My name is Robin, 45, Dutch and CEO of The Startup Buddy and managing partner of the Zero Emissions Fund. My first enterprise was as a 12-year-old street musician. These earnings allowed me to start investing at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange when I was 17 followed by my first angel investment at 21. I hold a master’s degree in public policy and public administration and started my professional career at Accenture. I progressed to Altran and then ING where in 2015 I left my job as program manager running strategic IT programs across Benelux.

My adventures as an entrepreneur started at Startup Weekend Singapore where I won 3rd prize with my pitch. I worked on the idea for a year and learned there is a big difference between pitching and executing. Over time my endeavours have resulted in what is now Singapore’s largest Accelerator-as-a-Service, The Startup Buddy. Through our online accelerator platform and events, we support 3500 entrepreneurs, 1500 investors and 100 enterprises like AWS and Standard Chartered Bank in 150 countries to build new sustainable businesses. Furthermore, we will soon be launching the Zero Emissions Fund, South East Asia’s first early-stage VC fund investing in companies that develop products and services that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.