Entrepreneur and outgoing Managing Director of SuperCharger Ventures Malta Patrick Hulsen has had a dynamic career that has spanned several industries, and with change once again on the horizon as he prepares to embark on the next chapter of his story, he admits – he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Essentially, I'm a career entrepreneur,” Patrick explains, admitting that some corporate experience early on in his journey also helped shape him at the outset.

“Back in the ‘90s, after a few years working with L'Oreal, I took the leap and founded my own company. Entrepreneurship is tough, maybe the toughest gig out there, but I find the challenge, the risk, and the freedom to operate deeply rewarding,” he begins, tracing the foundations of his career.

His company, based within the healthcare sector, focused on intensive care units. “I spent over 5,000 hours on the ground with doctors and nurses, so as to deeply understand users’ needs. Being so specialised helped us win deals against multinationals like GE Healthcare, and made for a very exciting journey,” Patrick reveals.

He would go on to sell it to Scandinavia’s largest healthcare provider in 2019, embarking on the next stage of his career as an “intensive care evangelist” – which, acknowledging the oddness of the title, he explains, constituted “sharing my domain expertise to help others understand the value of our solutions.”

This led him to cross paths with the team behind SuperCharger Ventures – a leading EdTech ecosystem located in London, Singapore, and Malta.

“Continuous development has always been my philosophy,” Patrick reveals, and during that period, he invested a lot of his time in upskilling through executive courses at Harvard on growth strategy, as well as mergers and acquisitions. He chose to put capital into SuperCharger Ventures, becoming an investor, and last year, the founders asked if he'd be interested in moving from investment to full-time management – essentially building SuperCharger in Malta from zero to success.

As an innovation partner for higher education institutions, SuperCharger Ventures supports founders within the future of education and works to scale and fuel their global expansion, in so doing, building a leading ecosystem of investors, experts, and institutions in the industry.

Delving into his work within the accelerator program, Patrick explains, it’s all about being a catalyst. “Sure, you provide courses, but an accelerator’s true job, in my view, lies in bridging the start-up world with the local ecosystem. Building relationships – with schools, government bodies, major corporates – creates a network that serves them all,” he maintains, highlighting his pride in SuperCharger’s distinct ‘Malta’ identity.

“With competitors in all the big European hubs, finding what makes you unique is vital. The focus on collaboration and utilising our island’s unique history and modern infrastructure has been pivotal,” he continues, and the results – with well over a third of recent SuperCharger companies incorporating here, signalling major investor interest – speak for themselves.

Yet, true to his unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit, the time has once again come for Patrick to seek his next challenge. Concluding his time as Managing Director at SuperCharger Ventures Malta next month, his next step may still be in the works, but one thing is for certain: it will be within his beloved realm of the entrepreneurial spirit and growth acceleration.

“There's something invigorating about start-up uncertainty and business development – having a vision, then finding your path as you go,” he reveals, admitting that a routine nine-to-five job simply isn't on the cards for him.

“My ideal role would either be with another accelerator, fostering that start-up energy, or helping a major corporation develop something like an in-house innovation lab or implement large impact projects. The massive disruptions of AI and robotics are the new reality, and helping entrepreneurs or established companies alike ride that wave would be incredibly rewarding.