COPS Solutions continues to build its business on collaboration, strong technology expertise, and a structured venture-building model. In the Winter 2025/2026 semester, we partnered with American students from CEA CAPA Education Abroad to evaluate opportunities and design a Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy for our entry into the Netherlands.

From day one, this collaboration was structured as a real-world consulting engagement. Our colleagues Tomislav Kostanjevac and Ondřej Dvořák presented a clear client challenge: analyze the Dutch startup ecosystem, benchmark key competitors, identify strategic partners, and design a practical market entry roadmap for the COPS Venture Building Studio.

Close Semester-Long Collaboration

Students were split into two consulting teams under the guidance of Heinrich Homola, and the project was structured around three key touchpoints:

1. Kick-off Meeting – Project briefing, defined deliverables, and introduction to our venture-building methodology.
2. Midterm Review at COPS HQ –Discussion of interim findings and alignment on key GTM priorities.
3. Final Presentation (December 1) – Both teams delivered actionable expansion recommendations, including:
   • Mapping of Dutch innovation hubs (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven)
   • Competitor intelligence on venture builders, incubators, and consulting players
   • Partnership targets among VC funds, universities, and corporate innovators
   • Awareness and networking tactics to drive visibility
   • Initial Ideal Customer Profiles for the Netherlands
   • A 6–12-month GTM roadmap to drive early deal flow and traction

Strategic Takeaways

The student teams confirmed that the Netherlands is a high-potential market for our venture-building offering — characterized by accessible capital, innovation-friendly infrastructure, and strong academia-business connectivity.

They also emphasized the need for local partnerships and consistent brand visibility — fully aligned with our commercial expansion priorities for 2025.

“This collaboration helped us challenge and validate our expansion assumptions while allowing us to see our value proposition through the lens of the next generation of strategic consultants.” — Ondřej Dvořák, CEO, COPS Solutions

Why This Collaboration Works

Connecting academia and business enables students to solve real strategic challenges, while providing us with fresh insights, research capacity, and new perspectives.
It is a two-way knowledge transfer that fuels innovation — something we put into practice at COPS every day.

A big thank-you to the CEA CAPA students, their mentor Heinrich Homola, and Martin Brokeš, who made this partnership possible.

What Comes Next

We are now integrating the student deliverables into our expansion plan for Q1 2026, with the next market validation steps already underway.
Follow us on LinkedIn — more milestones coming soon.

Ready to build a new venture or launch a new product with us?
📩 office@cops.solutions