Heading to Silicon Valley in October!
In June, we won pitchXL, and one of the prizes is a trip to Silicon Valley. Now we know when: we’re going in October! Here’s a brief reflection on what awaits us in Silicon Valley and how the tech culture there differs from that in the Netherlands.
Last month, we took the stage at PitchXL, pitching Chainfill and our vision for the future. We won both the audience prize and the jury prize. The grand prize? A spot in an exclusive program in Silicon Valley, the global epicenter of technology, startups, and venture capital.
It was a fantastic confirmation that what we’re building with Chainfill is not only logical but necessary. And that the story we tell—about how AI is transforming logistics work—is understood not just here, but across the ocean. You can see it in the startups taking off in the U.S.
The Netherlands vs. Silicon Valley: Key Differences
In the Netherlands, a culture of reliability prevails. We build carefully, consult widely, and think before acting. We seek certainty, preferably backed by hard data. There’s nothing wrong with that—it gives Dutch companies a solid foundation. Customers are treated as partners, and long-term relationships are valued over rapid growth. But this approach can also slow things down, especially when trying to do something radically new.
In Silicon Valley, the bar isn’t higher or lower—it’s different. Success isn’t measured by current profits but by whether something can grow far beyond what you currently imagine—not just a little, but a lot. Questions aren’t “How many customers do you have now?” but “What happens if this grows 1,000x?” Failure isn’t punished—it’s a learning opportunity. Ambition is pushed, not restrained.
Yet don’t underestimate the Netherlands
The Dutch logistics sector is often labeled conservative and slow—but in our experience, that’s misleading. Expeditors, carriers, and logistics providers are critical, yes, but not blind. They feel the margin pressures, experience staff shortages, and understand the cost of mistakes or disconnected systems. And they also recognize innovation and opportunity—and act on it. Many are already exploring AI or actively using it.
The Dutch logistics sector is a quiet innovator. Maybe that’s typically Dutch: no hype, no grandstanding, but steady improvement. Not everything has to be “disruptive” to be valuable.
And that’s why we believe Chainfill, as a Dutch AI platform, can bring a bit of this mentality to the world. We don’t build castles in the air or promise excessive numbers. We build on reality, on customer conversations, and on problems that need solving today—but we do it with the speed, ambition, and technical vision that will impress even in Silicon Valley.
We’re not going to Silicon Valley to stay there. We’re going to learn, connect, and return stronger.
So that we can combine the best of both worlds:
→ The pace and moonshot mindset of the Valley
→ With the reliability and deep expertise of one of the most efficient logistics ecosystems in the world: the Netherlands.