The Startup Community

What The Startup Community does

The Startup Community, operating under the legal name Creative Business Club (CBC), is an informal non-profit network and co-working space for student media entrepreneurs located at the MICA Media Innovation Campus, Sixmastraat 15, Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands. Founded in 2022–2023 and structurally embedded in NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences' Creative Business (CB) and Creative Media Professional (CMP) degree programs, the community enables students to integrate their graduation or internship projects with the operation of their own media-related businesses. Core offerings are the Start Up Community co-working space, bi-weekly Meet&Work sessions combining stand-up updates with hot-seat coaching and guest speakers, the annual Big Show Off showcase event, and structured one-on-one mentorship ('First Date' sessions). The community is funded as part of NHL Stenden's educational programming, not through commercial pricing, and extends three months of free post-graduation workspace access to alumni.

The organization's strategic moat rests on its institutional embedding: the NHL Stenden partnership provides a continuous, captive pipeline of student talent, while the MICA-hosted co-working environment fosters a peer-driven community atmosphere that alumni testimonials explicitly cite as the primary value driver. Supporting partnerships with Mooiedingenmakers.nl (a Northern Netherlands creative-industry network) and the Dutch Chamber of Commerce extend the program into regional industry access and formal business-readiness curriculum. The community serves a deliberately horizontal segment of individual SMB founders and solo creatives across media production, apps, marketing, music, and cultural heritage, with no enterprise customers, no proprietary technology stack, no disclosed revenue, and no external funding rounds. Geographic reach is limited to Leeuwarden and the broader Northern Netherlands region.

Name

The Startup Community

Legal name

Creative Business Club

Website

https://creativebusinessclub.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Startup Community (Creative Business Club) is a university-linked non-profit co-working space and incubator in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, where NHL Stenden Creative Business and Creative Media students integrate their graduation projects with running their own media ventures, supported by mentorship, events, and a peer community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMAHAC

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Entrepreneurship & Business Enrichment

SECONDARYEDAMAKAK

Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/College & Career Enrichment (Mentorship, Internships, Portfolio)

SECONDARYEDAHAHAH

Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Business Schools & Management Institutes

Keywords

• University startup incubator
• Student entrepreneurship program
• Creative media incubation
• Co-working space
• Mentorship and networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeuwarden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Institution Funding: The Startup Community is funded as part of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences' educational programs. It provides co-working space and mentorship to student entrepreneurs as part of their graduation/internship requirements. After graduation, alumni can use the space for free for three additional months.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Startup Community (also known as the Creative Business Club) operates a co-working space at MICA in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, providing office facilities, an entrepreneurial atmosphere, and structured mentorship for Creative Business (CB) and Creative Media Professional (CMP) students at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences. It enables students to integrate graduation projects with operating their own media-related businesses, supported by bi-weekly Meet&Work sessions, hot-seat coaching, and access to industry mentorship. Alumni may continue using the space free for three months after graduation.

Product overview

The Startup Community (Creative Business Club) operates as an informal network and co-working space for media businesses linked to NHL Stenden University. The core offering consists of the Start Up Community co-working space at MICA, Leeuwarden, which provides student entrepreneurs with facilities and an entrepreneurial atmosphere. Supporting offerings include bi-weekly Meet&Work sessions for peer feedback and coaching, the annual Big Show Off event for showcasing ventures, and professional mentoring services. The community enables CB and CMP students to integrate graduation projects with operating their own media-related businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Start Up Community Co-working Space A co-working space at MICA in Leeuwarden providing student entrepreneurs with office facilities including coffee, office supplies, and WiFi, along with an entrepreneurial atmosphere that enables knowledge spillover, motivational support, and inspiration. Targeted at NHL Stenden CB and CMP students in their graduation year.
• Meet&Work Sessions Bi-weekly event featuring stand-up sessions where student entrepreneurs share successes and challenges, receive feedback, find solutions, and commit to actions. Includes 'hot seat' coaching sessions and guest speaker presentations. Open to all student media entrepreneurs.
• Mentoring and Professional Benefits Professional guidance and support for student entrepreneurs, including coaching sessions, Dutch Chamber of Commerce-led sessions covering business plans, target groups, financial planning, legal structures, and registration processes, plus access to expert mentorship during events.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dutch Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2025Conducts Meet&Work sessions for entrepreneurs covering topics such as business plans, target groups, financial planning, legal structures, and registration processes. Provides practical guidance for starting and running businesses.
• Mooiedingenmakers.nlcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 February 2023A network of professionals in the cultural and creative industry in the Northern Region of The Netherlands. Startup Community members are introduced to this network of media talent. Internship students are listed on the Mooiedingenmakers platform and can be connected to media creation opportunities.
• NHL Stenden University of Applied SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary institutional partner linking the Creative Business Club to the Creative Business and Creative Media Professional programs. Students from these programs can join the Startup Community as part of their graduation requirements.
• MICA (Media Innovatie Campus)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMICA is the location provider for the co-working space. It is a media innovation campus in Leeuwarden that hosts the Startup Community's office facilities at Sixmastraat 15.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Yes!Delft: TU Delft's startup incubator providing co-working space, mentorship, and programs for student and alumni entrepreneurs. Directly comparable as a university-linked startup incubator with similar programming structure (workspace + events + mentor matching) in the Netherlands.
• UtrechtInc: Utrecht University's startup incubator supporting academic entrepreneurs with workspace, coaching, and community events. Closely comparable in model (university-affiliated incubation for student founders) and Dutch ecosystem positioning.
• Novel-T: Eindhoven University of Technology's startup ecosystem providing incubation, acceleration, and investor connections for tech and creative entrepreneurs. Comparable as a Dutch university-affiliated incubator, though serving a more technology-focused cohort.
• VentureLab Amsterdam: Student-run startup accelerator affiliated with Amsterdam's universities, supporting early-stage student founders with mentorship and pitch events. Directly comparable in target audience (university students) and event-driven GTM.

Broad incumbents

• Rockstart: Amsterdam-based accelerator running domain-specific programs (agri-food, energy, health) with mentorship and investor networks. Comparable as a Dutch accelerator providing structured programs to early-stage founders, though operating commercially rather than as a university-linked non-profit.
• Station F: The world's largest startup campus in Paris, offering co-working, accelerator programs, and a large founder community. Comparable as a co-working-driven startup community model, but at vastly greater scale and commercial scope.
• Startup Amsterdam: City-level initiative (under Amsterdam Economic Board) supporting the broader Amsterdam startup ecosystem. Comparable as a regional Dutch startup community builder, but operates at a much broader, citywide scale rather than a single university.
• EIT Digital: European pan-university organization providing digital education, accelerator programs, and innovation activities across partner universities. Comparable as a Europe-wide university-affiliated entrepreneurship ecosystem, but at a much larger scale.

Regional players

• EUREGIO Start-up Center: Cross-border German-Dutch startup support initiative operating in the Ems-Dollart region near the Northern Netherlands. Comparable as a regional startup ecosystem builder geographically proximate to Friesland, though cross-border rather than university-linked.

Others

• Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC): Global coworking and innovation infrastructure provider operating campuses in the US, Europe, and Asia. Comparable as a co-working infrastructure model for startup communities, though commercially operated rather than tied to a single university.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cb-creative-business-club

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Startup Community