own accelerator fund, named Birdhouse Ventures.

Starting from the next cohort, Birdhouse will invest €100k per startup that successfully enrolls in the accelerator program. Birdhouse will also be able to do follow-on investments up to 1,5Mio per startup.

This investment will make a significant difference for startups, enabling them to execute more on the advice they receive, grow faster, and focus on their core metrics. Many of Birdhouse's alumni, like Vermut, AFC and Kadonation, have already shown their support for this new approach, admitting that an extra €100k, from the beginning, would've made a huge difference for their businesses.

They would’ve been able to tap into additional markets quicker, opened their showroom sooner or could’ve focused on core metrics earlier instead of trying to find sufficient funding.

And that, for us, confirmed the reason why we’re doing what we do.

Starting from our next cohort, startups no longer need to worry that much about how much money is on their account.

Because at Birdhouse, we believe that the combination of our network and this amount of investment makes a significant difference. It's the complete package to create a successful environment for your startup. And to support this initiative even more, we have brought in Alexandra Buekens, a partner with 15 years of experience in venture capital and private equity.

Birdhouse’s usual suspects are also switching roles: Pablo Oeyen will become CEO of the Birdhouse accelerator and Jan-Willem Callebaut will become CEO of Birdhouse Ventures.

With the launch of Birdhouse Ventures, Birdhouse has taken a significant step forward. The company's core values remain the same, but many valuable layers have been added.

In addition to the launch of Birdhouse Ventures, the company is also unveiling a brand new look and feel, with a completely refreshed brand identity that reflects our evolution and growth over the years.

With the support of our partners and the community, we are confident that we will continue to support and guide the international startup scene for many more years to come.

Thank you for all your support over the last few years.

Birdhouse wouldn’t have been able to become what it is today without you.

If you're a startup looking to join an accelerator, we invite you to join the Birdhouse program. With our extensive network and new accelerator fund, we are confident that we can help you achieve your goals. AgeTech startups can register here. All other startups should enroll here. Not yet convinced? Read some of our alumni’s success stories.

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