Cryptocurrency hardware wallet

NGRAVE, founded in 2018, develops a secure and easy to use cryptocurrency hardware wallet. This 3-tier solution, ‘Coldest Wallet’, consists of an offline touchscreen hardware wallet (ZERO), an encrypted backup solution (GRAPHENE) and a mobile app to connect to the blockchain (LIQUID).

Ruben Merre, CEO and cofounder of NGRAVE explains: “Having experienced crypto hacks ourselves, we made it our mission to provide the crypto community the security comfort it deserves. That’s why we innovated to the extreme on both security and user experience. This seed round represents the kickstart for our exponential growth stage and with the backing of several strategic investors, we are confident that 2022 will be a breakthrough year for NGRAVE.”

Expanding the team & global reach

After the successful seed round fundraise, NGRAVE is now looking to expand their team and increase global reach. By doing so, it wants to solidify its global brand and presence. In addition, NGRAVE is planning a new significant funding round in 2022 to support its vision of creating a complete crypto ecosystem.

At Verhaert, we support start-ups to make sure they have a success launch. Within our MyStartup program, you can enter many incubator programs to help overcome current challenges.

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Why is it so important to support innovative start-ups?

“Nobody doubts the importance of innovation. It’s increasingly seen as the solution to just about every social problem. However, innovating isn’t easy. In fact, the success rate of innovation is statistically rather low. As a service provider, we therefore help companies and entrepreneurs to innovate successfully by taking a systematic approach. We do this extensively with corporations for both their core innovations and for developing adjacent products and new product lines. In addition, we support disruptive innovations that typically challenge the rules of a particular sector. That kind of innovation is best done in a start-up setting.”

What exactly does Verhaert do in that context?

“We launched the ‘MyStartUp initiative’ about four years ago. With this, we support start-ups all over Europe in their very first phase, that is conceptualizing and realizing a proof of concept, both on a technical and commercial level. We do this in the form of various local and international thematic incubation and acceleration programs, and in partnership with various European, Belgian and Flemish initiatives. More information about these thematic programs can be found at mystartup.be.”

“Specifically, we coach start-ups in data, medical and IoT applications and space technology to help them to receive government support. Moreover, we provide access to our engineering services at a discount rate. In this way, we have already helped about five hundred start-ups from Finland to Greece get off to a good start in recent years. So we can surely say that we are successful at this.”

The need for support does not end for start-ups after realizing a proof of concept.

Why did you choose to also collaborate with imec.istart?

“The need for support does not end for start-ups after realizing a proof of concept. To take the next steps in further developing and launching their product, they need venture capital and additional substantive guidance. Verhaert also wants to give substance to this. Preferably, we do not do this by investing directly ourselves, because that could lead to conflicts of interest. We therefore chose to collaborate with the imec.istart fund based on their proven track record as a leading business acceleration program and more than two hundred participants, their sector independence, and the corresponding market approach and complementarity in coaching towards business and product readiness.”

What type of start-ups do you specifically target with this?

“We focus our fund on young technology companies, but our substantive contribution is strongest in start-ups with a hybrid proposition with both a physical product and software. We have seen this type of company emerge more and more frequently at imec.istart in recent years because of the rise of IoT. Consequently, the fund broadened from software technology ventures to deep technology ventures. These ventures involve more physical products and therefore more substantial R&D and product development. Start-ups with concepts in IoT, life sciences and even space often need a hardware component and guidance in product innovation.”

How do Verhaert and imec.istart complement each other?

“The guidance of this type of start-up requires specific expertise. In this respect, the collaboration between imec.istart and Verhaert is an enormous added value. After all, we specialize in hardware and hybrid systems, while imec.istart focuses more on digital and micro-electronics. We provide a flow-through to start-ups from our own early stage acceleration programs to the imec.istart business acceleration program.”

“Complementary to imec.istart’s coaching towards investment and business readiness, we guide the start-ups in their product readiness track. Verhaert also co-invested in the capital increase, which allowed the fund to grow from 12.5 million euros to more than thirty million euros. Finally, we also participate in the board of Istart Fund and its investment decisions.”

From an interview with MediaPlanet for ‘De Kracht van Vlaanderen’.

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Coaching tech start-ups

“Within the MyStartUp programme, Verhaert has guided and provided equity free seed money to more than hundred start-ups across Europe in recent years on the authority of the European Space Agency ESA, the European Copernicus and Point.Iot program and several MedTech accelerators,” says Koen Verhaert, CEO and Program Director MyStartUp.

With this investment in the imec.istart Fund, Verhaert, through the fund, now also invests in the capital of such tech start-ups. “We have chosen the imec.istart Fund for this because of their track record, ecosystem and multi-sector approach. Verhaert will also help to guide the imec.istart team and coach the start-ups in further developing their idea into a marketable and scalable product.”

imec.istart Fund

The imec.istart Fund was established in 2017 with a starting capital of 12.5 million euro and a focus on start-ups working with digital technologies. The Flemish government and private partners who co-initiated the fund are imec, ING, BNP Paribas Fortis, Telenet and Cronos Groep. Besides its initial focus on digital technology, special attention will be paid to sustainability and IoT physical products. To reinforce this evolution, the fund also attracts 4 new partners: Verhaert, Nuhma, EFIN and Vlaamse EnergieHolding. This way, the capital of the imec.istart Fund grows to 30.5 million euro and the right framework is created.

During the past years, the investments of imec.istart often turned out to be a flywheel for follow-up funding. Every euro that the imec.istart Fund invested in start-ups generated on average more than 25 euro from other sources. Together, the portfolio companies of the imec.istart Fund raised over 320 million euro in follow-up funding. With the capital increase, the various partners want to further increase the impact of the start-up ecosystem and thus contribute to innovation and a sustainable local economy.

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Post-Brexit support measures

As the Brexit agreement was signed at the end of 2020, the support measures of the Flemish and Belgian governments are beginning to take shape. Flanders is currently working on an extensive package of support measures, consisting of a post-Brexit resilience subsidy, subsidized training and reinforced instruments from FIT, VLAIO and VLAM. Flanders is providing a total of 53 million euros for these support measures.

Strategic transformation process

With these subsidies, Flanders wants to help SMEs that are (in)directly affected by the Brexit by sustainably and fundamentally transforming their strategic plans. For example, companies can find new market segments or regions, launch a product diversification or create new service models, more on this on strategic transformation. For these transformation processes, an SME can apply for a subsidy of up to 50.000 euros. In addition, the financial support is completed with guidance from an employee of the Flemish government during the entire process. Sustainable investments and innovations are also eligible for strategic transformation or ecology support.

Successful strategic subsidy applications

In addition to product and service development, Verhaert offers companies support to successfully apply for subsidies. We can help create a strategic pivot, from a strategic level, product portfolio or individual product, by drawing up a new strategy, finding (new) added value through market research or identifying (new) customer needs and motivation. Thanks to the subsidies of the Flemish government, companies can accelerate growth while easing the risks and costs of innovation. We look forward to sharing our thorough understanding of the necessary application elements with you.

For more information on Verhaert’s funding application services, feel free to contact us to discuss your personal trajectory or visit the FundIt webpage.

www.ewi-vlaanderen.be

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Develop IoT solutions with satellite positioning

The uptake of IoT is growing rapidly and immense amounts of data are being generated every day. Using these interconnected devices enables new insights and faster reactions and responses. Using Galileo, on the other hand, allows for more reliable and accurate positioning. Its increased availability enables IoT devices to determine their position even in demanding urban environments. Combining IoT and Galileo technologies can make a positive impact on industry innovation and result in breakthrough solutions, which is the purpose of Point.IoT.

Point.IoT in a nutshell

Each year, ten teams of at least two ambitious entrepreneurs will be selected to develop the next generation of IoT solutions. Point.IoT will help turn their ideas into real-world solutions as teams engage in a 3-month virtual sprint. Discover the full program.

The application process is simple, and our online platform provides step-by-step guidance. Make sure to review the evaluation criteria to ensure you have the best chance of being selected for the program. Next, you choose an industry challenge, apply on the platform and wait for confirmation.

More than a start-up accelerator program

For start-ups

Aside from the chance to win €20.000, we provide tailor-made training, tasks and advice from industry experts to transform your ideas into reality. We partner with real companies faced with real challenges, which means access to industry partners who will validate your solution throughout the program. Your technical, business and creative skills will be tested as you generate innovative solutions that have real market needs. During the virtual design sprint our industry experts and mentors will roll up their sleeves together with you to give a boost to your development journey.

For corporations

Point.IoT allows you to find solutions and/or start-ups for your industry needs. Supply your specific challenge and the selected teams will create innovative solutions, guided by our industry experts. Get connected to the Point.IoT community to explore further collaboration with the developers, startups and technology expert community. Moreover, the Point.IoT entrepreneurs will showcase their successful projects during our demo day as a door-opener for fruitful collaboration and lasting partnerships.

For investors

Find new promising start-ups and investment opportunities during our demo day. Throughout the Point.IoT program ten teams of ambitious entrepreneurs will develop IoT solutions using Galileo technologies guided by industry experts.

Get started with Galileo and IoT!

Think you have what it takes to design the ultimate industry solution?
Point.IoT wants to hear from you.

Interested in becoming an industry representative, investor or partner?
Leave your information through the Verhaert contact form or the Point.IoT contact form to get involved.

For more information, please visit: www.point-iot.eu

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Every type of innovation (incremental, breakthrough, technology, business model …) fits with its own funding scheme. However, the application procedure can seem discouraging. Are you insecure about eligibility and your project’s innovative character? The technologies that offer a solution? Uncertain about the valorization route or how to document your project? Here you find insights to ensure receiving subsidies from Vlaio, Interreg, Eureka, ESA …

Stepwise approach to successfully apply for subsidies

Step 1: ask yourself why you need funding

The first question you need to ask yourself is: “Why is our innovative idea important for our company?” To successfully apply for subsidies, you need to know whether it fits in a wider growth trajectory, whether it contributes to a technology or service platform. Will a successful project lead to a competitive advantage? Does the project go beyond the current state-of-the-art? Will your customers or end-users benefit from new or improved services or products?

Step 2: ask the same questions from the perspective of the respective funding agency

Why should they grant you subsidies? What’s their return on investment and how will you justify this? A successful subsidy application describes the road map towards valorization. It shows how this project will enhance the R&D capabilities of the (Flanders) ecosystem, potentially through collaboration with other companies or research institutes.

You should also know the ins and outs of your company and demonstrate them with for example a SWOT analysis. For ESA funding applications, it’s recommended to clearly point out not only why this specific space technology makes a difference in the application, but also why this space technology is a value creating component fulfilling an essential role for your innovation.

Step 3: broaden the scope and work towards the subsidy strategy

A successful product or service always balances 3 pillars: business goals, technology enablers and user needs. All these aspects are closely related and strengthen each other.

Why is this the most appropriate technology for the added value you’re going to capture with your product? We recommend to clearly benchmark the chosen technology versus other technological choices and point out why this is expected to be the ‘best’ one? The table on the next page gives an overview of the different technologies used as gesture-based human-machine-interface of devices and some characteristics of these technologies.

What evolution can be expected from the technology in the future (price decrease, increase in performance, miniaturization, demand increase …)? One of the ways we can verify this is f.e. in the increase in patents during the past 3 years. Is there an increasing trend line in the patent claims in this technology?

But of course other criteria for trending can be taken into account such as:

• Price decrease
• Performance increase year to year
• Increasing number of applications
• Growing number of companies deploying or offering …

Technology swap versus new value creation. How it differentiates in your request for subsidies? How will the technology enhance your competitive strength (sales volumes, product differentiation, price competitiveness, new unique highly desired functionalities, …)? We advise to deeply consider how you’d like to evaluate the value the technology brings to your users in the envisaged application. A difference should or could be made when a technology swap is considered for decreasing the product price versus an innovation project where technology is offering new features and hence new values to the end users.

In a technology swap the value is of course defined by the potential cost decrease you can create and/or split between you and the customer. Through quick designs and determining every component, we suggest to make a price estimate relative to the existing product. This is possible as no new features are added and you estimate that the desirability to users remains unchanged.

In the new value creation situation it is however much more difficult. A relative comparison merely from a cost perspective is not equal to the price a customer is willing to pay. The value or price an end user assigns is a combination of the utility and desirability he or she attributes to the product and hence not only a rational decision or evaluation. In order to assess new features on top of the existing product functions and to compare with the previous price level, a more in-depth investigation is required.

Verhaert developed a specific toolset to make quick comparative evaluations to get a relative comparison in this field. More information on the toolbox called Lytics_TM can be found on www.slideshare.net.

Step 4: technical writing

Let’s transform the subsidy strategy into a structured application file, by tackling several aspects: take your time to explore the state-of-the-art and how your project will reach beyond. For this topic we advise to use scientific papers, review articles, patents … to sketch an overview of the current state-of-the-art. Be aware to make a distinction between scientific state-of-the-art (i.e. what is recently investigated by universities) and commercial state-of-the-art (what are most recent and best practices or latest products available in the market).

Attention points of a solid work plan

By dividing the project into work packages, each with their own milestones and check gates, we set you on track for a successful execution of the project. A fail fast and cheap methodology like Verhaert’s RICE helps to build a solid workplan.

• Identify the unknowns and start with those. When we learn the unknowns first in the early phase of the project, we avoid trying to manage them as last thing.
• Have a backup plan. Don’t start with only one concept in mind. A plan should allow you to have alternatives in order to have some flexibility when a failure or problem occurs.
• Look global, we recommend to start with mapping the complete system and technology, not the subsystem only. When focusing only a subset of the overall product or process, and the associated technology, you risk to be blind for risks in other parts and/or incompatibilities with the complete system (i.e. interface issues).
• Slice the problem and the plan: every problem can be divided into smaller problems. A big problem often seems much more difficult to tackle than the sum of the smaller-scale problems in which it is divided. It brings clarity and focus. Divide the plan according to the subproblems.

Be inspired by ongoing funded projects

We hope these attention points will help you in developing a better technical proposal. Feel free to contact us for any help in this matter. Some of our ongoing funded projects:

SHAKE (imec.icon project)

With haptic feedback, a computer or machine can ‘touch’ a user by triggering receptors in their skin. A new approach to haptic feedback is the use of ultrasonic waves to generate a local pressure field, causing the user to feel a light sensation. As this technique has not been fully explored, the SHAKE project studies the effects and application domains of mid-air haptics to create a convincing and ‘pressable’ virtual button.

SILENSE (ECSEL project)

A common problem for divers, especially in difficult conditions such as murky water or strong currents, is staying together with their dive buddy. In the SILENSE project, Verhaert develops an underwater localization system based on ultrasound signaling. The device provides distance and bearing information and allows recovering your dive buddy.

eWATCH (ITEA3 project)

There is great promise in wearable health monitoring systems in allowing individuals to closely monitor changes in their vital signs and providing feedback to regain or maintain optimum health. Monitoring hearth rate, blood pressure and blood glucose levels, oxygen saturation, physical activity and other physiological parameters will minimize the cost of treatment and enhance the quality of life. Verhaert is developing an AI application to estimate absolute blood pressure based on raw PPG signals.

Recent realizations

Furthermore, we recently helped our customers to file requests for subsidies in the following domains:

• A cost effective wireless router using the latest WiFi technology with custom antenna design
• Medical image guided robotics
• More accurate air quality measurements
• Detecting and tracking of unknown vessels in tough weather conditions

Interesting read

Some articles you might be interested in:

• vlaio.be/nl/nieuws/vlaanderen-stimuleert-extended-reality
• vlaio.be/nl/nieuws/vlaio-lanceert-icon-oproep-gepersonaliseerde-geneeskunde
• business.esa.int/funding/invitation-to-tender/esa-5groningen-opportunity
• business.esa.int/funding/invitation-to-tender/artificial-intelligence-kick-start

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