Find the one constraint holding back the most value.
Molecule Matter ConneXion helps enterprises with limited money, time and people decide which problem to solve first, concentrate their resources there, and measure what changes.
Every enterprise is held together by bonds to finance, markets, people and partners. Select the constraint that limits your business most.
The Apex Valence System
Most business assessments return a list of weaknesses. A business short of cash and capacity cannot act on a list. The Apex Valence System asks a harder question: which single constraint currently suppresses the greatest amount of recoverable value?
- Map the constraint hierarchyLay out finance, sales, supply chain, operations, management, market access, people and expertise as one connected system.
- Select one apexChoose the current apex constraint through explicit selection criteria, linked to the enterprise’s value ceiling.
- Concentrate scarce resourcesDirect available money, time and expertise to the apex. Quick wins are admitted only if they stabilise the business, recover an underused resource or unlock the apex intervention.
- Measure value releasedRecord what changed against a baseline: value released, not released or displaced. Unsuccessful outcomes are recorded too.
- Recirculate what is underusedReturn idle assets, capabilities, relationships and evidence to productive use before buying new resources.
- Recalculate the apexReassess the whole enterprise. Resolving one constraint often exposes the next, so the loop begins again.
What is new, stated plainly. Diagnosis, prioritisation, coaching, circularity and reassessment exist already. The innovation is integrating them into one closed loop with a single apex, scarce-resource allocation, measured value release and mandatory recalculation. The method is being developed and tested in Flanders over 24 months, with a release decision at month 24.
Who it serves
The business that benefits is not always the one that pays. ConneXion is designed for both.
Enterprises with recoverable value
Start-ups, early-growth and struggling businesses that have a real product, service, asset or opportunity, but face more problems than they can fund at once.
- A clear reason for which problem comes first, and why.
- A targeted intervention plan with agreed measures of progress.
- A reassessment once the intervention is complete.
ConneXion is not a substitute for turnaround, insolvency, legal or regulated financial advice. Where the apex needs specialist expertise, the method refers the business to it.
Organisations that commission support
Organisations that fund or run support for several businesses and need a reasoned account of where resources went and what changed.
- Incubators and accelerators directing support to each venture’s priority need.
- Enterprise-development programmes seeking consistent evidence of outcomes.
- Sponsors and public support bodies accounting for how funding is used.
- Corporate supplier-development programmes building the readiness of smaller suppliers.
Why it matters, and what has happened so far
Business continuity is fragile, and the burden of entrepreneurial risk falls unevenly.
VAT-registered enterprises in Flanders at 31 December 2025, of 1,202,139 in Belgium1
of Flemish enterprises started in 2019 were still active at the end of 20242
of the self-employed in Belgium are women3
of the EU’s “missing” entrepreneurs are women, by OECD estimate4
The record to date
First application of the method
On joining Impact Hub Antwerp, the apex constraint was identified as a funding model that could not support growth. The business case was rebuilt around that single constraint.
Circularity Festival, AP Hogeschool
New approaches to communicating the circular economy, for 300 students.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Safari, University of Antwerp
Hosted 30 students in the Antwerp entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Peer-review pitch sessions, FeWhale programme
Sessions for women entrepreneurs preparing to pitch, alongside one-to-one product reviews and the SheSells marketplace.
Local Ecosystem Developers proposal selected for funding
A proposal prepared by Dr Baartjes for Impact Hub Antwerp under the European LED Financial Support to Third Parties call, subject to contracting.
InvestHer Summit, Paris
Leading a delegation of women entrepreneurs to meet investors.
Value Up funding pathway published
A decision guide for founders in Belgium, available on this page.
“Measuring the Hidden Value”, NGO of the Future
Invited talk at Moonland’s event for non-governmental organisations.
Value Up funding pathway
Most founders ask where to find funding. Value Up asks which funding lets your business create, preserve and grow the most value. Answer the seven decision points and get a pathway built from your answers.
Conditions checked against official and published sources on 31 October 2026. Terms change, so confirm every condition with the provider before applying. This tool supports your own decision; it is not financial advice. Your answers stay in your browser unless you choose to share them when you save your strategy as a PDF. See the privacy notice.
Dr Charlaine Baartjes
Founder of Molecule Matter and lead developer of ConneXion.
Charlaine works where ecological complexity meets organisational strategy. She treats an enterprise as a system of productive bonds, resources and dependencies rather than a list of functional weaknesses, and uses principles from living systems to design businesses that regenerate value instead of consuming it.
She has worked across Africa and Europe for more than 25 years in environmental management, sustainability, ESG advisory and enterprise development, and lectures at tertiary level.
- Doctorate in Business Leadership (DBL)
- MBA
- MSc, environmental science
- Business Development Manager, Impact Hub Antwerp
Talk to us
Running a business with more problems than resources, or a programme that supports such businesses? Start with a conversation about where the value is held back.
Email Molecule Matter Follow on LinkedInBased in Antwerp, Flanders.