Maarten Van Gorp & Sven De Cleyn
imec.istart
On July 1st, 2023, BlueHealth Innovation Center decided to transfer all startup activities to imec.istart. They will continue to stimulate innovation in healthcare through a 12-week pre-acceleration program, where HealthTech entrepreneurs prepare for their initial investments.
MAARTEN VAN GORP
Initially trained as a physical therapist, Maarten travelled to Australia to study Entrepreneurship in Melbourne where he developed a deep interest in healthcare innovation. Back in Belgium he wanted to help entrepreneurs and early-stage startups and started working first at the center for student-entrepreneurship at Ghent University and later at BlueHealth Innovation Center, which then led him to world renowned startup accelerator imec.istart. As a Venture Acceleration Manager he coaches startups and is leading the efforts to integrate the recently acquired activities of BlueHealth Innovation Center into imec.istart’s current offering.
What is a talent that you wish you had & why?
I’m quite a fan of action sports, so I would love to be talented when it comes to things like skydiving, skiing, climbing, wakeboarding, etc. Those action sport athletes push beyond their existing boundaries and really force themselves out of their comfort zone and I believe immense personal progress can come from that. But another talent I wish I had, is falling asleep instantly. I can easily toss and turn for 30 minutes to an hour before falling asleep, while my wife falls asleep within 2 minutes of closing her eyes, anywhere and anytime. I would love to be able to completely shut off my brain and sleep straight away...
What do you value most in a friendship?
To me friendship is really all about fun and trust. Great friends should be a source of fun and laughter and they should be able to make any situation enjoyable while being able to trust them to be there for you when you need them, unconditionally. Another part of friendship which I truly value is challenging each other and broadening each other’s horizons, because there’s lots of merit in helping each other seeing the world from different perspectives.
Your house catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save one item. What would it be and why?
The large world map on the wall in our living room, on which we stick little pins each time we’ve planned a new trip or visited a new place. We really love to travel and it’s one of the things my wife and I often look at. Whether it’s dreaming about our next holiday destination or reliving the great memories of the places we’ve travelled to, it has quite the sentimental value to the both of us. That being said, I would do my best to also grab our new coffee machine on my way out!
If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?
I would spend a lot more time with my wife, my family and my friends, while trying to complete a rather extensive bucket list. Things like skiing in Japan, completing the Tour du Mont Blanc, getting my skydiving license and traveling throughout Central America are, among other things, quite high up there. So what’s a better way to enjoy my last year than by checking off these things together with my wife, friends and family.
Have you ever been in the newspaper or in a magazine with your picture, apart from work-related articles? Which one & why?
I’ve always loved going to festivals, and when I was younger, my friends and I often wore funny costumes. One year I was dressed up as Dipsy, the green character from the Teletubbies, while my friends were dressed up as the yellow and red Teletubbies. We must have struck some nostalgic chords, because unintentionally we ended up getting lots of free stuff and we found our pictures in several newspapers the morning after.
SVEN DE CLEYN
As ‘co-founder’ and Program Director of imec.istart, and prior to that as researcher and professor in entrepreneurship, Sven has been engaging with tech startups and spin-offs for over 15 years. With imec.istart, including BlueHealth Innovation Center, they aim to provide the best support possible for (aspiring) tech founders.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone (for example to one of your kids), a life lesson that you learned or a key takeaway, what would it be?
That everything is relative! When I was studying I used to experience quite some stress during public speaking, for example when giving presentations. Throughout the years certain events in my private life have made me realize that there really is no point in being so stressed for such events. I’d love to help people gain perspective on those type of things and relativize certain situations.
Who is your favorite artist (music, art, writer) and why (what do you like about it)?
Like with everything in life, I like variety. I can enjoy different styles and genres of music. Favorite artists include Coldplay, London Grammar or Hooverphonic, but also artists like Moby, Sweet Coffee and Seal are also featured in my Spotify playlist. I’ve had the luck to see many artists perform live on stage, by working as a volunteer at Sportpaleis and Rock Werchter. The passion and energy that artists bring on stage and their interaction with the crowd is fascinating to see and has contributed to discovering and liking new artists.
What gives you energy on a really dark day? What gives you energy when all things go wrong?
Luckily, I have,’t had too many days (yet) on which I had the feeling that all things would go wrong… and I tend to see the glass half full instead of half empty. Professionally: talking to startup founders! I admire their creativity and courage to go into uncharted terrain. Helping them grow, both personally as well as with their startup, gives me a lot of satisfaction and energy. Privately: go for a run in nature and play with my kids. It helps me see things in perspective.
If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?
Probably I would travel more and let my kids experience a lot of new cultures during that year. By visiting new countries it will help them to understand the comfortable situation in which they’re currently growing up and hopefully inspire them to contribute to a better world. And obviously, it would allow me to spend a lot of time with them…
What in your life are you most grateful for?
The luck of knowing so many talented people and being able to work with them. I’m surrounded by people coming from a wide diversity of backgrounds and regions worldwide. Working with all these people provides so many perspectives and insights, which enriches my life a lot.