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Part I · March 2026

Building together in Cape Town.

In March 2026, eight founders and about twenty builders spent one week in a villa in Cape Town, building new companies with AI.

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Founders together on the terrace in Cape Town, with the mountains behind them.
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8
week together
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new companies
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The Documentary

Teun Nijenhuis and Geert Oomens filmed the week. The film premiered on 29 April 2026 at De Kromhouthal in Amsterdam, in front of more than 1,100 founders and entrepreneurs. All 61 minutes are now on YouTube.

A week around the same table.

In March 2026, eight founders and about twenty builders spent one week in a villa in Cape Town, building new companies with AI.

The Week

This is how the week in the villa went.

  1. The white facade of the villa in Cape Town, with a builder on the balcony in the sun.
    01

    The Arrival

    Everyone moves in, and nobody knows yet what they will build.

  2. The long table on the terrace of the villa, with the whole group going over an idea.
    02

    The Ideas

    The ideas come fast, and the first sale comes after one day.

  3. Founders and builders at work with laptops on the terrace of the villa.
    03

    The Build

    Designers and engineers build the products next to the founders.

  4. A founder stands and makes a point at the table in the villa while the others listen.
    04

    The School

    A visit to a school in Dunoon leads to Superpower Hub.

  5. A founder spreads his arms wide on the terrace of the villa, the mountains behind him.
    05

    The Last Day

    The strongest ideas have become five real companies.

Every Idea on the Table

In the first two days, 384 ideas were put in front of the whole room, and only the strongest survived.

  1. 1Alaura
  2. 2FinnTell
  3. 3Attent
  4. 4Superpower Hub
  5. 5House of Founders

The Five Companies

All five were registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.

Alaura

A leadership advisor that learns from your real conversations.

alaura.ai (opens in a new tab)

The People

It started with a message from Marleen Evertsz asking “Are you in?”, and everyone said yes.

  • Marleen Evertsz, GoldRepublic
  • Hans Scheffer, HelloPrint
  • Joep Verbunt, Matt Sleeps
  • Lars Freriks, Trustoo
  • Jeroen van Glabbeek, CM.com
  • Stef van Vugt, Catapult
  • Constance Scholten, Overflow Capital
  • Maas de Goede, Duqu
  • Ron Simpson, WIN/WIN
  • Michael van Lier, Builders
  • Sharon Klaver, Builders
  • Alex Butter, CTO, GoldRepublic
  • Martin Deumens, Design and technology
  • Teun Nijenhuis, Film
  • Brenton Maas
  • Michael Heerkens
  • Onnick Jessayan
  • Tom de Koster
  • Lotte van Rijen
  • Niels Spaans
  • Stan van der Avoird
  • Rick Heikoop

Also in the house: Geert Oomens (Camera). Our partners for Part I were Digital Notary, Future of Finance, De Ondernemer and Builders.

In Their Own Words

“After day one I really thought: this is never going to work. By the second evening, it was running.”
Marleen EvertszGoldRepublic

Translated from Dutch

In the Press

Dutch media followed the week and what came of it. The headlines are in their original Dutch.

Quote

Kaapstadse AI-ondernemersproef levert vijf startups en ton omzet op

De Ondernemer

‘Ik schrijf bijna geen regel code meer’: hoe deze ondernemers 5 startups volledig door AI laten programmeren

BusinessWise

House of Founders bouwt in één week vijf bedrijven met AI: ‘Zou het ook zonder mensen kunnen?’

More coverage (4)QuoteNederlandse topondernemers opgesloten in Kaapstadse villa voor AI-experiment ↗De OndernemerAcht topondernemers bouwen in één week vijf bedrijven met AI: ‘Die snelheid is echt bizar’ ↗De OndernemerBinnen een uur omzet: hoe topondernemers met AI nieuwe bedrijven bouwen ↗De OndernemerIn één week vijf bedrijven bouwen met AI: dit zijn de startups uit House of Founders ↗
Everything for the press

Next

Part II

Part II follows in October 2026.