Founder

[Job description]

Building a business. We help with capital, expertise and corporate access.

You know a problem worth solving. You understand who’s affected by it, why existing solutions fall short, and who would pay for a better one. Now you want to build a scalable business around it.

Achmea Impact Ventures helps you do that. You build your own venture, with us as investor and active partner.

An MVP, complete team, or detailed business plan is not a requirement. We do expect you to be further along than just an idea: you know the domain, have talked to potential customers, and can explain where the commercial opportunity lies.

What we offer

We support you in three ways:

Capital. We invest in phases, tied to goals we agree on together in advance.
Expertise. You get access to our team of 25 experts in areas including research, product development, design, development, marketing, legal, finance and recruitment. Together we determine what support is needed and how much capacity we commit.
Corporate access. Where relevant, we help you gain access to Achmea’s knowledge, network and opportunities — for example, subject-matter expertise, introductions, or exploring a pilot.

Our experts advise, work alongside you, and help with execution where agreed. You remain responsible for building your business, attracting customers, and growing your team.

How we work together

We start with the problem and the paying customer. How urgent is the problem? Who decides on the purchase? And what’s needed to generate the first revenue?

After that, we work in short cycles on validation, product and sales. We build based on what customers actually need and are willing to pay for. Conversations, usage and revenue help us determine the next step.

For each phase we make concrete agreements about goals, money and expert hours. Progress determines whether and how we invest further. You lead the venture; we think along, challenge you, and help you move forward.

Investment and ownership

AIV invests up to €250,000 in cash and a comparable amount in expert hours. We make these resources available in phases, tied to goals we agree on together in advance. The financial investment runs through a convertible loan agreement (CLA), which can be converted into shares under agreed terms. Our starting point is that founders retain 75–85% of the shares after conversion, with AIV holding 15–25%. The exact percentage depends on the stage, the risk, the investment, and the level of expert involvement — agreements we make upfront.

Who we’re looking for

You want to build a business and take responsibility for the outcome. Prior founder experience is not required. What we do want to see is that you take initiative, make decisions, and get things done.

You:

• know the problem, the target audience, and the potential payer;
• actively seek out customers and bring people along;
• test your assumptions and are open to critical feedback;
• dare to adjust course or stop an idea if the evidence calls for it;
• persevere when sales, product development or collaboration get tough;
• can commit to the venture full-time and work part of the week with our team in Amsterdam.

Which ideas fit?

We’re looking for digital, scalable solutions within:

• Health
• Financial wellbeing, outside of insurance
• Sustainability
• Work
• Housing
• Mobility

We aim to work toward first paying customers within roughly six to nine months. You focus on a substantial Dutch market and see a credible path to growth. Our ambition is a venture that can reach at least €2 million in annual recurring revenue within three years, or has the potential for a €10 million valuation.

We don’t build hardware, IoT or crypto, and we don’t take on projects that require long-term scientific research. Digital healthcare solutions can be a fit if the regulatory path is achievable within the available time and resources.

There must be a clear paying customer. The venture must be able to grow independently, even outside of Achmea, and its success may not depend on a policy change or on third-party intellectual property it doesn’t sufficiently control.

Want to get in touch?

Tell us which problem you want to solve, for whom, and why you’re the right person to build this business.

After you apply, you’ll receive our Problem Card. This gives us insight into you, the problem, and the commercial opportunity. You’re welcome to send a pitch deck or prototype, but it’s not required.

Our Founder Scouts review your application. You’ll usually hear back within one to three weeks. If there’s a good fit, this is followed by conversations with our team and, where needed, subject-matter experts.

You can apply year-round.