The core business of Hable One  is to make smartphones accessible for the 10,000 people who are visually impaired in the Netherlands by making assistive technologies or services that could be in the form of services, hardware, keyboards or software.

I think setting up a business in the Netherlands was an obvious choice for me. I did my master’s in the Netherlands and, afterwards, I realised that in the technology and entrepreneurship community here quite a lot of people were international and open to internationals. It's quite diverse in the same way. 

Moreover, the Netherlands gives us a good launchpad to do business internationally as well.  There's a lot of talent here but also a lot of reach outside the Netherlands, which makes it an ideal place for us to start a business.

In India, the infrastructure around healthcare is very different. We have different needs; the need for low-cost solutions in India is a huge demand, whereas in the Netherlands, the best or the latest technology is something that is more appreciated. If you set up the same business in India, you would have to think about the business in a very different way than in the Netherlands.

The business opportunities were at the grassroots level, at the university level, where we had a lot of business plan competitions, and then also on the national level, you had the Philips Innovation Awards for example, which we won. This was a platform to basically test the waters and find out about the business opportunities that are there.

To conclude, Ayushman’s story showcases how the Dutch appreciation for innovation, especially in the healthcare sector, can help place innovation at the heart of its growth. This is made easier by being an international hub that attracts young talent from all over the globe. The country has the right resources and ecosystem to allow expat entrepreneurs like Ayushman to turn their grassroots ideas into functioning, innovative businesses, using the Dutch startup visa.  An environment high in innovation, international connections and a highly educated population can be the perfect recipe for the success of a tech startup if the right drive and ideas come from its members.