The LEVEL UP Awards are a breeding ground for trust and growth
The LEVEL UP Awards are behind the corner. Former nominees told us more about what taking part in the award competition brought them.
Published on August 19, 2026
© Bram Saeys
As Head of Partnerships, Linda liaises with new partners. She coordinates all ongoing collaborations and connects our journalistic editorial and commercial articles. She is not only the connector behind our articles, but also all of our events.
A grand stage in a unique venue and an audience of investors, entrepreneurs, and innovation experts. That is the formula for the LEVEL UP Awards, a regular feature of the Benelux’s renowned startup event. Following an initial selection by the expert jury, three entrepreneurs pitch their ideas during the event. The fifth edition will take place on 28 September at the Evoluon in Eindhoven. In this article, we look back at last year’s three finalists: Salvia BioElectronics, EviSafe and GoDutch. How did they experience participating, and what did they gain from it?
It was a thrilling final in 2025. Three completely different startups took to the stage, all with one important goal: to make the world a little safer, healthier and more efficient. In the end, Salvia BioElectronics walked away with the prize. The company is developing a medical device for people with severe migraines for whom medication is not effective enough. It is a wafer-thin implant that is placed under the skin in the head, close to the nerves that are hypersensitive in migraine patients. “The system sends small electrical signals to the nerves, which calms the hypersensitive brain. As a result, patients experience fewer and less severe migraine attacks,” explains Hubert Martens, founder and CEO of Salvia BioElectronics.
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Recognition and awareness
Migraine is an invisible but common problem. “People who suffer from it are often unable to work full time, take part in family life or maintain their social lives,” explains Martens. He believes it is important to raise awareness of migraine. “In that regard, LEVEL UP was very important to us. After my pitch, lots of people came up to me to say that they recognised the condition in themselves or in close family and friends.”
In addition to bringing attention to migraine, Martens believes that winning the LEVEL UP Award boosted the company’s visibility among new talent. “We’re a rapidly growing organisation. Winning the award gives new talent the confidence that we’re on the right track as a company.”
Building trust through dialogue
Naomi Hija, founder and CEO of EviSafe, also believes that a nomination for the LEVEL UP Awards inspires confidence, particularly among potential customers and partners. EviSafe is a safety and evidence platform designed to prevent, identify at an early stage, and stop (domestic) violence. “It’s a tool for safely and hands-free documenting evidence and raising the alarm, when necessary,” explains Hija. The tool’s basic features are free for consumers. Local governments pay for it via an annual licence. “Our nomination for the LEVEL UP Awards – now a well-known prize – has built trust with the local governments we’ve been in talks with.”
Growing and discovering
She looks back at her participation in the LEVEL UP Awards as a valuable and educational experience. “It was a real pressure cooker – you’re thrown in at the deep end and have to tell your story to a large audience in just one minute,” says the entrepreneur. It was her first pitch on a big stage. “I was nervous, and I didn’t feel it went perfectly, but I learnt a lot from it. It was a great experience,” Hija reflects. Ultimately, that experience is also helping her with her next pitches. “You keep gaining new insights and, in that way, you also gain more and more confidence in yourself.”
That growth paid off. After LEVEL UP, Hija won two other pitch awards with EviSafe. “LEVEL UP really laid an important foundation for me in that regard. It was the first time I’d been on such a big stage. After that, I got better at telling our story concisely and powerfully.”
The LEVEL UP Awards are a great conversation starter, not just for the winner but for other nominees too. Hija: “Following the nomination and the pitch at the event, we’ve had various discussions about potential funding and collaboration. That’s a learning process in itself: we try to learn as much as possible from the people we meet along the way.”
New contacts
Thomas Vles, founder and CEO of GoDutch, also sees the LEVEL UP Awards as a good starting point for new discussions. GoDutch is a financial operating system. “It’s a business account for entrepreneurs where we use very smart tools to make their lives easier. Think, for example, of expense management via WhatsApp and automatic invoice payments. This allows entrepreneurs to focus on their business, rather than on the admin,” explains Vles. “Through LEVEL UP, we’ve made lots of contacts in the south of the Netherlands. That’s very valuable to us, as we’re originally based mainly in the Amsterdam ecosystem.”
Beyond national borders
Since LEVEL UP, GoDutch has grown significantly. “We’ve had a successful investment round, quadrupled our revenue, the team has grown considerably, and our product has also been developed further,” says Vles. The company is set to grow even more in the coming period. “We’re working hard on expanding and improving our products and our own licence. We’re also preparing for international expansion.”
Hija from EviSafe is also looking beyond national borders. “As well as discussions with dozens of Dutch local authorities, we’re already in dialogue with parties in Belgium. Ultimately, we want to help as many people as possible.”
For Salvia BioElectronics, the focus is now primarily on the clinical trials underway. “As well as the trials in the Netherlands, we are also working hard to launch clinical trials in the United States (US),” says Martens. “The US is one of the most important markets in the field of medical devices and pharmaceutical products.” Over the next few years, Salvia’s focus will remain on completing the clinical trials and obtaining authorisation to bring the product to market.
LEVEL UP Awards 2026
Have these stories inspired you, and would you like to get involved too? Applications for the LEVEL UP Awards 2026 are now open. This is your chance to put your start-up and innovation in the spotlight for a large audience of leading investors, entrepreneurs and innovation experts. Check this page for more information about the LEVEL UP Awards and the application form.