Stop judging early-stage founders.

Stop judging early-stage founders.
You’re looking at where they are now…
not where they’re actually going.
Early founders get judged all the time.
Usually way too early.
People look at:
– traction (or lack of it)
– skills (still developing)
– clarity (still forming)
And make conclusions.
But early-stage isn’t about polish.
It’s about trajectory.
What matters isn’t what exists today.
It’s how fast it’s evolving.
Because at this stage:
The idea will change.
The product will break.
The strategy will shift.
That’s not failure.
That’s the process.
The real advantage?
Not perfection.
Not experience.
Speed of learning.
The founders who win are the ones who:
– absorb feedback faster
– iterate faster
– adapt without ego
And keep moving.
Rejection doesn’t define anything.
It’s just data.
Every “no” is a signal:
→ refine the story
→ improve the product
→ adjust positioning
Nothing more.
The job at the beginning is simple (not easy):
– keep building
– keep learning
– keep testing
– keep talking to users
– keep finding momentum
That’s it.
You don’t need to look impressive.
You need to become dangerous over time.
Because no one starts as the founder they’ll eventually become.
And judging too early?
That’s just missing the whole point.
If you’re a founder or investor and want to be part of curated deals and real traction, join our Deal Room:
https://projects.inspirexchange.nl/register
#Startups #Founders #Venture

• Extra

The biggest AI upgrade right now isn’t a new model.
It’s a shift in how we work with the ones we already have.
Anthropic just released Claude Skills 2.0.
And it quietly moves AI from “tool” to something closer to an operating system 🤖
Most people still use Claude like a chat.
Open → write prompt → tweak → repeat tomorrow.
Nothing wrong with that.
But it doesn’t compound.
The real shift happens when you stop prompting…
and start building Skills.
A Skill is simple:
One file that captures how you think and work.
Write it once, and Claude:
– applies your style automatically
– runs your workflow step by step
– follows your structure
– triggers when needed
No re-explaining.
No copy-paste loops.
Then 2.0 adds something interesting.
Claude doesn’t just execute your Skill.
It challenges it.
– it tests outputs automatically
– compares variations internally
– sometimes removing parts improves results
– rewrites triggers so they actually fire
Which is slightly uncomfortable 😅
but also powerful.
Because now AI isn’t just responding.
It’s refining how you work.
That’s the real shift:
From “better prompts”
to repeatable systems.
And once you feel that, going back to manual prompting feels… slow.
I recently put together a step-by-step guide on this:
– how to build your first Skill
– how to test it properly (most people skip this)
– the common failure modes
– how to turn Claude into a real workflow system
If you want it, just comment “Claude Skills” and I’ll share it 🤖
If you want help turning this into real workflows inside your startup or team, let’s go deeper:
https://calendly.com/inspirexchange/30min-crashtest
#AI #Startups #Productivity

Extra

Something is starting to move in South Holland.
Around The Hague, Delft, Rotterdam, Leiden.
And it’s a good signal.
More conversations.
More alignment.
Even institutions like CID are starting to see that mobility is not just about transport, but also social mobility. Who gets access. Who gets included.
At the same time, there is still a gap.
Many local players still don’t really know what is happening inside hubs.
For them, it’s not always clear why it matters or how to engage.
And maybe that’s on all of us.
Not to build things in parallel, but to be more open, more practical, and yes, a bit more proactive in working together.
Not events for each other.
Events with each other.
Founders.
VCs.
Hubs.
Municipalities.
Local businesses.
International talent.
Same room. Same conversation. Same direction.
Because in the end, the goal is simple:
Make the region more innovative, more connected, more economically strong, and more socially accessible.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how this could look in practice.
A few ideas we are exploring:
– a clear startup entry point for local and international founders, with real day-to-day support and onboarding
– VC tracks doing small, fast checks into validated local startups
– consistent weekly formats where people actually meet, work, and close things, not just talk
Less fragmentation.
More execution.
We are putting together a more structured plan around this and will share it soon.
For now, I’m genuinely curious to hear from others in the ecosystem.
If you are building, investing, running a hub, or working in policy, what do you feel is missing right now?
Feel free to share here or reach out directly if you want to exchange ideas:
https://zcal.co/axlindholm/1hour
#Startups #Ecosystem #TheHague

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