Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship monitors in collaboration with Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) growing companies in the Netherlands. Every year, we present the results of our research in the ScaleUp Dashboard, which is made of different data sources, own research and already existing data bases. This results in a ranking of the fastest growing companies in the Netherlands: The Top 250 Scale-ups.
Both startups and scale-ups are important innovators of the economy and a crucial part of the Dutch economy in terms of new business activities and job creation. Scale-ups have been suggested to be early adopters who are able to disrupt existing markets and industries by making current offerings obsolete.
Despite the importance of scale-ups for the viability of the Dutch economy, there are only limited companies that grow into a scale-ups. Our research into scale-ups provides fundamental new insights into the landscape of Dutch scale-ups and the characteristics of their accelerating growth. These insights contribute to our mission to empower entrepreneurs by translating academic insights into practical knowledge and skills. With our ultimate goal to stimulate their entrepreneurial success and increase the proportion of companies that ‘scale-up’ and make an impact.
Do you want to be part of the Top 250 Scale-ups 2021? Applications for the 2021 list are already open. Apply now
Top 10
The Top 10 Scale-ups have been ranked twice: once in the number of jobs created in FTE in the period 2016-2019 and once in the average annual growth in FTE. The average of these two placements then determines the final score. With an equal ranking, the ratio of growth of the scale-ups to the two criteria was examined. The largest grower ends up higher.
2. Picnic
Founder: Michiel Muller; Year of establishment: 2015; Growth rate: 97%; New jobs created: 2068; Location: Amsterdam.
Picnic is the world’s fastest growing online supermarket with a unique business model and a highly engaged customer base. Their mission is to make grocery shopping simple, fun, and affordable for everyone.
6. Workrate
Founders: Michiel Muller, Jop Wolff, Eelco Wiertsema; Year of establishment: 2003; Growth rate: 51%; New jobs created: 462; Location: Schiphol-Rijk.
Workrate is a security company with a unique approach for the manned guarding industry. The company provides a service of transparent and measurable processes and a culture of continuous improvement.
9. Adyen
CEO and founder: Pieter van der Does; Year of establishment: 2006; Growth rate: 35%; New jobs created: 702; Location: Amsterdam.
Adyen provides a single payments platform globally to accept payments in a single system, enabling revenue growth online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale.
Top 11-250
In alphabetical order
Scale-up Research
About the Top 250 Scale-ups
The Top 250 Scale-ups is an overview of fast-growing companies (scale-ups), based on the ScaleUp Dashboard and is published in collaboration with nlgroeit. The research is led by Prof. Dr. Justin Jansen, Academic Director of Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship and Professor of Corporate Entrepreneurship at Rotterdam School of Management.
The Top 250 Scale-ups differentiates itself from other lists by its focus on growth in employees and turnover, instead of only focusing on turnover like other lists often do. The Top 250 Growth Companies is an overview of fast-growing companies (scale-ups), they:
- have at least 10 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) and / or at least 5 million euros in turnover at the start of the measurement period;
- achieved an average growth of at least 20% in FTE and / or revenue in three consecutive years in the 2016-2019 period.
The Top 250 Scale-ups is made up of the 250 Dutch companies that grew the most in turnover and/or employees during the period 2016 until 2019. The Top 10 is based on companies that created the most jobs during this period and showed the highest average annual growth in employees.
Insights
More about the Top 250 Scale-ups
About us
More about Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship
The Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship is the leading centre for entrepreneurship in Europe. Fueled by our belief that entrepreneurship is the primary driver for innovation, we strive to embed entrepreneurship in the DNA of people by applying the knowledge and network of Erasmus University Rotterdam, a university founded by entrepreneurs more than 100 years ago. Find out more about what we can do to support you: