The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) recently became embroiled in controversy when it was forced by a Dutch court to pay €52,500 to a former partner, Thorsten Claus. This payout followed a legal dispute about unpaid discretionary bonuses, shedding light on some of the challenges in managing large-scale, taxpayer-funded initiatives.
As someone who has spent years navigating the intricacies of the startup and corporate world, the story resonated with me on multiple levels. While legal disputes are rarely ideal, they do offer a valuable opportunity to reassess governance processes and transparency in such organizations. Here are some lessons from my perspective as an entrepreneur.
Key Details of the Case
Thorsten Claus, previously one of the founding partners at NIF, earned nearly €700,000 annually, a sum that caught attention given the fund’s reliance on public money. When compensation disagreements arose, they escalated into a legal battle, culminating in the court-mandated payment.
This development is far from an isolated event. NIF, which is backed by NATO member countries to invest in defense and deeptech technologies, has faced criticism for internal governance issues and growing partner turnover. In fact, Claus is the latest in a string of senior figures who have left the fund, highlighting ongoing challenges in retaining top talent and managing partner expectations.
What Startups and Entrepreneurs Can Learn
While the specifics may seem distant from the world of startups, there are clear takeaways for entrepreneurs dealing with complex funding or governance structures.
1. Transparency Should Be Non-Negotiable
When public funds are involved, all decisions, especially those about compensation, must be beyond reproach. For entrepreneurs, this means maintaining vigorous oversight and crystal-clear documentation for any external partnerships or funding frameworks.
2. Legal Disputes Eat Resources
Settling issues in court is time-consuming and expensive. In Claus's case, €52,500 might seem minor compared to the scale of NIF, but the reputational costs are far more damaging. Businesses of all sizes should prioritize preventive measures like meticulous contract reviews, regular audits, and open communication.
3. Governance Matters, Even for Small Teams
If a €1 billion NATO-backed fund can face internal friction over partner compensation, so can smaller startups. Clearly defining roles, fair payment structures, and performance expectations can save businesses from conflict and departure-related headaches. Additionally, strong governance habits help foster trust among team members and investors.
Graph: Breakdown of Partner Turnover at NATO Innovation Fund
| Year | Number of Partners Left | Notable Departures |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | Managing Partner Andrea Traversone |
| 2025 (to date) | 3 | Founding Partner Thorsten Claus and others |
| Current Trends | Increasing | New leaders cited career changes |
How to Avoid Governance Pitfalls
Governance challenges aren’t unique to organizations like NIF. Here’s a quick checklist informed by years of startup management and project failures.
- Set Payment Transparency Rules Early: Agree on bonuses, equity splits, and pay structures upfront.
- Adopt Independent Oversight Bodies: If public money is involved, ensure there’s external review to avoid internal favoritism or mismanagement.
- Communicate Disputes Quickly: Address grievances in the earliest stages, before escalation damages relationships or, worse, lands the issue in court.
- Prioritize Role Clarity: Clearly defined roles reduce friction and prevent partners from stepping on each other's toes.
- Budget for Legal Expertise: Lawyers might seem expensive, but their preventative guidance is invaluable for protecting your venture.
Common Missteps in Public-Private Initiatives
Entrepreneurs interpreting lessons from large-scale disputes often make these mistakes:
- Ignoring Public Accountability: Regardless of size, any entity dealing with public funds must operate with transparent structures. Startups using grants or subsidies must meet similar standards.
- Failing to Define Exit Protocols: If a founder or partner leaves, unclear terms can lead to emotional disputes that compromise everyone’s focus.
- Underestimating Reputational Costs: A legal headline doesn’t just hurt your image, it can scare off potential partners or funders, and repairing that damage takes years.
Why This Matters to Founders
Defense and deeptech investments are necessary areas for innovation, but scandals like this distract from their mission. Entrepreneurs can use this as a cautionary example. By building better frameworks for partnership and public accountability, you can prevent manageable issues from becoming headline drama.
Personally, seeing yet another high-profile fund in legal trouble reinforces why creating clear agreements should be top priority in my projects. Transparent frameworks are not “nice to have”, they’re essential if you want to move fast and focus on value creation without being bogged down by preventable disputes.
Final Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
If one lesson stands out from the NATO Innovation Fund story, it’s that managing partnerships is as complex as managing your product. Be proactive, think through potential challenges, and don’t cut corners when crafting governance systems. After all, good governance isn’t just good business, it’s the groundwork for sustainable growth.
Startups, big or small, can always benefit from scrutiny into how they handle conflict, better yet, avoid it altogether.
FAQ
1. Why was the NATO Innovation Fund forced to pay €52,500 to Thorsten Claus?
The payment was due to a legal dispute over a partially unpaid discretionary bonus owed to Thorsten Claus, a founding partner of the fund. Read full details at Sifted
2. What was Thorsten Claus’s annual compensation at the NATO Innovation Fund?
Thorsten Claus reportedly earned nearly €700,000 annually at the taxpayer-funded fund. Discover more with Sifted
3. When did the legal dispute and court settlement occur?
The legal dispute began earlier in 2025, culminating in a court settlement in August of the same year. Check the timeline at Sifted
4. What broader criticisms has the NATO Innovation Fund faced recently?
The fund has faced criticism for internal governance issues, high partner turnover, and questions about transparency in managing public money. Explore NATO Innovation Fund challenges
5. How many partners have recently departed from the NATO Innovation Fund?
In the last year, three senior partners, including Thorsten Claus and Andrea Traversone, have left the fund. Learn more about the turnover trends
6. Why is transparency important for public-funded initiatives like NIF?
Transparency ensures public accountability, especially when large sums of taxpayer money are involved, reducing risks of mismanagement. Understand public fund accountability
7. What governance lessons can startups learn from the NATO Innovation Fund’s challenges?
Startups can adopt principles like payment transparency, early dispute resolution, and clear role definitions to avoid governance pitfalls.
8. How does the €52,500 payout affect NIF’s reputation?
The payment, although minor in financial terms, may significantly damage the fund's reputation, raising concerns among stakeholders. Discover reputational impacts
9. What is the NATO Innovation Fund’s investment focus?
The fund invests in deeptech and defense technologies, aiming to catalyze innovation while addressing strategic geopolitical challenges. Learn about NIF’s investments
10. How can legal disputes like this be avoided?
Legal disputes can be avoided by ensuring thorough contract review, setting clear compensation structures upfront, and adopting independent oversight bodies.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.