move forward with tech
move forward with tech
Co-Founder of Gritd
Composer · Performer · Instrument Designer
Community lead Founded
Community lead Founded
Co-founders Nascent
Moderator and Social innovation advocate
Founder of Amplitude Ventures
Founder CC Diagnostics
Co-Founder Gritd
Stephan Botz is the co-founder of Gritd and one of the driving forces behind milestone-driven startup development in Europe. Having contributed to the launch of over 1,000 startups, Stephan brings a decade of experience in guiding founders toward product–market fit and investment readiness. His data-driven approach to venture building helps reduce risk and accelerate growth. Driven by the belief that Europe’s next wave of innovation will come from ventures built on real market
demand, he continues to push startup development toward measurable impact.
Session: “WTF Is Product-Market Fit Anyway?
Co-Founders of Nascent
Nascent is a Hasselt University spin-off and technology platform built to solve one of startup’s biggest challenges: co-founder fit. Powered by a science-based methodology that combines academic research on soft skills, personality and alignment with practical startup experience, Nascent makes the “human fit” between co-founders visible and actionable.
Our platform matches solo founders with the right co-founder and helps existing founding teams anticipate friction and design processes to manage it. Our co-founder team combines academic rigor with startup expertise, ensuring that every insight is both evidence-based and practical in the messy reality of entrepreneurship.
Our mission is simple: increase the odds of startup success by empowering resilient co-founders teams that can withstand the pressure of startup life.
Session: Co-Founder Fit: The Human Side of Startup Succes
Moderator and social innovation advocate
Linda Vermaat is a seasoned moderator and social innovation advocate. As former director of Innofest, she transformed a small EU project based in Groningen into a national NGO and worked with hundreds of startups testing their innovations at festivals and living labs. With her sharp insights, soft presence and subtle wit, Linda creates space for meaningful conversations. On stage, her energy brings people together and sparks real momentum.
Linda is a passionate advocate for social innovation, inspired by people who dare to challenge the status quo. She helped launch influential initiatives such as the Slow Food Youth Network, Professional Rebel, and the impact-driven video company TwentieFour.
Moderator of Day 1 and Day 2
Founder Amplitude Ventures
Jakob Wredstrøm is the founder of Amplitude Ventures, a venture studio that helps early-stage founders build, launch, and grow their startups. He has over 10 years of experience in music tech and startup development. His approach is practical and focused on execution. He works closely with founders to build products, prepare for investment, and move with clarity through the early stages of growth. Jakob began his career in music after a sports injury ended his path as an athlete. He built his first studio from scratch and later expanded into labels, tech platforms, and creative businesses. That experience taught him the value of structure, momentum, and working closely with others. At Amplitude, he has helped launch and scale startups across AI, fintech, education, and creative industries. His focus is on building strong teams, clear strategies, and early traction. He also hosts the Sound Connections Podcast, where he speaks with founders, creators, and operators about how ideas become companies. He introduced AI-Jake, the first AI podcast co-host, to explore new ways of sharing insights. Jakob is based in Norway and works with a global team. He values focus, trust, and getting the work done.
Session: The Next Soundwave: Inside the Future of Music & Tech
Composer · Performer · Instrument Designer
Rafaele Andrade (Brazil, 1994) works at the intersection of sound, technology, and social impact. As the creator of Knurl, a 3D-printed string instrument, she pioneers new modes of musical interaction and interdisciplinary performance.
Her work blends experimental music, creative coding, and world influences, with projects spanning Europe, Asia, and South America. Awards include the Alpine Music Prize (2024) and the Crystal Pine Music Award (2024).
In 2024, her solo Brazil tour connected music with societal themes like urban mobility, disaster prevention, and inequality, turning sound into a tool for awareness and change.
Rafaele shapes the future of sound through innovation, collaboration, and bold artistic exploration.
Session: Opening MXT
Founder CC Diagnostics
A medical doctor who chose scale over the status quo. Nutte didn’t want to help three patients a day, he wanted to help 10,000 at once. That drive sparked CC Diagnostics, a medtech company transforming early cervical cancer detection worldwide.
Born from a student project. Built through clinical grit, startup hustle, and moments that test every founder.
Nutte’s mission became personal when a false-positive result hit close to home, sharpening his focus: better diagnostics aren’t optional: they’re urgent.
From Groningen’s innovation ecosystem to Silicon Valley’s fast pace, he blends northern groundedness with global ambition. Today, he leads a specialist team pushing diagnostics forward with science, precision, and impact.
Nutte builds where healthcare, tech, and purpose collide. Moving innovation into the lives that need it most.
Session: Exporting Dreams, Importing Dollars