Eckart Wintzen was born in 1947 in the Netherlands. His father was a mid-level executive in a German company while his mother was a librarian. His parents had three sons, of which Eckart was the youngest. From an early age, Eckart was recognized as a bright, articulate, and independent-minded child. As he grew older, his ambitious nature and entrepreneurial spirit saw him take on various business ventures.
At the age of fifteen, he started selling Dutch comics on the street, and eventually set up a comic book stand at an amusement park. He then attended university, where he studied management, accounting, and economics, majoring in business. Having grown up in a business- oriented family, Eckart had a deep interest in business and enterprises.
When Ekart left university, he started his own company, leasing chalets and apartments for vacation holidays. His business slowly expanded over the years due to his hard work and success at finding new venture opportunities. In the early 1990s, Eckart entered the world of venture capital and established the holding company, Wintzen Ventures. This was a bold move at the time since venture capital was a relatively new concept in the Netherlands.
Having come from a background of corporate business, Eckart used the approach of traditional business operations to the process of venture capital. His focus was on providing seed capital for new and innovative projects, which then could be sold to an interested buyer. This form of venture capital quickly became popular in the Netherlands and was an example of a system of entrepreneurship that would continue to be adopted in other countries.
It was Eckart's commitment to entrepreneurship that pushed him to develop the "West-Friesland Business Park", sometimes referred to as the “small entrepreneurship park”. This park was created with the goal of providing small and medium sized businesses with the necessary resources and facilities to help them become successful.
Eckart also set up the Wintzen Foundation, which focuses on helping to develop future generations of entrepreneurs. Through his foundation, Eckart has provided financial aid and mentorship to small businesses as well as launching several government- backed initiatives to promote entrepreneurship in the Netherlands.
Eckart's legacy lives on in Dutch entrepreneurship today. As a successful entrepreneur, he has become an inspiring figure to many, providing an example of what it takes to successfully launch a business. Eckart's commitment to providing resources and creating an entrepreneurial environment were invaluable in the growth and nurture of new businesses.
The success of Dutch business can be attributed in large part to Eckart's pioneering methods of venture capital and creating a healthy entrepreneurial environment. His legacy continues today as businesses around the world seek to emulate the Dutch model of successful business and entrepreneurship. Eckart Wintzen will always be remembered as a maverick entrepreneur who changed the face of Dutch entrepreneurship.
