Led · Seed · Jan 2023

Cargoplot is an online marketplace that connects e-commerce importers and freight forwarders and uses machine learning to match shippers with expert freight forwarders for specific routes and cargo types. It earns a commission on completed transactions, with pricing tiers linked to weight, cargo type, and forwarder quality. Founded in 2020 and based in Amsterdam, the team includes Maarten de Reij, Daniel Schreij, and Henk-Jan Meijer. The company used its funding to develop the transport services marketplace and went live on the China–Netherlands corridor at the end of 2022, where it recorded a seven-fold year-on-year increase in volume. Cargoplot says its network of vetted freight forwarders can guarantee delivery even in heated market conditions and also helps forwarders expand into new markets and improve internal communications. Future monetization plans mentioned by the company include capitalizing on data, affiliate sales of cargo space, cargo insurance, and cargo financing. Cargoplot operates an online freighttech platform that helps e-commerce importers find suitable freight forwarders for specific routes and cargo types using machine learning-driven matching. The platform was developed in collaboration with freight forwarders and importers to streamline communications and centrally store documents. Its matching aims to deliver timely, transparent freight forwarding partnerships and reduce the sector's low digitalization. Cargoplot plans to use recent funding to improve its product and ramp up sales efforts. The company positions itself to bring transparency and connectivity to a traditionally opaque freight sector. Maarten de Reij is the founder and CEO.

Led · Seed · Nov 2021

Project Cece is an Amsterdam-based, female-founded online platform that aggregates curated sustainable and ethically made fashion products. Founded in 2017 by Melissa Wijngaarden, Noor Veenhoven, and Marcella Wijngaarden, the founders coded the platform and related web tools themselves. The site centralizes research on sustainability to make ethical shopping easier and presents products in an intuitive way. After initial success in the Netherlands, Project Cece expanded to Germany and the UK and is launching across Europe. The company grew on its own revenue and later raised a total of €125k in pre-seed funding from ASIF Ventures and Pitchdrive. Project Cece aims to offer the scale and ease of large platforms while supporting independent small businesses and promoting environmental and social impact. Project Cece is an online sustainable-fashion marketplace that aggregates over 529 brands and more than 20,000 items, presenting labels and certificate summaries to make ethical choices easy. The site integrates an AI image-search tool developed in collaboration with Pixyle so users can upload a photo and find similar sustainable products. The company operates in the Netherlands and Germany and reports about 20,000 monthly visitors. Project Cece runs on an affiliate marketing model, earning commissions via a proprietary affiliate program that accommodates small brands. The startup was founded in September 2015 by Noor Veenhoven and Marcella and Melissa Van Carter, and until recently founders relied on sales commissions and part-time jobs to fund operations. With new capital, the company plans UK expansion in 2019 and may introduce gift cards to grow engagement and purchases.

Led · Seed · Apr 2020

Bluetick builds an AI-powered search engine that makes it faster and more intuitive for lawyers to find legal documents and jurisprudence. Its algorithm uses state-of-the-art natural language processing to locate similar court cases based on the context of a document. The search engine was developed collaboratively between Bluetick’s data scientists and a group of 30 lawyers across six law firms, and the team interviewed over 100 lawyers during development. The product is live and used by several Dutch law firms. Bluetick will use the €210K pre-seed funding to improve its legal search algorithm. The company was founded in 2019 by four master students from the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science; Koen Aarns is founder and CEO.