Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship conducts annual research into the fastest growing companies in the Netherlands: The Top 250 Scaleups. This list was announced at the Top 250 Scaleups Event on 10 October 2022. Growth companies (also known as scaleups) are the job engine of the Dutch economy and important driving forces when it comes to innovation, finding solutions to social issues and challenging and keeping the established order on its toes.
At the AFAS Theatre Leusden, founders and CEOs of these companies came together for an inspiring programme. At least 1 in 5 of these growth companies has an EUR alumnus on the team of founders. Companies from several EUR alumni were also nominated for awards for distinctive growth entrepreneurship, but it was digital production company Media.Monks that was crowned with the Golden Growth Award for the second year in a row: the award for the fastest growing company in the Netherlands.
Prof Justin Jansen (Professor of Corporate Entrepreneurship at Rotterdam School of Management and Senior Fellow at the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship): "It is of great importance to bring together the fastest growers in the Netherlands. Growth entrepreneurs set an important leadership example for all of us. By sharing their ambitions and experiences, they can learn a lot from each other and increase their impact even further."
Minister and alumna Micky Adriaansens
In the AFAS Theatre, the growth entrepreneurs discussed growth opportunities and sustainable growth entrepreneurship. Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate and EUR alumna Micky Adriaansens addressed the growth entrepreneurs and underlined the great importance of growth companies as frontrunners and job engines of the Dutch economy. Minister Adriaansens: "The Netherlands is really a great country for entrepreneurship. We are at the top of all rankings, but our leading position is under pressure. The trick is to maintain this position in a bending world. In doing so, it is very important to build ecosystems and the overall business climate in the Netherlands."
According to RSM professors Justin Jansen and Tom Mom, successful growth entrepreneurship is about more than revenue and FTEs, but is about finding new, sustainable growth paths to become smarter, more agile and more sustainable. Getting bigger is not an end in itself, but a means to making an impact and being successful in the long run. Growth companies are those with an average annual growth in revenue and/or FTEs of at least 20 per cent (OECD, 2017); something that only about five per cent of all companies (with more than 10 FTEs) manage to do.
Special awards for Mosa Meat, Typeqast and Fourthline
At the Top 250 Event, digital production agency Media.Monks was named the Golden Grower for the second year in a row, making it the fastest-growing company in the Netherlands by 2022. In addition to the Golden Grower presentation, three other leading growth companies were presented with awards. Dutch cultured meat pioneer Mosa Meat received the Impactful Grower award.
The expert jury - further consisting of Ed Brinksma (president of the Executive Board of Erasmus University Rotterdam), Pieter Waasdorp (EZK), and Greet Prins (KvK) - judged growth companies on (social) impact, innovativeness and growth. Amsterdam-based Typeqast won the Female Grower for companies with strong female leadership. The award for Young Grower went to Fourthline, founded in 2017, which is making waves with 'digital identity technology'.
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Curious to know who are the fastest-growing companies in the Netherlands? Read the full report here.