Meet Chingiskhan Kazakhstan — a serial entrepreneur who’s redefining mobility, community, and startup culture in the Netherlands. From co-founding SELANA, the first company to legalize e-scooters in the country, to building bondi, a mobility-meets-city-exploration app, and FounderFuel, dedicated to creating the most valuable and engaged community for founders and investors experiencing growth, his ventures share one goal: making a lasting impact.

In this conversation, Chingiskhan opens up about his entrepreneurial journey, shares lessons for founders and investors, and talks about why he believes the Netherlands could be similar to Silicon Valley — if it dares to unite. Read on!

1. Hi Chingiskhan, thank you very much for agreeing to do the interview. Could you tell us about your background and how you first got connected to the startup world?

Thank you for having me. I think I’ve always been drawn to the startup world, even as a kid. My parents were entrepreneurs, so I grew up surrounded by that energy. I started selling toys in first grade, but even then, I wanted to do something meaningful that could make a positive change in the world.

At 17, I moved from Kazakhstan to the Netherlands for university. I spent three years studying biology, but it wasn’t fulfilling, so I switched to international business. On my first day, I met my co-founder Max, and we began experimenting with projects. One of those grew into our first real startup, SELANA, which we’ve been building for the past six years.

2. SELANA is a Dutch manufacturer of light electric vehicles. Could you tell us about your mission?

Coming from Kazakhstan — a very car-centric country — the Netherlands’ bike lanes and small electric vehicles were a revelation. Around the same time, the U.S. was in the middle of its shared scooter boom. I bought one, tried it, and instantly thought: I don’t need a car anymore.

But there was a problem — e-scooters were illegal in the Netherlands. We decided to change that. We thought it would take a year; it took six years, a couple of million euros, and relentless persistence. But in July, we became the first company to get legal approval for e-scooters, creating a new vehicle category in Dutch law. That’s a milestone I’m very proud of.

3. You’re also the Co-Founder & CEO of bondi, which aims to bring people together under the umbrella of shared mobility, urban exploration, community, and social events! Tell us about the app.

bondi started as a shared mobility platform — we were the first in the Netherlands to launch an e-bike sharing service. We expanded to eight cities, but the daily operations (battery swaps, relocations) were intense and slowed our progress toward legalizing e-scooters.

So we pivoted. Now, bondi is evolving into a “superapp” — combining mobility with city exploration, events, and friend meetups. It’s about connecting people to their city, not just getting them from point A to point B.

4. The list of companies where you’re a Co-Founder just keeps on going. Way to go, congrats!. Tell us about FounderFuel, dedicated to creating the most valuable and engaged community for founders and investors experiencing growth.

FounderFuel began as a house party for founders and investors — a space where business talk wasn’t “boring” but the main event.

Over time, it evolved into more than networking — we now run an early-stage VC fund, investing up to €500K in promising startups. Our philosophy: at the seed stage, belief in the founder matters more than endless due diligence.

Also, I’ve recently joined forces with Leapfunder’s CEO, Tienko Rasker, in organizing Angels & Beers, a relaxed, no-pitch evening dedicated to connecting current and future angel investors.

5. Finally, could you tell us about Fleester, your platform for listing e-vehicle fleets? Also, since you’re a serial entrepreneur, could you share what it is about entrepreneurship that particularly attracts you?

Fleester started out of necessity. When we downsized bondi’s e-bike operations, we needed to sell our surplus fleet and realized there was no easy marketplace for it. So we built one.

Now, Fleester connects buyers and sellers of mobility fleets worldwide, from startups to major operators. It’s been profitable from day one and moves thousands of vehicles monthly. The best part? Our CEO for Fleester started as a bondi e-bike user, then joined as a battery swapper, and worked his way up.

As for entrepreneurship? It’s about the challenge and the impact. You get to shape something from zero, solve real problems, and prove the doubters wrong.

6. As a Podcast Host at TNRI, you speak to a lot of founders and investors. Could you share one valuable lesson for founders and one for investors that you learned over the years?

For founders: Just do it. That classic Nike slogan really is the truth. And yes — a bit of healthy delusion is necessary. Over the past six years, countless people told us legalizing e-scooters was impossible. We proved otherwise.

For investors: At an early stage, stop overthinking. If you believe in the founder, back them and support them. Too many angels get lost in endless due diligence that doesn’t even matter because early-stage realities change fast.

7. What do you predict for the startup ecosystem in Amsterdam?​ What are the challenges and the opportunities the ecosystem is currently facing?

A big challenge is founder isolation — 99% of founders I meet here don’t have a founder friend. That’s why we’re building spaces like FounderFuel Hub, where founders can meet, work, and collaborate any day of the week.

The opportunity? The Netherlands has the resources to become a better version of Silicon Valley, but only if government, startups, and investors work together. Right now, the ecosystem is still cautious and fragmented. But there’s potential — and I’m not giving up on it.

Thank you very much for sharing your story and insights, Chingiskhan. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

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