Be-Inc, one of eight Brabant-based finalists in the 2026 AI Pitch Competition, is looking for a technical co-founder after taking ownership of its product and IP. Founder and CEO Eline Schoonen pitches on 12 November at the Evoluon in Eindhoven.
Credit: this report is based on a story first published by IO+. Read the original at ioplus.nl.
According to IO+, Be-Inc is building a real-time writing and culture coach that runs inside Microsoft 365. Founder and CEO Eline Schoonen started the company after fifteen years in commercial tech roles. Be-Inc is one of the eight official finalists in this year's AI Pitch Competition, alongside a wildcard.
From outsourced code to owned IP
Schoonen started alone, as a commercial founder with a technical product. To get to market fast, she bought in development rather than hiring a team, which took far longer than planned, she told IO+. She then took control: she secured the IP, became the product owner herself and brought in a principal engineer with big-tech experience, who changed the architecture.
The next step is a technical co-founder. Schoonen told IO+ she wants someone with the same drive, work ethic and belief in why the company exists, and that she would rather get the choice right the first time.
What the product does
Be-Inc reviews text as it is written in Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Teams, according to company material. Suggestions fall under four pillars (brand, clarity, respect and inclusivity), split into 44 themes. Each suggestion comes with an explanation, and the writer decides whether to accept it.
The company says it does not store the text of messages. Personal data is removed before the text reaches the AI model, which is Mistral, hosted in Europe, while the knowledge base and dashboard run on Azure and Postgres in Europe. Team reporting is aggregated, with a minimum group size of 10, and no individual scores are produced. Be-Inc pitches that reporting as evidence for CSRD, ESRS S1 or VSME sustainability reports, tenders and works councils.
When Microsoft Copilot appeared in every Office ribbon, Be-Inc dropped its positioning as a DEI tool and became a coaching and governance layer on top of it, Schoonen said.
Brabant backing and a message for buyers
Be-Inc is rooted in Brabant and has drawn on regional support from Brainport, the Brabantse Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij (BOM), Brabant Startup Fonds and JADS in 's-Hertogenbosch, IO+ reports.
On what could be improved, Schoonen named early-stage capital for software ventures that are not hardware deep tech, and large employers willing to be a startup's first customer. "One launching customer does more for a European startup than another subsidy scheme," she said. She called for procurement rules that make that easier.
The final
The AI Pitch Competition final takes place during AI Summit Brainport on 12 November at the Evoluon. The competition, now in its third edition, is organised by Erasmus Enterprise, BOM and IO+, with support from the Province of North Brabant.
Original source: IO+, "'Culture isn't made at an away day; it's made in the sentence'" Additional sources: IO+, "From baggage holds to dementia care: the AI Pitch Competition"; Be-Inc company material ("Be-Inc: In a nutshell" and "Be-Inc Reporting: in a nutshell")
