Utrecht Inc's Student Validation Program x CalvAlert - Networking helps personal and career development

In April 2025 I joined the UtrechtInc Student Validation Program with a project of mine and my 5 colleagues, CalvAlert, and it turned out to be one of the most valuable experiences I’ve had this year.

I first heard about UtrechtInc after my internship at Beyond Weather, one of the startups based there. UtrechtInc is one of the top 10 university-linked incubators worldwide, and it has a vibrant mix of startups, office spaces, monthly networking events, and tailored programs on early-stage startups needing ideation, validation, or acceleration.

A Quick Note on CalvAlert

CalvAlert is an AI-powered computer vision calving monitoring system for dairy farms. The idea is simple but important: detect calving events (cows giving birth) and difficult births (like dystocia) in real time so that farmers can intervene when needed.

CalvAlert results in:

• Better animal welfare
• Saved labor costs for farmers
• Prevention of calf deaths, which are both costly and unwanted

This post isn’t about CalvAlert itself, but about my journey inside the program — what I learned, who I met, and how it helped shape our next steps.

If you are interested in our project, feel free to visit our website:
https://withlency.com/

That’s all I’ll say here.

Getting into the Program

I knew about the program since September 2024, and my team was waiting for the next opening in April. The process was straightforward:

• We filled an application form and applied to the program
• Then, we submitted a one-pager, a single-page document that summarizes key information about our project
• Got shortlisted and went ahead and pitched our project in person

From there, we were accepted along with about 10 other startups.

Inside the Program

The program was 3 months long. It included a series of classes and workshops that were especially helpful since all of us came from CS and AI backgrounds. Topics included:

• Marketing
• Pitching
• Business plan validation
• Value proposition design

There were also community events for networking as well as sharing your project to others to get feedback which allowed us to improve our website and gave us new ideas on how to refine CalvAlert. These events were my favorite since through them I got to meet new entrepreneurial people, exchange ideas and connect with them to keep up to date with what they’re working on as well.

We also got paired with a mentor, Marko, from NeoLook, a startup offering video services for neonatal and pediatric intensive care. His experience was very useful for us since his product had a similar infrastructure to ours, just in a different domain. His advice helped guide development and key outreach decisions.

At the time, CalvAlert was still in its early stages. We had a business plan and one pilot running in Cyprus to gather data for our MVP.

Through UtrechtInc, our main goals were to:

• Validate our business model plan
• Build a stronger Dutch network with startups and like-minded people
• Explore opportunities for a second pilot in the Netherlands
• Achieve small funding for CalvAlert expenses

Key Highlights

The program gave us a lot more than theory:

• We pitched at multiple community events and spoke directly with visitors during a testing grounds event
• We landed a second pilot program at Dairy Campus, part of Wageningen University — a huge milestone
• I met many entrepreneurial and tech-savvy people and stayed plugged into the Dutch startup ecosystem
• We secured €1,000 in funding through UU Playground
https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/playground

Looking Back

The program

The UtrechtInc Student Validation Program was an amazing experience. I’d recommend it to anyone with a startup idea, even if it’s not fully developed. The business learning alone makes it worthwhile, and the networking is invaluable.

As for us, CalvAlert now has:

• Two pilot programs running (Cyprus and the Netherlands)
• A goal of starting a third
• An MVP under development aimed for the end of 2025
• A website and social presence at https://withlency.com/

My advice to others

The key takeaway isn’t just about entrepreneurial programs. It’s about engaging with events and meeting people. That’s where perspective, growth, and real opportunity come from.

In CS especially, it’s easy to isolate and think everything can be learned online. What you miss is lived experience and human connection. That can’t be Googled.

If you’re in Utrecht, check out:
https://utrechtinc.nl/
https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/playground

Across the Netherlands:
https://yesdelft.com/
https://starthubwageningen.nl/

Events worth watching:
https://www.crossroads2025.nl/home
https://startlife.nl/

In the end, the real value isn’t just in building products — it’s in building the connections that shape who you become.