The best startups begin with frustration

Season 07 of Startup Pass-port by Frontwalker continues with Episode 05 – Thomas Vles, Founder of GoDutch. A serial entrepreneur with seven startups under his belt, Thomas believes the best businesses don't start with brilliant ideas—they start with real frustrations. From reinventing cat litter boxes to transforming business banking, every venture he's built has been driven by solving problems people experience every day. In this episode, Thomas shares how GoDutch is using AI to simplify business finance, why founders should start selling before perfecting their product, and how learning from failure is essential to building successful startups. He also reflects on the lessons from his entrepreneurial journey, the importance of validating ideas early, and why creating products people genuinely love is the key to long-term success. This new season brings conversations with founders, innovators, investors and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of entrepreneurship, recorded at the Upstream Festival in Rotterdam in partnership with Erasmus Enterprise. These conversations are powerful, inspiring, and game-changing, and we can't wait for you to hear them. Stay tuned! New episodes dropping soon!