XLR8, Antwerp (2026)

16/02/2023

Excited to have Winnie Valbracht (Cluster Manager at the Compass Cluster), as an expert during our recent brainstorm session on the future of work! With her extensive experience in HR, talent management, and change management, she brought us some very valuable insights.

“The main goal of XLR8 is to identify areas where there is potential for growth in the market where Cronos Group is not yet involved. Brainstorms like this force participants to take a step back from their daily routines and focus on innovation and progress. Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion about the war for talent and technology in HR. To act on this, XLR8 gathered people within Cronos Group with HR experience and people responsible for personnel matters to participate in a brainstorm session. During this session, I could directly provide answers for some of the challenges that my colleagues are working on by redirecting them to existing competence centers. But what's even more interesting, is that we were able to uncover pain points in which we do expect demand in the market soon. For these challenges we expect to collaborate across different clusters to work on opportunities that require a combination of expertise. We’re very grateful to be a part of this community and can’t wait to see what initiatives and collaborations will come out of this!” - Winnie

09/02/2023

The Cronos Ecosystem can be seen as a puzzle of clusters that is not yet complete. Together with the cluster leaders within the group, we try to fill in all the missing gaps. Just like us, cluster leaders are constantly spotting people, initiatives, and companies that we can include in the system to complete our puzzle.

One of those cluster leaders is Thierry Callaerts. As an IT professional, he joined the Cronos Group in '99 and founded his own CRM company, but he did not stop there. He later co-founded CrossPoint Solutions; a cluster that now consists of more than 1,000 people. There, he is now mainly concerned with finding out where we can generate traction by entering into partnerships, setting up ventures, and staying in touch with the current market. We meet weekly to brainstorm and work on identifying opportunities in the market to put our puzzle together.

"In my opinion, XLR8 not only plays an accelerating role but is also a catalyst for global new ideas. To give some examples, through our collaborations with XLR8 and the brainstorms they organize, we have also been inspired to start working on 'monetization of data' and we have even started an initiative around 'digital twins'. Let us say that XLR8 has planted a seed here and is involved in helping us water it to grow. XLR8 facilitates the clusters within the Cronos Group to provide each other with ideas and tools that enable us to set up ventures with which we get a better shot at competing in the market.

XLR8 also has a connecting factor between the clusters. When we notice that the various clusters are each working on topics such as sustainability, we can work together at a higher level to share knowledge and costs in order to achieve goals faster but, above all, more efficiently." - Thierry

02/02/2023

With a broad network of entrepreneurs and years of business expertise right at our fingertips, we’re in the perfect position to spot unique opportunities to facilitate innovation. Knowing the exact expertise of all people within our (Cronos Group) Network is impossible, that’s why we work together with our cluster representatives. One of these is Günther Van Roey, he joined the Cronos Group as a student in the 90’s and connects us to the over 1300 people active within the Xplore Group.

“The strength of being connected to XLR8 is that it allows us to get connected to the right people faster. To innovate, you need a customer with a challenge or an opportunity, good techies, and people that can develop a viable business model.
I’m a strong believer that you can best see opportunities when you know the business or sector well. That's where the power of XLR8 comes to play.

It happens that an entrepreneur wants to innovate in their sector but lacks technical skills. In that case XLR8 comes to me to assess whether the plan is technically feasible and to see if we have people or businesses within our cluster who can support this idea. But it also works the other way around. We stay in touch with all companies within our own cluster, so we’re very aware of our own challenges and the opportunities we see at our clients. By sharing these insights we can inspire XLR8 and help them enable innovation by matching these challenges with the right people. Thus helping each other to accelerate innovation more efficiently." - Gunther

26/01/2023

Meet Nima Chitgar and Guillaume Lameyse. Two starting entrepreneurs who took up the challenge to convert their idea into a business while studying. With the support of professors and coaches from the KULeuven, they launched Saply.ai (Simply Apply), a tool that matches job seekers and companies using AI and machine learning.

We are immensely proud of the (learning) journey these young entrepreneurs have already completed with us and are already looking forward to the developments they will go through in the near future.

"We have no shortage of ideas, but we still lack some entrepreneurial experience to take our business to the next level. That's why we started looking around at accelerators who can help us take the right steps. We had heard about the Cronos Group ecosystem before. Especially the fact that this accelerator integrates you within a network is very appealing to us. This is why we eventually came into contact with the XLR8 team.

What sets XLR8 apart from other accelerators is its personal approach. We are not put into a standard trajectory but we are really getting some tailor-made coaching that suits with our schedules as students.The support we get, is tailored to our competences and our needs. Sometimes the team helps us by asking the right questions, but we also get constructive feedback on our pitches, reading tips, one-to-one coaching and training, for example. Currently, with XLR8's support, we are preparing to pitch in front of a 12-member jury. Thanks to XLR8's support, we are confident we’re prepared for anything now in the best way possible! - Nima

19/01/2023

Smart money = slow money?
To innovate, you not only need time, but also money. We believe in "slow money" to achieve sustainable growth. The right "slow money" financing strengthens entrepreneurs' focus on accelerating their business.
Based on a jointly prepared business case, we assess the financial needs to bring a business to maturity. Financial needs that can be financed by a stable Cronos Group, looking at growth, opportunities and possibilities rather than quick financial returns.

13/01/2023

Facilitating innovation is all about connecting the right people at the right time. This is why we recently organized a brainstorming session on "energy" within
de Cronos Group. We engaged Remi Tops as an expert to challenge and inspire the group and to identify market needs together.

As an energy expert and founder of Motilion, Remi knows exactly what energy issues companies struggle with. Motilion helps companies in mobility and energy in (sustainability) transitions with their digital challenges. We're very pleased that Remi was willing to guide this brainstorm as our Cronos Expert.

"XLR8 constantly scans opportunities in the market and looks for ways in which the knowledge and experts within the Cronos Group can make a difference. In the energy issue, there is no single solution, multiple disciplines need to work together to achieve something. In the last brainstorm on energy, we were able to define opportunities where companies can collaborate and think along. XLR8 ensures that the seed is not only planted with the right people, but also enables it to grow. Working together and connecting people in this way maximizes the power of the group and I am very proud to be part of that." - Remi

22/12/2022

On behalf of the XLR8 team, we wish you happy holidays!
We're going to spend these magical times with our loved ones, and we hope you do too!

15/12/2022

Making your business a success is not only about what you do, but also about who you know. As a start-up, it is not always easy to expand your network. That's where we can make a difference. Even though our team is relatively small, our network is broad. Thanks to our expertise stemming from three decades of enthusiastic founders supporting each other, we can offer access to an extensive ecosystem of experts and coaches within the Benelux market.

Let's be part of each other's network!

08/12/2022

We consider ourselves acceleration partners!

In the process in which we guide potentials, we like to nurture their ideas, pivot and challenge their ways of thinking and most of all, support them so they can become legendary ventures.

Looking for a partner? We're here, so let's chat!

01/12/2022

No one can be more responsive to the market than someone in the middle of it.
With years of experience in innovation, technology and data, Koen Triangle felt it was time to respond to market needs by starting his own venture: D-Cide. D-Cide positions itself as an industry partner that supports clients in their journey towards a data driven enterprise aiming to increase clients' business value. They maximize the value of data by supporting clients in their data strategy (incl. data governance & business case), in their choice of data platforms, in the implementation of these platforms and the development of applications (such as Digital Twins and AI).

We're very proud of the journey Koen has followed with us and that we were able to support him in this.

"Through many conversations with people in my network, I was put in touch with the XLR8 team. They gave me the opportunity to pitch my business idea to them. I was pleasantly surprised by their open view, the constructive feedback and especially the supportive nature of the people behind XLR8. If there is belief and trust in your concept, they genuinely help both the business concept and the entrepreneurs themselves grow.
If I could give advice to an entrepreneur who's considering starting his business with the support of XLR8, I would suggest to start the journey with an open mind, to keep listening and to dare to pivot according to the information you receive." - Koen

24/11/2022

Want to work from home or close to home? There's almost always an office or meeting room nearby and if there isn't one yet, we'll make it happen! With more than 60 offices spread across Belgium and the Netherlands, entrepreneurs in our network can always find a (co-)working spot or a meeting room nearby. Should there still be a need to open a new office location, we are of course happy to facilitate this. In which of our offices will we meet you? 😉

18/11/2022

Innovation is not optional, it's compulsory if you want to stay in business in this rapidly changing world. That is why we are so keen to give opportunities to innovative entrepreneurs, ideas, and companies. By staying in touch with leading organisations of this world on the one hand and ambitious entrepreneurs on the other, we can quickly respond to current needs in the market.

Want to get in touch with us to pitch your business or idea? Let's grab a coffee!

XLR8

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