Hey, my name is

Laurent
Kinet

A serial tech entrepreneur for 15+ years putting his long experience and skillset at work through consulting assignments and interim management missions.

Building startups since

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Startups founded

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Exits

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Missions to Madagascar

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“Describe yourself in ten keywords”, someone once asked me. Tough exercise. Let’s try. 1. Serial entrepreneur. 2. Private seed investor. 3. Innovation expert. 4. Highly connected to the industry. 5. Long-time corporate supplier. 6. Executive MBA. 7. Keynote speaker. 8. International. 9. Humanitarian engagement. 10. Published author (Corporate Venturing Framework – 100 Ways Startups Can Transform Your Organisation).

Creating new businesses out of thin air is probably the most difficult task on earth – but also the most rewarding. It encompasses the widest array of required hard skills as well as a fair share of psychology and mental strength that is not taught in schools. Having done that a couple of times, I have what it takes to advise others on how to do it right.

Entrepreneurship

Over the course of my career, I’ve (co-)founded 10 companies and sold 4 of them. Most of the times, I’ve been leading the ventures as CEO, Chairman of the Board or executive advisor, and, while at the origin of the idea, I was involved in its execution, from inception to exit or integration.

My focus areas are technology, innovation and digital systems in the B2B sector. I’ve run businesses in several countries in Europe, UK and the United States, with customers all over the world.

 

I’m most confortable with the earlier stages of company building: ideation, strategy, market research, customer validation, team building, funding, corporate finance and governance set up.

With my partner Olivier, I also set up a private pre-seed investment fund and we’ve invested together in a couple of startups since 2018.

My latest project

Novable is an AI-powered innovation and startup scouting technology helping innovation professionals identify, validate and engage with the most relevant startups worldwide.

Corporate venturing on autopilot

Using AI and NLP

Innovation and startup scouting

For Innovation Professionals

Millions of startups tracked worldwide

In a 360° context

EXPERTISE

Laurent has this tremendous ability to invest himself quickly in a client’s business and so to develop strategic visions that lead to success. He blends this with his talent to keep his finger on the pulse of new media development particularly as it relates to emerging technologies that impact the digital space.
Guy Vindevogel
Client Manager, LBi

Companies, funds and startups hire me for the following subject matters:

01.

Venture Design

Manage ideation, workshops, brainstorming sessions, new business models, venture decks, strategic roadmaps, scenarios, user interviews, personas building, stress tests, validation processes...

02.

Venture Building

Transform ideation insights and concepts into new ventures, business plans, financial modelling, prototypes, MVPs, partnership strategies, team building...

03.

Startup Coaching

Identify measurable goals and hypotheses, turn them into actions, help creating building blocks, provide sparing partnership and guidance on business, go-to-market, business models...

04.

Innovation & Startup scouting

Novable uses AI and NLP technologies to scout for the best innovations and startups worldwide; while building this company, I developed an expertise in the matter.

05.

Strategy & Market Research

Run market research projects, market landscaping, competitive analysis, opportunities mapping, strategic outlooks and potential business paths.

06.

Corporate Venturing & Startup Programs

Manage or support Corporate Venturing projects, units or departments, run startup programs (design, set-up, launch, management, reporting).

07.

Due Diligence

Ensure strategic, business, commercial, financial and technical due diligence activities, in-depth interviews, third-party validation, comparative and matrix reporting - and post-deal follow-up touchpoints.

08.

Any topic related to Startups & Innovation

Can address any innovation- or startup-related challenge by leveraging on my long experience in the matter.

A selection of corporations I've worked with

WRITING

GIVING BACK

I’m involved in a couple of non-profit organisations.
I dedicate a certain amount of time to that, as I believe it is important for my personal life balance.

Amalgache is a Belgian NGO organising yearly humanitarian missions in Madagascar to heal teeth of children from the High Fields region. I’m involved since 2013 in this organisation as Board Member, and I’m leading bi-yearly missions with teams of 15-20 people.

I’m a proud member of the Rotary, whose missions and values are aligned with mine, especially in the fight against polio and the development cooperation in southern countries.

As a fellow inhabitant of a small village in Hesbaye (holding the name of a poet), I founded a small NFP, Cercle de Verlaine, to mobilise neighbours and members of the local community in charitable actions and collect funds to support field organisations targeted to children care.

Friendship is a large organisation founded by Runa Khan and fighting increasing global threats such as environmental crisis, extreme poverty, inequality and injustice. I had the chance to criss-cross Bangladesh in the context of dental missions.

Wanna talk?

Let’s have a chat