Fresh off a business trip to New York, Heidi van Dyck, founder of fashion-tech startup Athena Studio, sat down with us to talk about the reality behind the runway. While opportunities were taking off, behind the scenes, accounting was becoming a growing pain.
How EasyBiz helped a fashion-tech founder go from financial stress to full control in Luxembourg’s complex compliance landscape.
About Athena Studio
Heidi Van Dyck, founder and CEO of Athena Studio
- HQ: Luxembourg
- Industry: Fashion Tech
- Use Case: Full-scope accounting & compliance automation
- Founded: By Heidi Van Dyck, entrepreneur & ex-consultant
Athena Studio is rethinking how fashion brands manage their creative processes. Using AI to automate routine admin work, they empower designers to focus on what they do best - creating and developing standout collections.
Like many great startups, Athena was born from frustration. While working with top fashion brands at McKinsey, founder Heidi van Dyck uncovered a surprising truth: even the biggest players in the industry still rely on messy spreadsheets and outdated workflows to manage everything from fabric testing to product development. No real-time data. No global visibility. Just chaos in Excel.
So, like any founder on a mission, she did the bold thing: quit her job and built the fix.
Enter Athena Studio, where creativity meets cutting-edge AI. Their flagship product, athena, is like having a digital fashion ops wizard on the team. It automates the admin chaos – from fabric testing to design reviews – so designers can actually... design. No workflow changes. No steep learning curves. Just better, faster, smarter product development.
It’s working. Athena gives brands real-time collection visibility, slashes development time, and cuts down waste, saving costs and the planet, one smarter prototype at a time.
And the industry is watching. Athena was handpicked for the prestigious 2025 New York Fashion Tech Lab, snagged a spot in Fit 4 Start Luxembourg, and even convinced an ex-Google ML expert to jump on board as co-founder to strengthen its R&D muscle.
Today, Athena Studio is already running confidential pilots with several iconic fashion and sportswear giants (names under wraps, but the office logos drop strong hints).
Athena Studio founders: CEO Heidi Van Dyck & CTO Arnaud Hillen
But before Athena could scale its impact, there was one big snag: financial operations began to drain focus from the core work.
The Challenge: “I was spending more time chasing my accountant than chasing clients”
Athena Studio doesn’t have a large operations team, and their clients are big companies with long sales cycles. “That’s why I needed a trusted partner to help with the financial side of things while I focused on growing the business and managing relationships with these major clients.”
Like many first-time founders in Luxembourg, Heidi chose a local fiduciary to handle her taxes and filings. It seemed like the right move – simple, reliable, and one less thing to worry about.
But things quickly went off track.
Reminders to submit financials were coming in, with no response from the accountant. And the real cost wasn’t just financial – it was the stress, the wasted time, and the distraction from growing the business. Heidi found herself chasing her accountant more than chasing clients, trying to untangle the mess and make sense of the paperwork her fiduciary had overlooked.
“At first I didn't mind so much, but then we started getting letters from the government... it was very stressful,” she recalls.
The worst part? The accountant was unresponsive. Heidi even started making unplanned visits to the fiduciary’s office just to try to catch him in person – but there was no reception desk, no appointment system, and most days, no one there at all.
She was stuck guessing when (or if) she'd get an answer. Unfortunately, this isn’t rare. Heidi’s experience wasn’t unique. “Every founder I know here complains about their accountant – and they’re expensive too.”
This experience revealed two hard truths every entrepreneur eventually faces. First: accounting and compliance aren’t just boring admin – they’re the backbone of any business. If they’re shaky, everything else is at risk. And second, finding a good accountant isn’t as easy as picking the first fiduciary you meet. You need someone reliable, responsive, and actually aligned with your startup’s pace.
Luckily for Heidi, that turning point was just around the corner.
The Solution: EasyBiz steps in
Everything changed when Heidi crossed paths with Daniil, founder of EasyBiz, at Luxembourg’s House of Startups. What started as a casual hallway conversation quickly turned into the turning point Athena Studio had been waiting for.
“EasyBiz changed my life,” Heidi says without hesitation.
By joining EasyBiz, Heidi became one of the first users to tap into a platform built for founders like her – automated, intuitive, and designed to lift the weight of admin off their shoulders. For her, it wasn’t just switching fiduciaries. It was entering a smarter, founder-first ecosystem where tasks like payroll, tax filings, and expense tracking handled themselves. No custom builds. No bloated software. No in-house accounting hires.
In 2024, when she faced the massive challenge of closing out the financial year, after her old accountant ghosted, EasyBiz stepped in. Not just with tools, but with full hands-on support. “It was difficult because my old accountant was not responsive, but EasyBiz helped me to restore all the documents and meet all the deadlines, even when it seemed impossible.”
The Results: Confidence to grow
With EasyBiz, Athena Studio is back on track. No more deadline stress, no more admin overwhelm – just smooth, predictable operations. Heidi now has her focus where it belongs: scaling her AI assistant, hiring new team members, and growing her company.
“Every time I see Daniil, I thank him. EasyBiz has given me back my peace of mind. Finally, I had a partner I could trust.”
Heidi uses EasyBiz every two weeks for essentials like payroll, expense tracking, and annual tax filings. The platform’s ease of use and the team’s responsiveness mean she can scale without the financial headaches.
At EasyBiz, we’re passionate about empowering entrepreneurs like Heidi to grow and build their dreams. We’re thrilled to see Athena Studio’s success and are proud to be part of their journey.
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Learn moreWhy it worked
What made the difference wasn’t just the tech. It was the way EasyBiz listened. We didn’t just plug Athena Studio into a system – we adapted it to what they needed. That real collaboration brought lasting peace of mind.
Whether you’re just starting out or stuck in the kind of mess Heidi faced, let us help. Take it from her: “If you have to deal with compliance headaches, EasyBiz is the way to go.”
At EasyBiz, this is exactly what drives us: empowering founders to grow with confidence. We believe in entrepreneurs, and stories like Heidi’s only inspire us to keep building, improving, and supporting the people shaping the future.
If you’re ready to stop stressing over compliance and start focusing on what really matters – your business – let’s talk. EasyBiz is here to help you write your own success story.
