We’re excited to share that our Managing Partner Arjan ten Buuren has been named Global Connector of the Year by VNTR Capital for his work as Chapter Director, VNTR Capital NL.
Well-deserved. 🎉🍾
For us, this is more than an award. It’s a public recognition of something we’ve experienced from up close all year: Arjan’s rare ability to turn introductions into real collaborations.
At Xablu Venture Studio, we build ventures by bringing the right people, ideas and resources together. Arjan sits right in the middle of that.
Day to day, we see him:
Spotting founders who are ready for their next step.
Matching them with investors and partners who share their ambition.
Keeping conversations moving long after the first “nice to meet you”.
He doesn’t treat a warm intro as a box to tick. For Arjan, an introduction is the start of a journey:
What could these people build together? How can we remove friction so they can move faster?
That mindset is exactly what this Global Connector of the Year recognition captures.
At the VNTR Summit in Lisbon, a curated gathering by VNTR Capital, a global community of active investors, family offices and venture studios. Arjan received the Global Connector of the Year title. VNTR is all about making quality intros that lead to real co-investments and new ventures, so this recognition fits perfectly with the way he operates. The rest of the week, at Web Summit 2025, he represented Xablu Venture Studio in meetings with:
Founders who want a studio partner instead of going it alone.
Investors looking for de-risked, studio-backed venture pipelines.
Corporate innovators who want to turn strategy into real-world ventures.
For us, Lisbon marked a clear milestone in his journey as a connector and in how Xablu shows up in the global venture ecosystem.
So yes, this is a proud moment. 🎉
Arjan, thanks for the energy you put into the venture ecosystem. You make the pie bigger for everyone. Onward. 🙌
If you’re a founder, investor or corporate innovator and want to explore how we build ventures together:
Let’s see what the next introduction can turn into.
