Anke Huiskes is a startup operator-turned-investor who spent years scaling Pebble, the world's first smartwatch, as Head of European Sales before founding NP-Hard Ventures, and is known in Dutch media as "the woman of 10 million" for her role leading early-stage investments. She bridges the Twente and Silicon Valley ecosystems by moving back to the Netherlands specifically to make a difference in the regional innovation ecosystem, while co-hosting "The Big Exit Show" podcast where she interviews exited founders about their journey from startup to exit.

• Deep background and continued interest in hardware and robotics. Frequently highlights physical technology advancements, pointing to examples like wearable powered clothing for longevity and autonomous robotic dentistry systems, while also actively helping robotics portfolio companies hire specialized early sales talent based on past personal experience working at two hardware companies.
• Focus on artificial intelligence applications and local developer communities. Anticipates massive acceleration in artificial intelligence capabilities soon and actively participates in grassroots tech groups, recently co-hosting an event for AI builders in Amsterdam and expressing a wish for a smart chatbot tool to better parse professional networking sites.
• Dedication to authentic brand building and genuine customer alignment. Strongly believes that modern businesses must stand for something bigger than just a marketing channel, agreeing that content loses its value when it lacks authenticity and advising that successful community building requires giving twice as much as you ask for.
• Active cross border network bridging the San Francisco and European startup ecosystems. Regularly attends major Silicon Valley events like Y Combinator demo days and local software meetups while maintaining a strong physical presence in the Netherlands, including moving back from the US and speaking on Dutch technology podcasts about the year ahead.
• Hands on approach to supporting portfolio companies with fundraising and talent sourcing. Readily leverages a massive professional network to advocate for founders, whether publicly asking to connect early stage consumer startups with seed investors or brainstorming better ways to mine professional connections to find highly specific technical hires.