Testimonial Ferdinand van der Neut Ferdinand van der Neut – 27 years old – Mechanical Engineering (PME) Business plan: let different parties in different markets license my patent to reach in record time the most customers worldwide. Ferdinand founded his first company: GentleClose, that patented and licenses the technology for soft closing hinges to the sanitary industry first. | 
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What do you find attractive about Entrepreneurship?
"What isn’t attractive about working on your own ideas and having complete overview of what needs to be done?? You decide what happens in a day, which direction you want to pursue and most of all what choices you make. Knowing the ‘why’ motivates me." |
How did DCE help you?
"Like most technical students, I lacked entrepreneurial capabilities and knowledge at the start. I know this is the direction I want to go and DCE helped me with attaining important skills. I joined when I heard of the Master Annotation program and soon noticed that DCE can be a way into a huge network with players like HOPE and YES!Delft. Collaborating with Rotterdam students also gave me new insights that I wouldn’t discover with just my Delft network." |
What DCE project/course was the most interesting?
"When I was doing my internship I noticed that the link between technology and the market interests me a lot. That’s why I signed up for Turning Technology into Business which gives you a wider perspective on the world and the feeling that your ambitions can never be too large. What was also cool about it was what the title of the course already suggests: you are actually bringing a patented technology into the market to generate business. Which is what I want to do with my future company as well. I’m always the first to ask what the potential use is of new technologies, so turning technology into business fits me well." |
Quotes - "Entrepreneurship is hard work but I see it this way: for me working 60 hours for yourself equals 30 hours of labor for a boss!" - "My broad education as a Mechanical Engineer gives me a better ability to invent idea’s that solve everyday problems. DCE can help you with everything between that idea and its market introduction." |
Does Ferdinand’s story motivate you? Contact him at f.j.a.vanderneut@student.tudelft.nl and check the website for DCE contact information. |
