Everything founders need to know

You bring the idea, knowledge of the problem, and the drive to turn it into a business. We bring the money, a proven method, and a tight-knit startup team.

Throughout the programme, you work alongside our experts in research, product, tech, marketing, and business. We test whether the problem really exists, build the first product, and find paying customers. AIV covers the costs of the startup and your hours as a founder during this period.

The Studio operates independently from Amsterdam, but can draw on Achmea — think experts in health, work, and finance, a large network, and brands like Centraal Beheer, Interpolis, and Zilveren Kruis. This can help you learn faster and open doors.

The goal: a standalone company ready to scale, within nine months.

We can bring in relevant experts and use the network for introductions, validation, and sometimes a pilot. But Achmea itself or Achmea’s customers  won’t automatically become your customer base. You remain responsible for your market and winning customers.

A good idea starts with a real problem. Not with a technology looking for an application. You know who has the problem, when it occurs, and why current solutions fall short. You haven’t just come up with this yourself, you’ve discussed or tested it with people from your target audience. An MVP or full business plan isn’t required. We do want to know who your first user is, who pays, and why.

We build digital ventures in Health & Wellbeing, Future of Work, Sustainable Behaviour, and Healthy Finances (outside insurance).

We look for solutions that can be tested and launched quickly. The initial market is in the Netherlands and counts at least 100,000 consumers or 5,000 potential business customers. The ambition: grow to around €2 million in revenue or a value of €10 million within three years.

We don’t invest if the venture depends on:

• new hardware or complex manufacturing
• lengthy scientific, medical, or therapeutic research
• long or uncertain approval processes
• crypto
• a policy change
• data, access, or intellectual property you don’t control
• a platform where you need to build supply and demand simultaneously

We also don’t build internal Achmea tools or products that compete with Achmea’s existing products.

We build intensively together for roughly nine months, in three phases. We start with the problem. Who are we solving what for? How significant is the problem really? And will anyone pay for a solution? Then we build and test the product and find the first customers.

Per phase, we agree on what we want to prove and how much we invest. The goal is for the venture to be ready to scale after nine months.

We stay involved as investor and partner beyond that.

AIV covers the costs of the venture and your hours as a founder. We invest in three phases, up to a maximum of €550,000 in total.

The founding team retains 70–80% of the shares. AIV remains a minority shareholder. The exact terms are agreed before we start.

Simply apply with your CV. You’ll then receive the Problem Card to complete, which we use to assess ideas. We ask what you already know, what’s still uncertain, and why you’re the right person to build this.

Our Founder Scouts review your application. You’ll usually hear back within one to three weeks.

If we see enough potential, conversations with the team follow. If we’re both enthusiastic, we agree on the first three months, the investment, and the terms.