Enter if any of this sounds like you
You are scaling IoT or AI products in Europe and you want a clear-eyed read on which regulations need your focus first.
Your AI roadmap has more options than resources and you need help deciding what to build first.
You are bidding for public or critical-infrastructure work and compliance is now part of the pitch.
You want an outside opinion on a business opportunity from a technology and business advisor who has founded or co-founded more than 26 companies and sat in senior roles. This is a commercial and technical discussion, not a legal one.*
Three steps to enter
Get to The Things Conference stage by 11:00 on Tuesday 22 September.
Stay to the last slide of Rony’s keynote and scan the QR code.
Fill in the form. Three submissions will be chosen after the conference and contacted by email.
Why an hour with Nicolas is worth having
What you can do with the hour
It is your hour. The chosen companies bring their own agenda. These are the four items that come up most.
Size the opportunity
Which markets open up for your product, what buyers in those markets expect, and where the commercial upside actually is.
Pressure-test your AI governance
A second opinion on classification, documentation, and human oversight from someone who regularly works on the business implications of the AI Act.
Decide the architecture before you commit
Build or buy, where your data should physically sit, and what each option costs you in speed, money, and future flexibility.
Sharpen the board narrative
How to present compliance as a market advantage rather than a cost line, in the language executives and investors respond to.
How Odido built an IoT platform that is global by design and sovereign by law
Odido is the largest mobile operator in the Netherlands, with more than 6 million customers. Its IoT business ran on a platform inherited from the T-Mobile era: NB-IoT and LTE-M only, subscriptions from 1 MB to 100 MB a month, no API, and a commercial model built for enterprises ordering a million identical SIMs.
Then the Netherlands introduced RVIT, which holds mobile networks to the standard of critical national infrastructure. Odido ran an RFP, picked Flolive, and together they built a dedicated core network hosted in the Netherlands. Odido now sells to buyers it could not previously reach.
“We have local packet gateways and our own local CMP from Flolive running here. Everything that needs to be in the Netherlands is in the Netherlands, and our data doesn’t leave the country if it’s not allowed to.”
Questions
How do I apply for a consulting hour with Nicolas Babin?
Attend the Flolive keynote on Tuesday 22 September at 11:00 on The Things Conference stage and scan the QR code on the final slide. That opens the entry form on this page. Flolive chooses three submissions after the conference and contacts them by email.
Who is Nicolas Babin?
Nicolas Babin is a Digital EU Ambassador, communicating and explaining major European digital regulations including the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the Cyber Resilience Act. He has 35+ years in technology across Europe, the US, and Asia, founded or co-founded more than 26 startups, was a senior executive at Sony working on connected mobility and robotics, and wrote The Talking Dog — Immersion in New Technologies.
What happens in the hour?
It is a one-hour session, scheduled with the chosen company after the conference. You set the agenda: regulatory exposure, AI governance, data sovereignty, or how to make the compliance case to your board. Nicolas advises, he does not sell. Flolive will join the session.
Can I enter without attending the session?
No. The QR code that opens the entry form is shown only on the final slide of Rony Cohen’s keynote. It is a thank you to the people who came.
Is this legal advice?
No. Nicolas Babin is a technology and business advisor, not a lawyer, and Flolive is not a law firm. The session is a commercial and technical discussion about your business, your product, and your market. Nothing discussed constitutes legal advice or a compliance opinion, and it should not be relied on as one. For a legal position on any regulation, speak to qualified legal counsel.
What does sovereign by law mean for IoT connectivity?
It means the infrastructure meets a national security regulation, verifiably. Under the Dutch RVIT, that requires local packet gateways, a locally hosted connectivity management platform, and dedicated infrastructure Dutch authorities can physically inspect. Odido and Flolive built exactly that, which made Odido the first and only fully RVIT-compliant IoT platform in the Netherlands.
Three slots. One room. Tuesday 22 September, 11:00.
Put the keynote in your agenda now so you are not deciding at 10:58.
* Disclaimer. The conversation with Nicolas Babin is a commercial and technical discussion only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, compliance, or other professional advice. It is provided on a non-reliance basis, and participants should not rely on any statements made during the discussion when making decisions. Participants should seek independent advice from qualified legal and other professional advisers regarding their particular circumstances.