Meet The Team Behind Decubate — Koen van der Burg, COO
For the inaugural edition of our Meet The Team interview series, we sat down with Koen van der Burg, Chief Operating Officer of Decubate. Decubate helps startups create and launch blockchain solutions. With his extensive startups and investments experience, Koen plays an integral role in identifying and successfully onboarding startups onto the Decubate platform.
In this interview you’ll discover what Koen is currently working on, how he entered the startup space, and why he’s excited about Decubate.
What is your role at Decubate? What do you do on a daily basis?
Before joining Decubate, I was an investment manager at Crosspring, a leading investment firm in Europe, where I interviewed and analyzed hundreds of startups who were seeking investment. Before that, I organized trade missions for startups and other ecosystem players throughout Europe, India and the US. As COO at Decubate, I’m leveraging my experience and network to develop and implement our startup strategy. I’m responsible for identifying, onboarding and successfully launching startups on the Decubate platform. Day to day, I’m focused on a number of priorities including pipeline development, company evaluation, process development and more.
What are you currently working on?
My number one priority at the moment is onboarding the first startup onto Decubate. Although I can’t share details just yet, it’s going to be an amazing opportunity for the Decubate investment community to be involved with. I’m also actively interviewing other potential startup candidates and reviewing their plans to see if they’re a good fit for our platform. To ensure future deal flow and strategic partnership, I’m also kicking off a sustained outreach effort to develop a vast network of startups and ecosystem players around the world.
You have extensive experience working with startups. How did you get started?
My initial interest in startups began at university while completing a series of entrepreneurship courses. I then spent time at the Dutch Consulate General in Munich where I was part of organizing trade missions for Dutch companies in the field of e-mobility. I always looked at entrepreneurship as a way to achieve a certain freedom, which is something I still appreciate about entrepreneurship. Getting directly involved with entrepreneurs was therefore a logical step for me.
What advice do you have for startup founders?
Life is learning by doing. Stay critical towards yourself and be open to suggestions and advice from others. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, but embrace them and try to learn from each and every mistake you make, no matter how big/small. Think big, aim high and don’t let others tell you you’re not going to make it. As long as you have the right mindset, you will get where you want to be eventually.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I love music. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been interested in music and my parents noticed quickly that I had a good musical ear. My family always had musical instruments in the house so it didn’t take long before I started to pick them up. I played my first songs on the piano when I was about 5 years old, and took lessons for about 12 years in total. I still play the piano every day. I also enjoy traveling and being out and about in nature. I love hiking, skiing and spending time on the water with a canoe or sailboat.
What are your top 3 books or podcasts?
I actually don’t read that much and I don’t really listen to podcasts very often either, as I rather spend my free time writing/playing my own music or going out in nature. However, when I do read, I tend to read books that are educational or inspirational in some way. I’ve recently enjoyed books from evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, psychologist Jordan Peterson and theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss. I also recently jumped back into Plato’s ‘Republic.’
What excites you the most about Decubate?
The era we live in is simply amazing. I believe that the impact of blockchain technology can potentially be even greater than the impact the internet has had on our lives. It just has the potential to bring so much good to the world. Decubate allows me to be part of shaping that future. In addition, I get to work with some of the most forward thinking and talented people in the world.
About Decubate
Decubate is a community-powered investment platform that is bringing the $3 trillion global startup economy on-chain. Decubate pairs traditional web2 startups with the financial and promotional capital of community members to fuel their web3 success. Learn more at www.decubate.com
