For entrepreneurs, with or without an idea
Start the company. We will de-risk everything except the hard part.
Most AI companies fail because they build something nobody urgently needed. We work from the other end — we find validated demand inside real organisations first, then look for the founder to build against it. Bring your own idea or take one of ours.
Fit
Who this is for
- Operators who have seen a problem up close and cannot stop thinking about it
- Second-time founders looking for demand rather than another blank page
- Senior engineers or commercial leaders ready to make the jump
- You do not need an idea. You do need conviction and the stomach for it.
What you get
What the Lab actually brings.
01
Validated demand
A problem we have already confirmed with paying organisations, or rigorous help validating yours before you quit your job.
02
A founding team
We help you find your co-founder and your first three hires from the Lab and the Cronos network.
03
First capital
Pre-seed funding from the Lab, and introductions to the funds who back this stage in Belgium and beyond.
04
The unglamorous parts
Legal, finance, security, hiring, procurement. The Cronos Group has done this hundreds of times so you do not have to learn it from scratch.
Process
How it works.
Step 01
Conversation
We talk about what you want to build and why you, specifically. No pitch deck required.
Step 02
Problem matching
We pressure-test your idea, or walk you through the validated problems we are looking for founders on.
Step 03
Founding sprint
Six to eight weeks proving demand with real customers before anyone commits.
Step 04
Company
Incorporation, pre-seed, first hires, first customer.
Start the conversation
Everything here is confidential. If you have an idea, tell us. If you do not, say that instead — it is a perfectly good starting point.
Not the right fit?
Already have a lab? We build with corporate, partner and academic labs rather than selling to them.