CEO | Persuasive

Chief Executive Officer

Company stage: Pre-Commercial start-up (Diagnostics/IVD)

Location: Hybrid with regular travel to Utrecht

Travel: The role requires travel for investor roadshows, pitch events, and partner meetings across Europe, with US-facing engagement as the go-to-market develops.

Compensation: This role starts as a fractional engagement (about 2 days per week) for a founder-minded leader who understands the risk and reward profile of early-stage company building. Compensation is weighted toward equity and performance-linked milestones, with a modest cash component available in line with the current funding position. Cash scales materially upon close of the next financing round. Equity mechanism and structure to be confirmed.

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About the Company**

Persuasive BV is a Netherlands-based medical diagnostics company spun out of NLC and built on technology licensed from Utrecht University Hospital. We develop technology that isolates and measures diagnostic particles directly from blood, addressing a gap in current chest pain diagnostics where speed and accuracy of testing remain a critical clinical bottleneck.

After seven years of development, the technology is entering its final stage, with large-scale verification and validation planned over the next one to two years alongside preparation for launch as a testing service in the Netherlands. The business case is strong with limited direct competition in the space.

Purpose of the Role

We are seeking a hands-on CEO to lead the company through its next phase of final development and first commercialization. This role was created as the founding CEO transitions to a dedicated CTO position, taking full ownership of technology, IP, and regulatory matters. The incoming CEO focuses exclusively on commercial strategy, investor relations, and go-to-market execution.

The business case is strong with limited / no competition. The technology is entering the final development stage. Large-scale verification and validation will be done in the next 1-2 years while preparing for launching as a testing service in NL in parallel.

The CEO’s role is to convert this foundation into a commercially sustainable business model, refine it for future scaling, and lead the company toward international expansion and long-term strategic relevance.

This is a CEO role requiring commercial strategy development and fundraising.

Over the next 12 to 24 months, the CEO will:

• Select a business model from the available options and build a credible go-to-market plan for Europe, with potential US expansion
• Align shareholders and position the company for strategic partnerships and growth
• Sharpen commercial focus, pricing, positioning, and marketing
• Work alongside the CTO
• Strengthen and professionalise PERSUASIVE’s proposition for pitching to investors
• Fully dedicated to fundraising activities

Key Responsibilities:

• Evaluate available business model options, select the most commercially viable path, and develop a 12 to 24-month execution plan covering go-to-market, pricing, and positioning for the European market with a view to US expansion.
• Secure €1 to 2M in the next funding round through active outreach to angels, corporate VCs, and strategic partners, building a credible financial narrative around the verification and validation timeline and commercialization milestones.
• Represent PERSUASIVE externally with clinicians, strategic partners, and investors, while preparing the company for first commercialization in Europe, including US expansion.
• Drive fundraising efforts by actively engaging with suitable investors and leveraging technical and commercial acumen
• Identify and remove barriers to adoption by spending time with customers to understand clinical applications, key stakeholders, hospital budgeting, workflows, training, and usage challenges, and translating these insights into action.
• Lead and refocus a small team on execution by setting clear priorities, ownership, and accountability, and eliminating non-essential activity.

Requirements

• Demonstrated success raising from angels, corporate VCs, and grant or foundation sources in medtech or IVD, with an existing warm investor network in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany; a strong differentiator.
• Senior leadership experience in In-Vitro-Diagnostics / biomarker detection technology / clinical laboratory, ideally in a start-up/scale-up environment
• Experience shaping go-to-market strategies, pricing, and commercial models for innovative medical products
• Experience and network in the Cardiology / Cardiovascular space preferred
• Comfortable operating in a small, fast-moving organization where the CEO leads from the front
• Experience working across European markets; exposure to the US market is a strong plus
• Strong commercial judgment, resilience, and decisiveness, combined with a genuine motivation to improve outcomes for chest pain patients

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About NLC

NLC Health Ventures is a leading healthtech and biotech innovation platform based in Amsterdam, combining venture building and fund management across Europe and North America. With 40-45 employees, NLC manages four captive funds investing in ventures from pre-seed to Series B-C, and is fundraising for a fifth fund. The funds have a diverse LP base and are invested in over 70 companies. NLC values a collaborative, open, and impact-driven culture, where team members’ ideas and contributions truly matter.