NL House: Who’s backing Europe’s next creative scale-ups?
Europe has the ideas. The challenge is helping the best ones scale. As hybrid realities blur the boundaries between physical and digital experience, new opportunities are opening up across the cultural and creative industries, especially in media, immersive experience and creative technology. The challenge is turning that momentum into ventures that can grow, compete and create value.
This session brings together European founders, funders and ecosystem builders to explore what it takes to build innovation and technology capabilities and connect them to funding, partnerships and market traction. Expect sharp takes, real examples, and a candid look at how creative ideas grounded in European values move from signal to scale.
Presented by EIT Culture & Creativity and the City of Amsterdam
Schedule
Note: Event begins sharp at 10:00 GMT
10:00–10:05: Welcome Warm welcome
Gijs Gootjes (EIT Culture & Creativity)
10:05–10:15: Navigating Hybrid Realities
Fireside chat with Esther Hammelburg (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences & Society 5.0 Festival)
What happens when physical and digital experiences start to blur, and why does that change the future of media, content and creative technology?
10:15–10:45: R&D Signals Moderated conversation with Abel Enklaar (VPRO Medialab), Will Saunders MBE (CoSTAR), Mark Smith (IBC)
Hear from media and innovation leaders on where the biggest opportunities and pressure points are emerging across creative tech right now.
10:45–10:55: Why Cities Matter
Fireside chat with Marjolein Cremer (City of Amsterdam) & Gijs Gootjes (EIT Culture & Creativity)
Why do some places become launchpads for creative innovation, and what can cities do to help ideas grow beyond the pilot stage?
10:55–11:25: Founder Spotlights
Ana Betancourt (Black Goblin), Andrea Michelon (Grabbit), Christopher Esclapez (Music Gurus), Marcus Pullen (Blue Donut Studios), Nicholas Betts (Zerotec)
Meet founders building at the edge of culture and technology, and hear what they are creating, why it matters and what they need next to grow.
11:25–11:35: The Scale Question
Fireside chat with Yona Panazol (Bpifrance)
What does it really take for a creative venture to move from experimentation to funding, partnerships and serious growth?
11:35–11:45: Get Involved
Nathalie Lethbridge (EIT Culture & Creativity) and Gabriela de Vries (EIT Culture & Creativity)
A quick look at how founders, partners and ecosystem players can connect with EIT Culture & Creativity through upcoming calls and collaboration opportunities.
11:45 Close
Moderated by
Nathalie Curtis Lethbridge, EIT Culture & Creativity, Chief Outreach and Marketing Officer and Susannah Montgomery, EIT Culture & Creativity Business Development Manager
About the speakers
Navigating Hybrid Realities
Esther Hammelburg
Senior Lecturer at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and Director of Society 5.0 Festival
Esther Hammelburg is an Amsterdam-based media scholar. Her research focuses on the societal impact of hybridization: the growing entanglement of (digital) media technologies and physical environments. Esther works as a senior lecturer and researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and serves as the director of the Society 5.0 Festival, a platform for reimagining a desirable future society with technology.
R&D Signals
Abel Enklaar
Position: Editor-in-Chief, VPRO Medialab
Abel Enklaar is editor-in-chief at VPRO Medialab, where they lead experiments in storytelling and technology. They investigate how media and technology can support public values and shared cultural spaces in an age shaped by platforms and algorithms. Previously, they co-founded the Future Storytelling Lab at ArtEZ University of the Arts. Their work has been featured at festivals and cultural institutions across Europe, and they are an active member of the Public AI Network.
Will Saunders
Creative Head for the CoSTAR National Lab
Professor Will Saunders MBE is Creative Head for the CoSTAR National Lab and a professor of Creative Industries at Royal Holloway University. CoSTAR is a £76 million investment by UKRI in creative technology R&D for the screen and performance sector. It blends academic research specialisms in artificial intelligence, realtime technologies and converged media production with industry partnerships that include, Disguise, BT, and Pinewood Studios. Will has over 30 years experience working across the UK’s Creative Industries as a writer, producer, & executive producer. As Creative Director, Digital BBC Studios he ran Digital Development and Production for the UK’s leading media company. As an independent consultant in 2018 he worked with DCMS leading a workstream, public consultation exercise & co-authored the “Culture Is Digital” report for culture secretary Matt Hancock M.P. As a programme maker he has won awards working with; Graham Norton, Flight of The Conchords, Comic Relief and Lee Mack. In 2024 he was awarded an MBE for services to the Creative Industries
Mark Smith
Chairman IBC Council, International Broadcasting Convention
Mark Smith has spent more than 30 years in the Media, Entertainment & Telecommunications sectors globally, focused on industry-level technology evolution, innovation & collaboration programmes and international scale events. He was Marketing & Communications Director for the GSMA, the industry organisation for global mobile network operators and owners of the Mobile World Congress trade show and global sister events, where he led communications through the evolution of mobile communications from 2G through to 5G. Over the last decade, he has focused on the intersection between the communications, technology and media & entertainment sectors, working with world leading media brands. His deep technology marketing experience has helped him launch, develop and lead the acclaimed IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme, which brings together pioneering media companies and leading-edge technology partners to collaborate on solutions that address real-world business and disruptive technology challenges to drive industry moving advances. Additionally, he had been a Non-Exec Director on Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for England and a Non-Executive Director and Trustee of the Henley Festival.
Why Cities Matter
Marjolein Cremer
Policy Advisor Arts & Culture, City of Amsterdam
Marjolein Cremer is Policy Advisor Arts & Culture at the City of Amsterdam, specialises in European and international cultural affairs. She develops European partnerships and projects in culture, innovation and the creative industries. Previously, she worked at the European Cultural Foundation advocating for cultural policy on Dutch and EU level. She has extensive experience in cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, working across philanthropy, NGOs, and government to bridge local initiatives with European frameworks ensuring cultural policies address broader societal and inclusion challenges.
Gijs Gootjes
Director of North West Regional Hub, EIT Culture & Creativity
Gijs Gootjes manages the EIT Culture & Creativity North West Regional Hub, working closely with our regional hub host, the City of Amsterdam. In this role, Gijs addresses both local and European societal challenges from within the cultural and creative Industries, with a special focus on building communities, partnerships and ventures in the European green and digital transition.
Founder Spotlights
Ana Betancourt
CEO, Black Goblin
Ana Betancourt is the Founder and CEO of Black Goblin, an audio technology company transforming the workflows of sound designers worldwide. With a Master's in Sound Design from the University of Edinburgh, she launched Black Goblin to help sound designers reclaim creative time by automating routine tasks, fostering a more collaborative and narrative-focused approach to sound.
Andrea Michelon
Innovation Designer, Grabbit R&D
Andrea Michelon leads funding and strategy at Comet, a lens characterisation technology company redefining how lens data flows from set to post. Before Comet, Andrea worked as Senior Production Technologist with 12+ years on Film and TV productions for Netflix, Disney, Marvel, and Amazon, he specialises in data management, lens metadata and virtual production workflows.
Christopher Esclapez
Co- Founder & COO, Musicgurus
MusicGurus.com is an online learning platform that partners with the world’s best musicians and music companies to create interactive lessons that help music lovers to “become the musician they’ve always wanted to be”. Established in 2015 by Tom Rogers and Christopher Esclapez, MusicGurus is fast becoming the industry leader in online music education. The platform offers 1000s of high-quality on-demand lessons across a variety of different instruments, skills, styles and abilities.
Marcus Pullen
Managing Director, Blue Donut Studios
Marcus Pullen is the Managing Director of Blue Donut Studios and Blue Donut Games, a UK creative technology and games company developing original IP across board games, video games, VR and interactive storytelling. With over 30 years’ experience across software, multimedia, publishing, healthcare systems, games and visual design, Marcus has led projects for clients including IBM, Intel, NewsCorp, Shell, HMV, the NHS and major creative agencies. Blue Donut is currently developing Gamecrowd, a new platform designed to help independent games companies address the funding, discoverability and market access challenges facing the sector.
Nicholas Betts
Founder, ZERØTEC
Nicholas is the founder of ZERØTEC, a fashion-tech design platform using AI to eliminate textile cutting waste, saving businesses up to 180,000 kg CO₂e and £250K per year. A designer and pattern cutter by background, Nicholas completed EIT CC’s Business Development support and Scale programme, raised ~£700K, and is now embedding his platform across industry and fashion school curricula.
The Scale Question
Yona Panazol
Head of Development, French Touch Bpifrance
Yona Panazol coordinates the activities related to the sectors of cultural and creative industries for Bpifrance, the French public investment bank. She is a mission officer for the French Touch initiative, a systemic platform launched in 2020 that has mobilized 10 billion euros to support 20,000 cultural and creative companies, developing accelerator programs, innovative financing, and international initiatives. It plays a key role in the global influence of the French creative industries, leading delegations and large-scale events, such as SXSW in the United States or We Are French Touch, the main B2B event in the sector in France.
Moderated and Produced by:
Nathalie Curtis Lethbridge is Chief Outreach and Marketing Officer at EIT Culture & Creativity, leading outreach, marketing, communications and partner engagement across the network. She brings extensive experience in strategic partnerships across the cultural, technological and commercial sectors, and is the Founder of Atonik Digital, an advisory practice at the intersection of content, creative industries, technology and monetisation. Having held senior leadership roles with leading global entertainment, broadcasting and streaming companies, she brings firsthand experience of the evolving content landscape.
Susannah Montgomery is business Development Manager at EIT Culture & Creativity, where she connects stakeholders to drive innovation in Europe's culture and creative sectors with a focus on gaming, media, cultural heritage, and the digital transition.
Gabriela Milyanova de Vries is a Business Development Manager at EIT Culture & Creativity, passionate about creativity, social impact, and sustainability. Gabriela is focusing on the sectors of fashion, architecture, culture heritage, and the green transition.
Partners
EIT Culture & Creativity is a Knowledge and Innovation
Community (KIC) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), launched to foster innovation across Europe’s creative sectors. It connects creators, businesses, and researchers, supporting SMEs and professionals with funding, mentoring, and acceleration programs focused on sustainable economic growth, digital transition, and green energy.
City of Amsterdam Amsterdam is a premier European technology hub, consistently ranked among the top cities globally for innovation, digital infrastructure, and startup activity. The city, often referred to as a "living lab," focuses on AI, fintech, and sustainability, leveraging a highly connected, English-speaking workforce
NL House @ SXSW London
On June 3 2026, NL House opens for a day that runs from a morning wake-up call about where ambitious people should actually point their talent, to late-night conversations about what Amsterdam's after-dark culture is building next.
Expect cities to make the case for why they deserve your attention. Brands and studios showcasing work that moves people. Artists and technologists with projects that refuse to fit neatly into a single discipline. Explore the NL Lounge, where ten Dutch startups will showcase their technological creativity.
Presented by New Dutch Wave and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, created in collaboration with Dutch Digital Design, Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition, EIT Culture & Creativity, the City of Amsterdam, ROM Utrecht Region, Innovally, Gielissen, WT Interactive, and Dentsu Lab.
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