At startup Naext, technology shows you the way as 'an invisible guide dog

World fame is not a necessity for Victor van Dinten (43) and Lukas van Delft (54). Indeed, their software is successful if the user barely notices its existence. 'The best compliment I ever received was from a blind user: 'Your software helps me at exactly the right moment, just like my guide dog. I don't have to think about it,'" Van Dinten says.

Their startup is called naext, which stands for "naturally extended. Their mission: to help people find their way everywhere effortlessly and without stress. The focus is on complex environments such as hospitals, train stations or large public buildings. Places that are difficult to map and where traditional navigation often falls short. Especially for people who need extra support, such as people with a visual impairment or autism, this makes the difference between getting lost and finding their way independently.

But to make an impact, you have to market your product. naext has been around for three years now and is working with major parties such as ProRail and the Amsterdam UMC hospital. More customers will be added soon. What are the men's growth secrets?

Years of cooperation

First of all, the two business partners are well matched. They have a common mission and clear division of labor: Van Delft is the builder, Van Dinten markets the product and seeks investors.

They met more than twenty years ago at Imtech ICT. There they worked together for ten years and later met again at HERE Technologies, a company known for digital maps and navigation technology. There they worked on navigation in the interior of buildings, especially parking garages.

The idea behind the technology

'Parking garages, railway stations and hospitals are a considerable challenge for navigation builders,' says Van Dinten. 'They are places where GPS and Wi-Fi often don't work and where the environment is changeable. People therefore regularly get lost in these kinds of environments.'

Van Delft came up with the idea of using computer vision to help cars navigate through garages. With so-called spatial computing, they combine elements of virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor technology. They create virtual 3-D maps that help people find their way in the real world. 'We were getting the hang of the system, but the project stalled because of the corona crisis,' he says. 'Garages were empty, partners were pulling out. We, meanwhile, had inspiration for new applications with more social impact.'

The team left HERE Technologies and started naext. "The choice of entrepreneurship was quite easy, we are both true entrepreneurs. Fortunately, HERE Technologies was flexible and cooperated with us leaving because we had a different market focus in mind and were developing our own technology," Van Delft says. 'Within six months we had a working demo. But then came the next challenge: how do you find investors and customers?'

Looking for the first investors

'Because our technology was conceived for large buildings, you quickly end up with large organizations,' Van Dinten explains. 'Selling something as a startup to those kinds of organizations is difficult and takes a long time. You have to go through a lot of management layers. Moreover, they want to see proof and results, but that is difficult when you are just starting out. In turn, investors are waiting for your first customer's signature.'

Van Delft says he ended up raising 200,000 euros to hire people to develop the technology "Once the first customer showed interest, larger funds came into the picture. That first customer was Amsterdam UMC, where there was a clear need for better and more dynamic signage because visitors and employees were having trouble finding their way around the large hospital. This was soon followed by a proof of concept at the second customer: ProRail.

The team is working on integration with existing apps such as Mijn Dossier (Amsterdam UMC) and, in the future, mobility apps such as NS or OV9292, so that users do not have to download a separate application. 'Did you know that many elderly patients go to the hospital a day early to prepare for the environment and route?' says Van Delft. 'We found that people with autism or elderly people, for example, often do this. With our technology they can already familiarize themselves with the route at home, which results in less stress and more self-confidence when they go out.'

Focus on two markets

The entrepreneurs are initially targeting two markets: healthcare and public transportation. In hospitals, they want to provide navigation solutions that help both patients and employees. In public transportation, the focus is on accessibility, especially for people with visual impairments.

'Our technology is widely applicable, but we choose to focus on these two markets first,' says Van Dinten. 'If we can demonstrate how it works in these sectors, we can later expand more easily into other markets. Think of trade shows or complicated factory halls, for example.'

Team collaboration

The naext team now consists of six employees. They work in multiple locations: sometimes at home, sometimes in Eindhoven, and a few days a week they meet in B. Amsterdam.

'It's an inspiring location where we feel at home,' says Van Delft. 'We work together as a hybrid team several days a week on naext. Then the atmosphere and facilities have to be good. We have been working here for a year now and we like it. Even if our team grows further, there is room for that.'

Results instead of marketing

In September 2024, they completed an investment round of 800,000 euros to further develop the technology and better serve customers. They are currently working with two funds that continue to support them. 'To get customers and investors excited, we need to show results,' Van Dinten says. 'Together with our customers, we are going to show that we can make Dutch public transport and hospitals more accessible. We have no apps of our own and no marketing campaigns, but grow by making real impact.'

'Don't think for your user'

The entrepreneurs gradually discover what is needed. They build on the same software, but develop specific functionalities for each environment. "We learned that you should not think for a target group that you yourself are not part of," Van Dinten says.

For example, they had devised a technique to prevent blind people from bumping into something. 'But a user test showed that they didn't need that at all; they already have their cane and their guide dog for that, for example,' he explains. 'What did they need? Being able to spontaneously get a cup of coffee at the Kiosk independently. If our technology can assist them with that, we really help them move forward.'