“I decided to open my IT business in Europe and chose the Netherlands for this”: the entrepreneur tells why this was one of the best decisions for his startup and family

The Netherlands are one of the most comfortable countries for life in Europe. The state is steadily included in the top in terms of quality of life in the world. This is one of the leading economies of the continent, and business in the country can be easily conducted in English. Expans from around the world choose to live in the Netherlands - 15 % of the country's population were born abroad.

We talked with Vartan Gevorgov, who moved to the Netherlands from Tbilisi in early 2024 under the program for the founders of startups. We learned from Vartan how the move and adaptation in the Netherlands took place, and asked to give advice for those who think about their business in Europe.

We prepared this material together with our partners of Skill To Start - a company that helps to move to the Netherlands and launch a business there.

Vartan Gevorgs

Moved to the Netherlands from Tbilisi under the program for the founders of startups

Life before moving

- My name is Vartan. At the end of 2022, my family and I moved to Tbilisi - and this move opened new opportunities for my company. The business partner and I discussed different options and decided to move to other countries through Georgia: to apply for visas from Georgia, to communicate. Although Georgia, of course, has many advantages for business - but this is a separate topic.

At one time, I worked in different companies in Russia: in the banking sector, in the field of analytics. Seven years ago, a partner and I founded a consulting company in analytics - Reshape Analytics .

The company is still belonging to us, this business is actively developing. But we have always had an ambition to try to bring the case to the international market. We have been preparing for this for a long time and now we decided that we would start with the European market. Thus began the search for a new country for moving.

Choosing a country for startup

- We wanted to move to Europe, and the choice fell to five countries: Spain, England, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Sweden.

When choosing, I evaluated:

• Tax system for IT business
• The country's openness to innovation and startups
• Accessibility of programs for startupers
• The level of the prevalence of the English language
• The cost of life and the conditions for the family

Luxembourg did not fit the cost of life, Spain I was cut off due to tax legislation: taxes are higher, and there are no benefits for innovative startups, as in the Netherlands. Sweden fell off because she refused-I had some wrong medical insurance.

My partner found children from Skill to Start . And I began to watch their free videos, and then signed up for the course to open a startup in the Netherlands, went through it and realized: everything is real. Especially if you understand what you want to do and which company to open.

Dates

- Six months took the preparation of the presentation itself and six months - paperwork.

This is what my move looked like:

• Passed the course of Skill to Start (2 - 3 months at the beginning of 2023);
• Prepared a business idea and presentation;
• I chose a facilitator - an organization that supports startups within the country;
• Submitted documents in the summer, received a visa in the fall;
• In November 2023 he arrived in the Netherlands, in January 2024 he finally moved with his family.

Skill To Start helps with the paperwork “turnkey”. So the process of preparing the project and submitting documents for a visa will take two months

Preparation of documents

-The main thing is to formulate a business idea. My partner and I had a concept: to create available tools for Data Science, which will allow small and medium -sized businesses to analyze data and optimize our work. So our startup Altmacros appeared .

Our Russian company and a startup in the Netherlands are not connected at all: neither product, nor ideologically, nor command. It was this idea that we came up with a startup under the European market and did not use in Russia.

In the Netherlands, the system is arranged as follows: potential startupers select several companies called facilitators. They have special permission from the state. If facilitators are entrusted for startup, as a rule, the ministry gives this team a green light.

We wrote a pitch of the product and were already looking for facilitators for it. I collected a short list of 11 such specialists. With each I communicated, I conducted several interviews, as a result, the list was gradually reduced. And then there was only one with which Match came out with us.

This facilitator supported us, they made an official letter for RVO - an analogue of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development. There, the facilitator writes that he is entrusted for the company, that we are an innovative startup useful for the Dutch economy. He checks all this in advance - just talking to us, studying the idea, product.

We reinforced this application with documentation, questionnaires, sent to the embassy and began to wait. The documents were submitted in the summer, and in October I received an invitation - formally they put me a stamp, and since October I could come to the Netherlands and exchange it for a visa. I went in November and immediately invited a family here, they also received visas.

We returned to Georgia and began to think how to move. It was in the winter of 2023. I was lucky almost immediately to find an option with renting housing - this is the most difficult moment. We entered into a contract, and in January 2024 we finally moved to the Netherlands. Since then we have been living there.

Startup is a budget option to launch a business and register a company in Europe with minimal investments. And the startup visa is suitable not only for IT companies, but also for creative business, technology, production, logistics.

Skill To Start will help you apply for a request, prepare documents for a startup visa and find a facilitator.

Work on the startup

- After the move, all these bureaucratic difficulties began with the launch of a startup - this is, in principle, normal for the Netherlands. For example, the search for a notary, the preparation of constituent documents, the opening of bank accounts - it took four months. In this regard, an unhurried country.

In fact, this is all formalities - they should not distract from the beginning of work and the search for the first partners.

Skill To Start offers turnkey packages that will come in handy after moving. Using the service, the company registration in the Netherlands will take 3 - 4 weeks instead of several months.

We began to make a product, show the first samples to customers. All this time, a facilitator and a mentor from Skill to Start was in touch, who told how best to make a pitch, how to meet with clients, how to make a product better.

Now we have test customers - three companies: Dutch, Kazakhstan and Armenian.

But there was also an unsuccessful experience with one very large American IT companion of Altyx, with which we were going to cooperate. We corresponded, created a joint business model, agreed on all steps, plan. But at the last moment, all this broke due to the so-called checks in the risks in the United States, which showed that working with guys with Russian roots is very risky. I hope that after some time we will return to communicating with them again, we parted without resentment, positively. It was a good experience.

How much does a year of startup costs in the Netherlands

• Filitator - 600 - 800 € per month
• Office rental - 300 € per month
• Company registration - 2500 € is a one -time spending.
• Accounting - 300 € per quarter
• Service of the account, EDS and so on - about 100 € per month.
  

The rest already depends on the type of business. Amazon, for example, buying software is also individually. We got grants from Microsoft and AWS as starters, and we have much from the infrastructure for free.

As a result, about 18 thousand euros per year are released.

Life in the Netherlands

- We live in the Hague. We really like Gaga - a cute, cozy city. And this city is not as popular among tourists as Amsterdam. Gaga is a more business city.

Many blue collars are lawyers, financiers, businesses. Near the Rotterdam is a port city, so in general the whole logistics business is here, all the companies of the big four are sitting nearby, a large amount of money is concentrated. Amsterdam is tourist, it is really cool to rest in it. The Hague in terms of architecture is not such a beautiful city as Amsterdam, but at the same time a quiet, calm, comfortable city in which IT companies are concentrated.

The adaptation was quite complicated. Still, there are cultural and household differences. But the Dutch are exactly the same people as Russians. They also have their gouging, they also hope for a chance, in many cases they are, in principle, leisurely, rather lazy. But at the same time they are very pedantic, hardworking. And they are very frank - this greatly distinguishes them from the rest of the Europeans. If they don’t like something, then they will say so-they will not bustle, walk around yes.

I moved with my family: a wife and a small child, two years old.

For a living in the Netherlands, about 5 - 6 thousand euros should be laid for a family of three . This is rent, food costs, kindergarten. The child went to kindergarten. The kindergartens are all private, but the state compensates for their low income families.

While the startup is only at the stage of launch, we live on savings, which were specially postponed under this move.

And the wife registered ZZP (analogue of the IP) and began her small case with makeup and photography. She has customers, more than the Dutch. Things are going well.

Startup visa allows you to move to the Netherlands on their own, and transport your family to the country.

In the Netherlands there is no need to learn the Dutch language to open a company and engage in business, study or work to hire. In the country, everyone speaks English, a partner and family members will be able to officially work, and children can study in schools for free.

The Netherlands are a very technological country. Here it is not necessary to explain to people what technologies are - they are already at a very high level. And it helps in it.

A high level of digitalization, I would call it very close to Russian. You can, in principle, live online. There are no processes in which you must personally attend or, for example, write a paper letter. Although at the same time, in general, all communication is duplicated by ordinary mail. It surprised me. If I sent something online or received, all the same will come to me by mail in parallel.

What helped when moving

- Without the help of the organization, I would hardly go to the Netherlands.

Skill to Start take a lot of themselves. In some cases, I said "I have paws, and I just can’t do it, please do it." They helped me with the apostilization of documents, filling out the profiles, consulted to communicate with the consulate. And I also took a consultation for a family about life in the Netherlands.

Without assistants, I tried to submit documents to Sweden - it did not work.

The criterion of a successful business

The criterion is simple is sales and development. My minimum program is in two years to turn your startup into a business with a growing income. The maximum program is “unicorn”-a company with a billionth turnover in 5 years.

If the startup does not take off, it always has many options for working in hiring. I can leave a business and develop as a hobby.

In any case, we want to stay in the Netherlands.

Council for those who want to open a business in Europe

- The most important thing is to formulate the idea of ​​your business and explain it to yourself in simple words.

If you do not have a clear understanding of what to do, the startup visa will not work. In the courses of Skill to Start, people who want to move, but do not know what business they want to move.

And this is the most important thing to understand yourself.

Seek the advice on moving to Skill to Start

They will tell you:

• How to make your project innovative so that it corresponds to the format of the startup and goes to the startup visa.
• What kind of knowledge and tools are necessary for obtaining startup visa, entrepreneurial and student visa, as well as the Orientation Year visa.
• Features of Netherlands legislation, possible tools for financing startups, investments.
• Business culture of the Netherlands: features and differences from the rest of Europe.
• Household issues for moving to Europe with a family. Briefly about the most urgent - housing, medicine, banks, schools, universities

Skill To Start offers individual support in the preparation of documents for different types of residence permit in the Netherlands, support in the process of moving and legalizing, and assistance in the first months of life in the country.