CEO and founder: Raymond Cloosterman; Year of establishment: 2000;  No. new jobs created: 1,097; Location: Amsterdam. Originated from the conviction that with little effort some extra luck can be created, Rituals still is one of the most successful cosmetics brands in the Netherlands. Founder and CEO Raymond Cloosterman (alumnus Erasmus University Rotterdam) has with his company expanded abroad and hence has grown to more than 400 stores worldwide in fifteen years. This internationalisation has boosted the creation of new fulltime jobs and makes Rituals a true no. 1 in the Top 250 Scale-ups 2017.

CEO: Gerrit van der Scheer; Year of establishment: 1786;  No. new jobs created: 906; Location: Apeldoorn. Royal Reesink was originally founded as a forge, but soon after they were trading in iron, ironware and coals. Nowadays it is a wholesale business in a.o. agriculture equipment, hand tools, household appliances and garden furniture. In recent years the company has done several major acquisitions that make Royal Reesink a dominant player in the European market, and that caused rapid growth for the company and significant job creation.

CEO and founder: Pieter Zwart; Year of establishment: 1999;  No. new jobs created: 456; Location: Rotterdam. Of course Coolblue and founder Pieter Zwart (alumnus Erasmus University Rotterdam) cannot miss in this Top 250 Scale-ups 2017! At the moment of writing Coolblue already has more than 300 websites and five brick and mortar stores. Besides, in 2015 the company opened a 22,000 m2  warehouse in Tilburg (FYI approximately the size of five soccer fields). Coolblue expects to create many more jobs in the coming years, but for now the company reached a great 3rd place in this list.

CEO and founder: Jitse Groen; Year of establishment: 2000;  No. new jobs created: 273; Location: Amsterdam. The idea of Takeaway.com – in the Netherlands known as Thuisbezorgd.nl – came into existence during a party in a small village as ordering food in a rural area almost seemed impossible. Nowadays the company has grown to the international market leader in online food delivery and active in 10 countries. The platform connects restaurants to hungry consumers and facilitates the monetary transaction.

CEO: Paul Hilgers; Year of establishment: 1986;  No. new jobs created: 266; Location: Amsterdam. The name Optiver comes from the fitting description Option Trader (in Dutch: Optie Verhandelaar). The company trades in financial derivatives and combines this with high-end technology. With their innovative trading system the company grew to one of the three biggest derivatives traders of Amsterdam and currently does business all over the world.

CEO and founder: Pieter van der Does; Year of establishment: 2006;  No. new jobs created: 262; Location: Amsterdam. In 2006 payment technicians Pieter van der Does and Arnout Schuijff bundled their powers and founded Adyen. Fun fact: Adyen means “Start over again” in Surinamese. The goal? Grabbing the chance to change the rapidly changing financial transactions. Ever since the company entered a rapid of growth. In 2009 the company found their first big customer: Groupon. Soon after the company Adyen developed from startup to internationally operating company. In 2013 the Adyen platform dealt with over $14 billion, in 2014 $25 billion and in 2015 $50 billion!

CEO: Piet Middelkoop; Year of establishment: 1945;  No. new jobs created: 195; Location: Rijswijk. Imagine damaging your car, or having your home burgled, and then being faced with all the paperwork and having to make appointments with loss adjusters? Thank goodness not anymore! Thanks to ‘Van Ameyde’ much of this can easily dealt with online via Van Ameyde’s claims management platform and its  integrated IT solutions. The company is specialized in claims management and is a front runner in the area of outsourcing insurance claims. Next to this, the company offers Big Data insights and a service package ranging from valuation of assets to outsourcing claims processes; that is what we call a company in transition!

CEO and founder: Murat Kiran; Year of establishment: 1991;  No. new jobs created: 176; Location: Utrecht. As part of business service company Conclusion, Conclusion FIT offers an all-in-one solution for many ICT challenges. It is not a regular ICT company and that can be seen from the customer base; ranging from ProRail to foundation KWF Kankerbestrijding. With the slogan ‘Business done differently’ Conclusion FIT distinguishes itself by embedding ICT in the core business of organisations with as goal to make a difference in society, for which continuity and innovation are conditions for progress.

CEO and founder: Nick Visser; Year of establishment: 1997 (Dutch Grill Specialists);  No. new jobs created: 160; Location: Tilburg. In 2012 the company was taken over by Nordian, former private equity branch of Rabobank, after which the revenue rapidly increased. In 2015 the company changed their name to ‘Group of Butchers’ and tries to position itself as market leader in fresh meat products. The enthusiastic men describe themselves as a group of butchers that work with meat, but don’t just make regular meat products. With their meat products scan, bake-off products and several trainings in ‘hospitality at the Fresh Department’, Group of Butchers is able to create a unique concept.

CEO: Austin van ‘t Wout; Year of establishment: 1962 (Grondmet B.V.);  No. new jobs created: 134; Location: Rotterdam. In 1962 Willem van ‘t Wout founded his first company: Grondmet B.V.. In 2002 all of the companies in the holding merged to ‘Fondel’. As international supplier Fondel supplies raw materials to the steel, aluminium and precious metals industry. Next to this, the company focuses on sustainable entrepreneurship by applying innovative technologies to reusing metals and to tapping into sustainable energy sources. With over 50 years of experience this company cannot be forgotten anymore in the metals industry!