On a prospecting trip through the US, Ghent-based start-up Spotable unexpectedly wound up in the American Senate last week for discussions about the local construction sector. "This is going to open an enormous number of doors for us."

"I am only now really realising how crazy this is." -Julie Dumoulin, co-founder of the Ghent-based AI software company Spotable, can herself barely comprehend what happened to her last week. Barely three months after the start-up had cautiously dipped its toe into the American market for the first time, was it invited to the capital Washington for policy discussions about the construction sector. Dumoulin was invited to spend an entire day with a gathering of senators and members of congress to share her vision on what can be done differently and better in the US. Dumoulin went on a two-week prospecting trip through the US, with the goal of meeting potential clients. "Breaking into the American market was actually only on our agenda for next year," she laughs. "But in January based, on the advice of some clients we came here early to set up a stand at a major trade fair for roofing companies. This was mainly intended to explore the market, we did not yet have a product ready for the American market. But the interest in our software turned out to be enormous. Within a month we were already able to gather more clients in the US than in Europe. So we decided to move the US forward in our planning."

Networking event

This includes the impending establishment of a local subsidiary and the opening of an American office, but also a new prospecting trip to strike while the iron is hot. This brought Dumoulin first to Washington D.C., where a networking event took place organised by the American sector association for roofers: the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA). There, Dumoulin suddenly received an invitation to join a lobbying visit to Capitol Hill, where the Senate and the House of Representatives are housed. "The NRCA had a whole series of appointments the following day with senators and members of the House of Representatives to discuss the sector and policy," Dumoulin recounts. "Suddenly they proposed that I come along. I could offer both a European perspective and a view of the challenges and opportunities of the sector through a technology lens. They found that rather attractive."

Studied through the night

It was an opportunity Dumoulin did not want to let slip. "I studied through the entire night on American policy in the sector and how American political decision-making works," she recounts. "Especially as a European company and as a start-up, it is by no means self-evident to be invited for a meeting with American policymakers. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." The visit to Capitol Hill is not only good for name recognition in the industry, says Dumoulin. "For a company that is in full swing building up an American branch, contacts in Washington are worth their weight in gold. You could, so to speak, get an entire state behind you, which is an enormous asset for a company that wants to grow quickly in a new market."

The faster-than-expected American expansion does not mean that Spotable is paying less attention to Europe, Dumoulin assures. "It is going so well that it would be foolish to put the brakes on anywhere. We are simply hiring more, both in the US and in Europe. We are now a team of 20; by the end of the year that will be 30."