Bob, to get straight to the point: what is the core business of The Tailors? 
We are a collective of eight companies, so it's not easy to capture that core business in one sentence. The organizations (IT department Basic Fit, Boxplosive, Building Blocks, Duodeka, Fama Volat, First Impression, Freshheads and LiveWall Group) each have their own expertise. The common denominator? We are all active in the field of digital and consumer. We use our shared knowledge and experience to retain talent for the region. And to create social initiatives that have a positive impact. This is how we try to put Tilburg on the map as a hotspot for digital expertise. 

Nice aim, but how do you do that exactly? 
By literally joining forces: working together more often, helping each other and doing better together. After all, you achieve more together than alone. We meet monthly at our clubhouse in Plan-T and determine the next steps to be taken. An example of one of our initiatives is Tailors Den: an entrepreneurial competition for startups in the digital field. 

What is your dot on the horizon? 
In Tilburg, we make digitization tangible. We want the city to be known worldwide for this in 2025. The people of Tilburg have a modest attitude, which sometimes means that people outside the city are unaware of the wonderful digital applications that are being conceived and developed here. A shame, because there is so much talent here in the south. We Tailors truly believe that we can put Tilburg on the map as a digital hotspot. 

Out of ambition? Idealism? Or passion? 
Ambition, absolutely. Tilburg has so much potential! Now the rest of Europe needs to see that too. To achieve this, we hook up with partners such as MindLabs. But we are also frequently in discussion with important stakeholders such as the municipality, Citymarketing and Midpoint. And also out of idealism; to create a positive, social impact. 

And how long have you been in the family? 
We put our signature under the partner agreement during the MindLabs annual event. So you could say that the ink has just dried.

In what way are you connected to MindLabs? 
With this partnership we want to accelerate our collective mission. With the relations and partners in the MindLabs ecosystem, we are going to focus on various innovation issues in the coming year. A jacket that, of course, fits us perfectly. How are we going to do that? There are several plans ready for that. These include Discovery Sessions, master classes for other MindLabs partners. 

What is the holy grail in this collaboration as far as you are concerned? 
Organizing these Discovery Sessions is one of the most important cooperation agreements we made. Within these masterclasses, we work together with startups, scale-ups and partners to find different routes to tackle challenges from other MindLabs partners. During a half-day session, this allows us to switch gears and work effectively. 

And what does it bring you in the meantime? 
The Tailors barely worked together prior to the formation of the collective. Since we have joined forces, many wonderful initiatives have emerged. We have the same expectation for our partnership with MindLabs. Moreover, the collaboration helps us to show directly what companies from Tilburg can do in the field of digital and consumer. In short, in line with the ambition of The Tailors.