Johnny Waterschoot

In my capacity at EY wavespace Venturespace, I specialized in equipping clients with optimal strategies for organizing and advancing their ventures. My responsibilities included the creation and implementation of standardized processes tailored to ideate, incubate, and launch growth-oriented products, services, and businesses. I actively facilitated client engagement through workshops, employing design thinking, lean startup, and agile methodologies to enhance project outcomes. Leveraging extensive industry knowledge and strategic alliances, I provided comprehensive support across all stages of the innovation journey. This role involved introducing clients to new capabilities, alongside a robust framework to swiftly develop, market, and scale innovative solutions.

As the Leader of the Antwerp wavespace team at EY, I spearhead corporate innovation sessions within a global network of growth and innovation centers dedicated to helping businesses excel in the Transformative Age. Our EY wavespace centers provide creative, collaborative environments where multidisciplinary teams tackle the challenges and opportunities posed by disruptive technologies and evolving digital trends. In my role, I strategically design and lead immersive workshops and experiences that position client teams for significant breakthroughs.

At EY wavespace™ in Antwerp, we specialize in fostering open innovation and facilitating dynamic collaborations between corporations and startups. I guide projects through all stages of innovation—from ideation and concept development to prototyping, co-creation, and showcasing. Our clients benefit from tailored access to expert insights in open innovation, co-creation with startups and scale-ups, and specialized knowledge in technology and change management, ensuring they are equipped for success in today's rapidly changing market.

I am actively involved in mentoring young companies at Start it @KBC, Belgium’s largest start-up community. My role focuses on guiding these emerging businesses in developing robust go-to-market strategies and securing necessary investments. Start it @KBC is renowned for its accelerator program that nurtures innovative and scalable entrepreneurship, providing crucial support to ensure the growth and success of start-ups across various industries.

The Factory is driven by innovation & intrapreneurship and innovates EY and its customers from within, in a sustainable way, on a continuous basis. Within EY The Factory, I apply my expertise and knowhow in the following areas:

• Corporate Innovation: acting as go-to partner for corporate innovation related projects and programs. This can be innovation bootcamps to bring new insights to customers, but it also includes facilitating cooperation between start-ups and corporate customers through Launchpad meetups, hackathons and co-creation trajectories. Established strong relationships with clients and stakeholders, ensuring long-term partnerships and repeat business
  
• Startups and Scale-ups: I advise and work with startups and scale-ups as part of the EYnovation program. EYnovation is our way of investing in the future of young and ambitious entrepreneurs, where we guide startups and scaleups through all their growth stages with strategic, legal and financial expertise. Examples are supporting start-ups and scale-ups in their search for solution/market fit, and helping them find the next stage of their funding by means of pitch training, go-global trips to introduce them to new markets and facilitating introductions to potential investors.

In October 2016, iMinds merged with imec, the world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. I project managed European innovation programs, setting up open calls to fund innovative European startups, monitoring/coaching the selected startups through business support, business model clinics, focused workshops, living lab validation, and providing exposure to business communities, VCs and investors. Below are some of the programmes I created and/or managed:

EITHEALTH - Product Market Fit

Entering a new market as a health start-up requires correct market insights, knowledge of regulation, adequate contacts and a possible re-fit of your product and/or business model to the necessities of that market. In this program that we set up for the EIT Health Accelerator we offered startups a quick market scan in different European markets.

City of Things – Slimme steden en gemeenten

The City of Things call provided 4 million Euro to allow all Flemish cities to start using smart city applications. Through this open call, the lessons learned from the City Of Things project between imec and the city of Antwerp were rolled out to other cities in Flanders.

EIT Health Launchlab 2017

LaunchLab was a unique two-month pressure cooker that allowed aspiring entrepreneurs from all over Europe to discover the business potential of their health-tech ideas. The programme helped participants to explore and validate their ideas, market potential and business model – and to launch in markets all over Europe. Teams validated their problem-solution and solution-market fit, specifically for the healthcare market. At the end of the program, teams were able to assess whether a technology-based, scaleable business model could be built around their tech idea.

AGILE IOT (Horizon 2020)

SMEs and Startups active in the IoT domain had the opportunity to build products and services on top of AGILE IOT's hardware and software. Through two open calls that took place during the Project lifetime, participants were able to receive funding (up to 50k each) for building hardware and software on top of AGILE components.

WEAR (Horizon 2020)

Open Call Management: WEAR (Wearable technologists Engage with Artists for Responsible Innovation) Sustain was a 2 year, €3m project, funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 research and innovation initiative to engage art, design and creative industries to work more closely with technology and engineering industries.

FIWARE was a technology acceleration program initiated by the European Commission that offered startups & SMEs the opportunity to receive up to 150k€ funding (equity free) when building internet & mobile apps based on the FIWARE technology. Besides funding and technical support, selected projects also received training sessions, coaching & mentoring based on their needs.

For iMinds I worked on 3 of the FIWARE Accelerators/incubators:

• CreatiFI - creative & cultural sector - www.creatifi.eu.
  
• FInish - food supply chain - transport / logistics / retail - www.finish-project.eu.
  
• FI-C3 - connected content - Care & Well-being / smart cities - www.fic3.eu.
  

I was project managing these acceleration projects, creating the complete call management process, and implementing the monitoring/coaching of the selected projects. This included supporting the candidates in developing new innovative applications for their sector through business support, business model clinics, focused workshops and living lab validation, ensuring European exposure of the selected projects to potential business partners, target business communities, VCs and investors.

Companies that I actively worked with ranged from food to game design: Artomatix (IR), TheOplayer (BE), Graphystories (BE), traffic.direct (BE), UXprobe (BE), Videobot (IR), BLITAB (AU), LeeLuu Labs (FI), Lume Games (FI), digital worx (DE), Vicancy(BE), TheFridge.TV (BE), Treev (DE), Bovicom (BE), HearDis!(DE), Foodpairing (BE), Limecraft (BE), Small Town Heroes (BE), CleverLions (NL), OJOO (BE), ReportLab (UK), sCool (BE), Lucian (IT), EVAPP (IT), Foooder (BE), Minze Health (BE), Gociety (NL), VoiceItt (IL)

Intel Capital is the venture Capital arm of Intel Corporation, investing in innovative growth companies.

At Intel Capital, I was responsible for all marketing actions in the wider EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa). I created and executed on the marketing plan, driving sponsorships, relations with the press and marketing programs to increase the image and visibility of Intel Capital in the region.

Next to this, I was also responsible for all business development events from Intel Capital in EMEA, such as participation in industry events, speakerships, as well as the organization of the Intel Capital Technology Days

Results & key events:

• I was in charge of Intel Capital’s Technology Day programme in EMEA, where I orchestrated business development meetings between the startups in our portfolio and corporate customers (telco, automotive, banking and other sectors), resulting in additional business for out portfolio companies.
  
• I drove a low cost, high impact speakership program increasing Intel Capital’s image and visibility, including keynotes, panels and fireside chats at VC, PE, Startup events across the region.

As a corporate Events Manager I coordinated Intel's presence at Industry Trade Shows and Intel events.

Results & key events:

• led a team of international colleagues and agencies for the whole event organisation, including communication around the events, the strategy of the events and the organization of trade show booths.
  
• Organized EMEA IDF (Intel Developer Forum), Intel booths at Telecom World, Mobile World Congress, Gitex, and various other trade shows; organized Intel’s REC (Retails Executive Conference) and consulted the local sales teams on their events.
  

In this role I was working on brand Leadership Initiatives for EMEA in the Intel Communications Group, creating the plans to increase brand visibility of Intel products across Europe.

As Marketing Communications Manager for the Platform Networks Group, I drove the uptake of Intel networking products in the B2B segment.

During this period, I had successive responsibility in three areas:

• Product Manager REX Business Unit at Xircom Europe. I launched the the REX product line in the EMEA region.
  
• Customer marketeer, launching our Bluetooth product line in the European market.
  
• After the acquisition of Xircom by Intel, I took on the role of Product Manager for the Combo, modem products and Connection Kits.
  

At Yucom it was my responsibility to drive customers to use our services: drive intense usage of our portal, develop the user community and set up internet projects. One of these projects was the YuFriends community, which was one of the first Belgian online interactive community building projects. In order to increase our userbase I set up community development and user acquisition projects in cooperation with partners like Sony and De Morgen.

Yucom was a free Internet provider in Belgium, a joint-venture between by British Telecom and Banque Bruxelles Lambert (BBL). The company was offering free internet access, an online shopping platform, and an online bank account in cooperation with BBL. It was acquired by Tiscali/Scarlet in 2001.

Organising all events, print production and the European part of the Xircom Web Site.

I made sure that all product related materials including datasheets and brochures showcasing the Xircom products were created with the proper messaging, localised towards the European market.

Next to this, I also organised all events, coordinating our participation in industry trade shows, seminars and manged other events like distributor meetings- including overall responsibility for organization, budget responsibility and staffing.

This function included assisting the communication manager in all internal and external communication for Belgium. This in all fields of communications such as printed materials, newsletter, promotion, press, public relations and publicity, and some administrative tasks.