On November 26th, the Graduate Network came together for our Graduate Meetup 2024, where we gathered founders, LPs, Donors, Alumni and students to learn from each other and make valuable connections.  This edition, we were excited to welcome Daniel Ropers, former CEO of Bol.com and Springer Nature, as our keynote speaker, who shared his insights on scaling efficiently.
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The Keynote Q&A, moderated by Anthony Brown, Senior Lecturer at Erasmus University Rotterdam, offered practical advice and plenty of inspiration on how to scale your business effectively. In his talk, Daniel shared his journey from starting as a consultant at McKinsey to developing the initial business plan for Bol.com, and ultimately building the Bol.com brand into a company generating 2 billion euros in sales. During the Q&A session, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions and gain deeper insights into how he successfully scaled Bol.com in the ever-evolving online landscape.
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Our Graduate Connect Game brought the energy to the afternoon again this year! Six startups took the stage to pitch their challenges to the audience, with Sandro van Hellenberg Hubar as our auction master leading the session. The goal? To spark collaboration and create valuable new connections within the Graduate Network. And once again, it worked: our founders walked away with fresh ideas, 40 new connections, and a stronger sense of community.
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We concluded the day with drinks, bites, and plenty of conversations. It was great to catch up with everyone and welcome new faces to the network.

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A big thank you to everyone who joined us. See you at the next one! 🚀

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