The over-fifties are a rapidly growing group of starting entrepreneurs and research shows that they are two to three times more successful than people in their thirties. However, there are few startup programs aimed at this age group.

The Leyden Academy on Vitality and Aging (LAVA) and Aegon the Netherlands are therefore organizing Silver Starters, a free learning program that runs from February 15 to June 7, 2022. The program starts on 15 February 2022. It will be in Dutch and will mainly take place online. There are 100 places available for participants and Aegon is asking Dutch-speaking colleagues to volunteer their time and expertise as coaches.

Mindset and skills

Participants will learn the mindset and skills needed to explore whether their ideas are viable during the 16-week program. They will also gain insight into customer needs, revenue models, marketing, and work towards independent entrepreneurship with the support of coaches and experts.

Previous editions have shown that the program not only takes participants further in their entrepreneurship, but also contributes to their self-confidence and vitality. "We also see social gains, reflected how participants feeling more active, better prepared and more self-confident about their future," says LAVA researcher Dr. Jolanda Lindenberg.

The first edition in 2019 received widespread media attention when the then 82-year-old entrepreneur Han van Doorn won the grand prize with his 'Are you OK today?' app. 

Karin Lammering, the winner of the second edition in 2021, resigned from her job at a hospital in Rotterdam to establish a center to make advanced lung testing more widely accessible and affordable.

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