BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:event-591 DTSTAMP:20261024T092228Z SUMMARY:FSR x henQ | International Venture Capital Tour 2026 DESCRIPTION:Note: this event will be held in English Most recruitment event s for students involve the same kind of made-up cases to present to a fake customer or pretend investment committee. The International Venture Capit al Tour is different: Ten students will spend a day in Rotterdam with all three henQ partners and the founding CEO of Freeday.ai. You will work toge ther to assess the company and founder\, much like you would if you were a lready part of the henQ investment team. Six students continue to round tw o: a fully paid two-day trip to Paris\, where you will again work with all three henQ partners and\, this time\, the founding CPO of Malou.io. We ta ke the perspective of a board member\, to try and help Malou solve an urge nt challenge they are currently facing. As such\, you will get a glimpse o f what it’s really like to work in venture capital\, and whether henQ is the fund for you. Win a year of free tuition Do you have an average grade of 8.25 or higher? Then applying also enters you into the henQ Scholarshi p draw. Among all eligible applicants\, a winner will be selected at rando m. henQ will cover their tuition fee for the 2026–2027 academic year. Yo u don't need an 8.25 average to apply for the International Venture Capita l Tour. Most Likely to Become VC Partner After two rounds together\, the h enQ team will pick the participant they think is most likely to become a V C partner one day. Last year’s winner ended up signing a full-time contr act with henQ. She joins after graduating in 2027. (This was not part of t he prize) Round 1: Freeday.ai\, Rotterdam Date: November 24 Location: Free day.ai HQ\, Rotterdam You will spend the day with Freeday’s founding CEO and the henQ partners. Freeday builds AI agents that automate repetitive work in customer service\, finance and HR. Its agents already handle more than 1 million interactions per month for companies like TUI\, citizenM an d Bitvavo. Your job for the day is to assess Freeday as an investment: und erstand the company\, form an opinion on the founding team and decide what you would want to know before investing. There is no fictional case and n o pretend investment committee. You will be discussing a real company with the people actually building and investing in it. Round 2: Malou.io\, Par is Date: January 13–14 Location: Malou\, Paris Travel and accommodation: fully paid by henQ Six students from Round 1 continue to Paris for two da ys with Malou’s founding CPO and\, again\, the henQ partners. Malou auto mates marketing for more than 3\,500 restaurants\, with customers from Par is to New York. This time\, instead of deciding whether to invest\, you wo rk as if you are already on their board: Malou will give you an urgent pro blem the company is actually dealing with\, and you will try to help solve it together. henQ pays for the trip from Rotterdam\, accommodation and th e full program. About henQ henQ invests in B2B technology startups across Europe. They typically invest €1M–€10M per company\, and make only a small number of new investments each year. VC websites are full of fancy one-liners\, but a large part of the job is fairly simple: find exceptiona l founders with fast-growing revenue\, in markets most other funds somehow don’t like. Then help as much as you can after investing\, without gett ing in the way of a great founding team. Event Details: Round 1: November 24\, Rotterdam Round 2: January 13–14\, Paris Participants: 10 students in Round 1\; 6 continue to Round 2 Who can apply: third-year Bachelor's st udents and Master's students Selection: based on your CV Application deadl ine: November 16\, 23\;59\, 2026 Interested? Apply for the FSR × henQ In ternational Venture Capital Tour.     FAQ – International Venture Capi tal Tour 1. How does a Venture Capital (VC) fund work? A VC fund invests i n promising early-stage or growing companies in exchange for equity. The f und is managed by professional investors (partners) who raise capital from limited partners (LPs)\, such as institutions or high-net-worth individua ls\, and aim to generate returns through successful exits. 2. What exactly does the International Venture Capital Tour involve? The Tour allows a se lect group of students to experience how VC funds operate. You’ll visit real startups\, work on practical cases\, and interact directly with found ers and investors to learn how investment decisions are made. 3. What do V Cs typically invest in? VCs invest in startups with high growth potential\ , innovative products\, or disruptive business models. These companies are usually in technology\, software\, or other rapidly developing sectors. 4 . Who do Venture Capitalists work with? VCs collaborate closely with start up founders and other investors. They provide not only funding but also st rategic support\, mentorship\, and access to their professional networks. 5. How many portfolio companies does a typical VC have? The number varies strongly\, but most VC funds manage between 10 and 30 portfolio companies\ , depending on the fund size and investment strategy.  6. What is the goa l of a VC\, and how does it make money? A VC aims to grow its portfolio co mpanies so they can be sold or go public at a higher valuation. The fund m akes money through equity returns — typically when a company is acquired or listed on the stock market. 7. How large is a typical VC fund? Fund si zes can vary widely — from small early-stage funds of a few million euro s to large funds exceeding €500 million. The size often reflects the fun d’s investment stage and focus. 8. Does a startup need to be profitable to attract VC funding? Not necessarily. Many startups attract VC funding b efore becoming profitable\, as long as they show strong growth potential\, a scalable business model\, and\, most importantly\, an impressive team. 9. Who will we meet during the Tour? You’ll meet successful VC partners\ , startup founders\, and portfolio company teams. They’ll share insights about their work\, their challenges\, and what it takes to succeed in the VC and start-up world. 10. What kind of companies does henQ invest in? he nQ invests in European B2B software startups led by bold\, unconventional founders. They seek founders building something real\, not trendy. 11. How is henQ different from other VCs? HenQ focuses on depth over breadth — only two / three investments per year. This allows them to commit fully to each founder’s journey. 12. What does “Funding for the odd ones out ” mean? henQ backs founders who don’t fit the mold. They believe the b est companies are built by those who dare to be different AND better.  13 . How big is a typical investment? henQ invests €1–10M as an initial i nvestment per company\, with capacity for follow-ons. They commit to suppo rting founders beyond the first round. 14. What are henQ’s expectations of founders? They value transparency\, authenticity\, and conviction. henQ wants to work with founders who truly believe in their product and purpos e. 15. Does henQ hire students / recent graduates? HenQ actively hires stu dents and recent graduates. Last year's winner of the International Ventur e Capital Tour recently signed her full-time offer to start at henQ. Both of the partners at henQ started as working student / recent graduate at he nQ themselves and got the opportunity to grow and build henQ into what it is today.   DTSTART:20261124T080000Z DTEND:20270114T170000Z LOCATION:Rotterdam & Paris END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:UTC BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20261124T080000 TZNAME:UTC TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR