How Gapstars helps Dutch scaleups to find full-fledged development teams, save money and make an impact

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Dutch entrepreneurs know good people are hard to find these days. And if you’re looking for a team of proper software engineers? Ha, good luck with that.

The war for talent is hotter than ever and a good solution to overcome the talent shortage is to hire a dedicated team.

Hugo Hemmen is CEO and co-founder of Gapstars, developer of a solution to help Dutch scaleups accelerate their software development, save time and money with support of a dedicated remote team.

Building a dedicated remote team of developers offers all the flexibility and financial advantages of a remote team while simultaneously providing expertise and dedication in the long term.

A dedicated remote team also offers fast access to talent while saving time and money on recruitment and onboarding. And since it is dedicated to your scaleup, you steer and control the team.

The solution lies in Sri Lanka

Gapstars Sri Lanka Team
The Gapstars-team at the annual Scale-up party in Port City Colombo. Photo was taken on 17th of February 2023 | Image Credit: Gapstars

This is where Gapstars comes in. Gapstars has a long history with close ties to the local community in Sri Lanka for more than two decades.

Since 2015, Hemmen has been dedicated to collaborating with the country’s top tech talent to support Dutch scaleups in the development of their software.

Gapstars offers remote teams, working from their tech-hub in Colombo, that are fully dedicated to the mission of their clients. That means Dutch scaleups won’t have to look for remote talent themselves.

Gapstars employs more than 200 IT professionals and boasts an extensive global network of qualified software engineers, guaranteeing a great fit with your company.

They can get a dedicated, high-quality team up and running fast while maintaining competitive prices that make hiring remote workers attractive.

At the same time, Gapstars strives to make remote teams a part of the company they work for.

“Our strategy is to create the best possible integration of our development teams into our partner’s organisation. This way you can be sure each developer will always go the extra mile as they feel a strong connection and sense of ownership. And in order to create a level-playing field for the techies in Sri Lanka we have introduced all the good things that are characteristic of the startup culture in Europe,” says Hemmen.

“The culture, the salary, the benefits, and having employees involved in the decision-making. Our remote offices will give you the feeling you walk around any Dutch scaleup headquarters.”

Software development meets social good

Gapstars Social Development
The Automotive Class of 2023 at the Cholankande Youth Training Centre, Sri Lanka | Image Credit: Gapstars

The human-centric approach translates to specific core values that are essential to Gapstars: growth, impact, and family.

This starts by creating kick-ass software that positively impacts end-users, says Hemmen: “We want our clients to grow, just as much as we want our employees to grow.”

To achieve that, Hemmen ensures the growing Gapstars team feels like one global family and its members go above and beyond for each other, as well as for their clients. “We throw massive beach parties, celebrate everyone’s birthday, hold regular Friday drinks and facilitate multiple (international) team trips per year.”

“The local community forms the beating heart of Gapstars. That’s why we’re eager to give back,” says Hemmen. For instance, the company actively supports the Dutch / Sri Lankan Children’s Village Home of Hope.

“This initiative is one that is close to all of us at Gapstars,” says Hemmen.

“It is helping today’s children get a start in life. Home of Hope gives love, care, good education and guidance to many children who have had an early struggle in life.”

Gapstars also contributes to the Cholankande Youth Training Centre (CYTC), a technical school that helps underprivileged youth acquire skills in fields such as electrical, automotive and computer engineering.

Adding Lisbon for faster growth

Gapstars Lisbon
The Gapstars-team in Lisbon | Image Credit: Gapstars

Having an impact does not stop Gapstars from growing. In fact, the company itself is scaling up its efforts. It recently opened a new talent hub in Lisbon, Portugal.

This new hub offers several advantages in addition to its Sri Lankan presence. “We got very lucky last year as one of our top employees, Stefanie Driever, was willing to migrate to Lisbon to kickstart this new venture. Lisbon is one of the most attractive nearshore destinations in Europe as the local tech scene is booming,” explains Hemmen.

“It is relatively close to Amsterdam, located in a similar time zone, and a hot destination for international tech talent. Furthermore, for specific industries we can now offer the benefits of setting up teams within the geographical and regulatory boundaries of the EU.”

By opening up the next hub in a new location, Gapstars also expands its global network. It allows them to gain faster access to worldwide talent and offers the option for Dutch scaleups to diversify their engineering teams.

“Through our offices in Sri Lanka and Portugal, our aim is to continuously expand our services by making global tech talent markets accessible to every tech company in Europe,” says Hemmen.

Scaling up, worldwide

Gapstars 2
The Gapstars-team in the Colombo-based tech hub, with one of their clients, Dutch scaleup Carv.com | Image Credit: Gapstars

Gapstars itself is also looking to scale up rapidly, says Hemmen.

“Our impact has been very positive in the past years, which gives us a lot of energy to do more.” If it is up to him, it won’t be long before Gapstars outgrows Sri Lanka and Portugal. “Our passion is to grow,” says Hemmen.

“We will further strengthen our platform, expand our hub-locations across the globe, and help tech ventures to accelerate tech development with support of the world’s best talents.”

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The editorial team of Silicon Canals brings you technology news from the European startup ecosystem. 

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