Innovation Brokers

Richard Visser

Richard knows how big the challenges are for high-tech companies. Whether they are in an early stage or a scaling phase, whether they are turning a technology into a market-ready product, introducing high-tech products to a new – or sometimes even non-existing – market, or scaling up production: for high-tech companies, this is very different compared to companies outside the high-tech sector. The continuous need for funding is deeply embedded in every decision they make. What will be my runway if I invest in a new tool or hire that specialist? And customers are not always clear, especially when you develop semi-finished products or complex machines. Do I hire that experienced Business Developer today or can I wait a little longer?

Typically, deep technological knowledge is widely available, but often other competencies, like commercial, business and financial expertise, are missing. These competences are extremely important to achieve the non-technical business goals, but they are typically also hard to find or simply too expensive for start-ups.

As a high-tech entrepreneur with a technical background, Richard has been independent since 2012 and has founded and led several high-tech companies. As an engineer, Richard has worked for large companies like General Electric and Toshiba and has held various business roles at Silicon Valley Group, ASML and Philips Research. He has been active in Medtech, High-tech Systems and the semiconductor and photonics industries.

With his company Laekesmunde Management Services, he is active as a technical advisor and ecosystem specialist, supporting governments, large companies, investors and technical start-ups. Besides his current activities, he supports many start-ups and scale-ups as a mentor and challenger of business cases.

As an Innovation Broker, Richard can support companies with innovation, development and organisational challenges. He can help with defining a clear strategic direction, developing the organisation to meet future challenges, positioning products, entering new markets and involving customers, writing business and financial plans, or raising funding.

Richard is hands-on, can empathise with any technology, product or market, is highly market- and result-oriented and is driven to help high-tech companies succeed. In short, he helps other companies with his knowledge and experience, whether it’s technical, business-related or entrepreneurial.