A few weeks ago, some startups from our community received a Student Start-Up Loan! The Student Start-Up Loan is offered by StartLife and StartHub Wageningen to students with a promising business idea. The loan gives students the opportunity to accelerate their first business activities. In the upcoming weeks, you can expect a little interview with each of the startups. What is their company’s mission? Why did they become an entrepreneur? Where will they use the loan for and what are their future plans? Today, we’ll introduce you to Nick Wezenbeek, the owner of CleverMove!
With his company CleverMove, Nick coaches older adults in maintaining a strong & vital body, based on recent scientific knowledge. The ultimate long-term goal is to remain self-reliant. “In the scientific world, there is a tremendous amount of knowledge available on effective exercise and nutritional strategies to keep older adults vital and self-reliant. However, I observed that this knowledge is often not optimally applied in practice, resulting in suboptimal trainings and advices. This is a pity, because a well-designed science-based training program accompanied by minor adjustments in nutrition, has been shown to be extremely effective in increasing muscle quality, strength, health and the ability to perform daily activities. That’s why I decided to start CleverMove”, says Nick. With his scientific background in training and nutrition for elderly adults, as well as over 15 years of experience as a sports instructor, he creates effective and scientifically based programs. Besides effectiveness, Nick pays a lot of attention to the social aspect of training. Participants exercise in a homelike setting, with peers at their own level.
And that is very much appreciated by his clients. The company celebrated their 1-year existence last January. At that time, 56 customers were using the CleverMove services and rated their satisfaction with the coaching as 9/10! In March, CleverMove was forced to close its doors due to the coronavirus outbreak. Nick decided to set up an online program, which was very well received by his customers. “With the corona virus still among us, prolonged inactivity makes older adults even more vulnerable to for example infection and a more severe disease course of COVID-19. Therefore, the need for effective programs, specifically tailored for older adults has increased”, he explains. The Student Start-Up Loan he received a few weeks ago, enables him to develop ‘CleverMove Weerbaar 50+/70+’, a scale up of the CleverMove online program, on short term. “With a budget for advertising and promotion and the help of an experienced communications advisor, the online program will be launched around Christmas time. It will be promoted and available to all elderly people in the Netherlands, which is very exciting!”
- Jan Meiling hands over the loan to Nick on behalf of StartLife
Thanks to his loyal customers and changes in the program (outdoor and online training) CleverMove can continue to exist, despite the major impact of COVID-19. In the future, Nick wants to continue to run the online program for Dutch elderly people. “Besides that, I’m playing with the idea of eventually opening a CleverMove sports location in a big city. Or perhaps even a chain of CleverMove locations, who knows! I would also like to make the link back to science. Collecting long-term data in practice is very valuable. Research projects often only observe participants for a few months, while CleverMove could track a large group of elderly people for years in a real-life setting.”
Curious to know more about CleverMove? Or do you think one of your relatives can benefit from ‘CleverMove Weerbaar 50+/70+’ online? Check their website here.
Want to know more about the possibilities of the Student Start-Up Loan? Click here.