Anke Huiskes on innovation and luck: Giving twice as much as you ask in return

This story was first published in the Next Icons Magazine. You can read the entire magazine here.

The region around San Francisco is known as the epicenter of innovation. What can Twente learn from San Francisco?

Anke: “The Netherlands is so small compared to the rest of the world. So are the distances. I think we should come together much more physically. In San Francisco, I saw how many beautiful things chance encounters can yield. Simply because people are at the same event or have the same interests and then start a conversation. That is difficult to reproduce online. By meeting each other in real life, opportunities arise that allow you to stay ahead of the curve and that speed is the key to success. That also means that you have to be selfless and show yourself. There are incredibly beautiful things happening in Twente, but we are often too modest about that.”

So you are actually saying that we should seek each other out more. 

Anke: “That’s right. Given the current state of the world, we need to make sure that we work on our independence, both for the Netherlands and for Europe. But if you don’t know what’s happening with your neighbors, you can’t pick up the phone to see if you can join forces. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a startup or a large company. Decision-makers need to come together more often. Something special happens when two people sit next to each other. Something that might otherwise never have happened.”

Is that how you create serendipity? 

Anke: “I think most successful people have had a good dose of luck in their lives, but you have to create that luck yourself, indeed. At the beginning of my career, I said ‘yes’ to many things. For example, when I was working in Palo Alto at Pebble, the world’s first smartwatch. A group of angel investors from the area asked me to take minutes for their pitch sessions in the evenings in addition to my job. The task itself was far below my level, but it did get me at the table with the right people and I learned how angel investors worked and what they pay attention to. By taking those kinds of opportunities that feel good, you create a large network around you and people think of you more quickly when a new opportunity comes along. So it often comes back to knowing the right people. In America, they sometimes jokingly say ‘Your network is your net worth’. That is the greatest luck.”

Do you still work like that? 

Anke: “Nowadays I am much more specific with my time and I say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ intuitively. And when you say ‘yes’, you have to follow through. I am often that person who says ‘I’ll do it anyway’, even when I am tired or don’t feel much like it. Who knows who you will meet or what you will learn? That way you increase your chance of getting lucky: by putting your shoulder to the wheel and showing up every time.”

“Modesty is nice, but it does not always serve you.”

Is that where your down-to-earth Twente attitude comes into play? 

Anke: “That common sense is something that has stuck, yes. My roots are in Twente, so I also carry that Twente pride with me. That is why I also feel the need to contribute to the innovation ecosystem. As far as I am concerned, that sense of pride should be expressed more. If there is an opportunity, you should not be too modest. Modesty is nice, but it does not always serve you. It is a shame if people do not know what is happening here. Then you will never attract talent, for example. If they do not know that you exist, they cannot apply for a job. With the acceleration of technological developments, such as AI, there are also many opportunities for engineers in Twente. We must seize them.”

How important are these types of innovations for Twente and the Netherlands?

Anke: “Very important. Technological innovation is the new oil. If you look at the challenges we are currently facing as a country, you see that it is about more productivity, more speed, and more independence from other parties. The answer to these issues comes from technological innovations. Of course, you should not lose sight of the human component, because, in the end, it is always about people. Innovation is the driving force of the economy and the economy creates prosperity. And prosperity means that you can provide for yourself every day and that we as a society can take care of people who can no longer work, are sick, or have fewer opportunities for some other reason. For me, innovation is therefore synonymous with prosperity. That is why it is essential to invest in innovation.”

“Technological innovation is the new oil.”

You set a good example in that, of course. What’s the role of the government in this story?

Anke: “The government is taking good steps, but I think that much more needs to be done. For example, people within the government need to realize that a startup is something completely different than a large company. So different rules need to be introduced for that, for example about how it should be easier for startup employees to benefit from the success of the startup. A new regulation has now been adopted for this, which is a step in the right direction, but it took ten years of lobbying. Only the government has this kind of regulation in its hands, so it certainly plays a role in making the business climate more attractive for companies in the Netherlands. The right people must therefore turn the knobs so that people who are working on innovation are not obstructed. At the same time, politicians in The Hague have so many other issues to work on, such as healthcare, education, immigration policy, etc. Implementing changes on a large scale takes time, so here too we have to look at what the small adjustments can be that, so to speak, can be implemented tomorrow to continue making progress.”

What kind of innovations should be given the spotlight in particular in your opinion?

Anke: “All technologies that make us resilient as a country. Think of innovations in the field of energy, infrastructure, production chains, defense… That is why it is so nice that my team is also technically skilled and can therefore talk to entrepreneurs well. Then you also see that people from different industries have much more in common than they initially think. We need people who genuinely want to make the world a better place. If those people come together with the same mentality of ‘giving twice as much as you ask in return’, then together you will go further.”
 

About Anke Huiskes

Anke Huiskes grew up in Twente and studied communication sciences at the University of Twente. Because her studies did not fully match her interests, she was very enterprising in addition to her studies. That is how she discovered her passion for entrepreneurship. After her studies, she worked for Procter & Gamble in sales, before moving to San Francisco in 2013. There she worked at various hardware companies and eventually started as an angel investor. When Anke returned to the Netherlands, she founded the VC fund NP-Hard Ventures together with two partners, to help companies in the very early stages with capital, an international network, and operational experience.