The businesses that have blossomed thanks to our idea incubator

Having an idea is good. Making it a reality is even better. Every year, for one week, hub.brussels gives you the opportunity to challenge and develop your business or horeca idea and bring it to life. Seven days of free training, delivered by experts: what do you say?

It’s not the swing that gets you over the edge, it’s the technique used to make the leap. So no matter how ambitious, any project can come to fruition quickly – and easily – with the right tools. Launched in 2019, the hub.brussels Idea Incubator has already enabled some 60 budding entrepreneurs to formulate and develop their ideas. And about fifteen of them have now opened up a store!

WonderGreen: an idea for an urban garden center

In early December 2019, Kirsten Crick participated in the first edition of the Idea Incubator. A few months later, she opened WonderGreen, a store dedicated to plants and selling products to care for them.

When Kirsten started the Idea incubator program, she had already tested her concept in a pop-up at the Boentje Café. The location was also determined: in Schaerbeek, in her community and place of life.

“My project was to create an urban garden center that integrates the notions of sustainability, local economy, bulk, tools forged in Belgium, etc. I aspired to transform an old garage into a store specializing in plants and their maintenance, exploiting the roofs of the latter.“

In the end, it was in a former art gallery that WonderGreen took root. “You could say the space shaped the project. I have a beautiful, bright storefront with stained glass floral windows that showcase my plants. The space is not what I imagined, so it forced me to rethink my concept.“

Opened in February 2020, WonderGreen was quickly confronted with the health crisis. “The containment allowed me to create my e-commerce site and develop my customer base throughout Brussels. I also sold a lot of gift vouchers to local residents. This support has really warmed my heart.“

For Kirsten, after almost 3 years of activity, it’s time to take stock. “Evolving in barely 50m² gives me the feeling of having done the trick in terms of products. Due to a lack of space, I can no longer diversify my offer. Ideally, I would like to move to a bigger space, but I want to stay in Schaerbeek. That’s why I decided to hand over my store, starting in April 2023. I hope that my idea will continue to live on without me!“

Vegitopia: for an inclusive diet

Kalkidan Abiy Hailu participated in the 4th edition of the idea incubator. Her Vegitopia project was thus able to benefit from the eyes of experts and a confrontation with the field. An idea that will soon come to life in downtown Brussels.

Vegitopia is the meeting of Ethiopian cuisine with the principles of vegan and gluten-free food. A return to the roots for Kalkidan, herself lactose intolerant. “In Belgium, there are not many Ethiopian restaurants. It’s a cuisine that nourishes both the body and the spirit. When I discovered my lactose intolerance, I wanted to develop Ethiopian dishes that are both vegan and gluten-free. The goal is to target people following this diet, but also to be accessible to everyone.”

The Vegitopia adventure began with online sales, but Kalkidan’s desire was always obvious: she wanted to open her own restaurant one day. By taking part in the idea incubator, she was able to give her project an extra boost.

The procrastination stops now

The biggest challenge for Kalkidan during the incubator was taking the time to delve into some key elements of her project. “In particular, I identified my target audience, my personas, I drew the plan of my project to see concretely what I wanted it to look like. In short, things that I didn’t necessarily want to do before the incubator, but which turned out to be very useful.“

Thanks in part to being put in touch with regional support structures, Kalkidan was able to move forward in making his idea a reality. “I submitted a file in the context of the call for applications to occupy the hub.brussels hospitality incubator. The jury’s feedback was positive and I will be staying at Kokotte from January to April 2023. I’m already thinking about the next step and hope to quickly find a place to set up Vegitopia in Brussels.”

Horta: a neighborhood grocery store eagerly awaited

Youdra Guerrero opened in May 2022 Horta, a quality and mainly organic grocery store, which fills a growing demand in the Wiels neighborhood. Prior to its opening, Youdra participated in the Idea Incubator.

Horta means “vegetable garden” in Portuguese. It is also a reference to the name of the streetcar stop located a stone’s throw from the grocery store. A name that appeared as an obvious choice when Youdra thought of her project. “I worked for 6 years in an organic food store, so I had a very clear vision of what I wanted to create in my grocery store. Beyond organic and a catering offer, my specificity is to import products from Portugal.“

At the time of her participation in the Ideas incubator, Youdra had already found a space and signed her lease. Although Youdra had originally planned to install a kitchen in her premises and produce dishes for the catering part of the grocery store, confrontation with the other participants in the Ideas incubator allowed her to adjust. “I had doubts about the place to give to the kitchen, both in my premises and in my daily organization. Following the feedback from the other participants, I decided to focus on the grocery part of my business and to set up partnerships with Brussels caterers for the catering part.”

Subsidies and coaching

Beyond the exchanges between participants, Youdra also found useful information, including the connection with the coaches of hub.brussels. “This allowed me to submit a file to OpenSoon and to benefit from a subsidy for my opening. When you are alone in the entrepreneurial adventure, this kind of contact is really precious.“

After 4 months of opening, the assessment is unanimous: it’s a success! “The demand in the neighborhood was really there, my customers even thank me for opening. For the future, I plan to become a company and, above all, to hire staff, because managing alone makes it difficult for me to find a balance between private and professional life.“

And what about the Idea Incubator in all this?