Exactly the type of audience we love bringing together at Friends of Bata.
On September 10, we visited our partners at Unknown University in The Hague, joining their new Bachelor in Entrepreneurship cohort for an afternoon focused on the realities of building a company from scratch.
What followed was a 1.5-hour session with non-stop questions from students from all around the world, exactly the kind of open, curious and highly interactive conversation we want to create through Friends of Bata.
Three perspectives on building a company
Valentina Müller, Platform Lead at Friends of Bata, introduced students to Friends of Bata, our international ecosystem and the different ways we aim to connect the next generation of entrepreneurs with founders, investors and practical opportunities.
She also shared practical tips for founders starting from zero: how to create a brand, how to begin promoting a new business, setting up your first communications ecosystem, getting started with advertising, working with influencers and using market research to better understand your customers before scaling.
Jordy Johannes, CIO/CFO at Triple B, brought the investment perspective, sharing insights specifically for early-stage founders: what investors look for in entrepreneurs and teams, what makes a founder stand out, and some of the things young companies should think about when they begin approaching investors.
And Eyan Chan, founder of Chilli Chan's, shared the founder side of the story — including some of the secrets and lessons behind how she successfully launched a company in the Netherlands.
From moving from corporate life into entrepreneurship to entering a new market and building a consumer brand from scratch, Eyan gave students an honest view of what launching a business actually looks like.
1.5 hours of questions
The best part of the afternoon?
The questions simply didn't stop.
Students challenged our speakers on branding, investment, launching, marketing, customers, social media, funding, mistakes, growth and everything in between.
With students representing different countries, cultures and perspectives, the room reflected exactly what Friends of Bata wants its community to look like: multicultural, young, ambitious and future-forward.
For us, entrepreneurship education becomes much more powerful when students can complement what they learn academically with direct access to people who are building companies, investing in them and helping brands grow in the real world.
That is also why our partnership with Unknown University feels so natural.
Unknown University is building an environment around entrepreneurship and practical learning, while Friends of Bata works to create bridges between the next generation of founders and the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Our visit also coincided with the Unknown Community Celebration, bringing together more than 400 members of the wider Unknown ecosystem, including founders, partners and international guests.
A huge thank you to the Unknown University team for welcoming us — and especially to all the students who made the session such a great one.
We came to share some lessons.
We left equally inspired!
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