Many women entrepreneurs are shaping the future of Amsterdam’s startup ecosystem.
According to the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) data, 39 per cent of about 120K Dutch startups launched last year belonged to women. Many initiatives have also been started to support women in tech who are striving hard to establish their presence.
For example, the City of Amsterdam invested €750,000 in RISE – Female hub Amsterdam, in 2020 to empower women entrepreneurs, tech professionals and to create more equal opportunities for women and men.
As entrepreneurs, businesswomen are shaking up the world by striving for more diversity and equality. Let’s take a look at the game-changers – the women leading the way in the Amsterdam startup ecosystem.
Tatiana Pastukhova
Co-founder of Teenit
Tatiana (Lukyanova) Pastukhova is the co-founder of Teenit, an educational smart budgeting app for teenagers.
She has over 15 years of experience in numerous roles from product management, business strategy, and development to user experience design and agile transformations.
She finished her education in MSc in Physics and MSc in Communication, Behaviour, and Credibility Analysis.
Tatiana has experience in delivering tech products in international companies of various sizes and domains – logistics, recruitment, stock trading, gaming, video entertainment, with a focus on C2C and B2C eCommerce.
Sandra van Beest
Founder & CEO of The Social Handshake
Sandra van Beest is the founder of The Social Handshake, an Amsterdam startup that makes it easier for both employees and employers to donate to charities. Sandra’s background spans from the NGO sector to being a business consultant strategist at Boston Consulting Group.
Sandra took a break from studies for a couple of years from 2006 to 2008 to work as Youth Representative to the United Nations. She finished her MSc in Conflict studies at Radbound University.
Ceren Danis
Founder at Wearebasics
Ceren Danis is the founder of Wearebasics, a subscription-based fashion-tech company that delivers and collects sustainable clothing items to and from your doorstep.
She finished her BSc in Economics and Business Economics at the University of Utrecht, and MSc in Finance and Investment at Rotterdam School of Management.
Before starting her full-time entrepreneurial journey, she worked at ABN AMRO Bank as Associate Global Markets, The Citco Group of Companies, and as a Corporate Finance Intern.
Dr. Nilofer Christensen
Founder and CEO at Swap-studio
Dr. Nilofer Christensen is the founder and CEO of Swap-Studio, an online peer-to-peer platform, where members swap the things they no longer want using a community currency called kudos. She is also the founder of BeanTrails, a platform that offers earth-friendly coffee cups.
She worked on TomTom for five years before becoming a COO at Chargetrip in 2020. Nilofer finished her executive education at Cambridge Judge Business School and London Business School.
Angela Ursem
Founder of Food for Skin
Angela is the founder of Food for Skin, a clean and green vegan skincare brand based on vegetables. Before her entrepreneurial journey, she worked for Tony’s Chocolonely for two years as Brand Captain and Movement Maker. Besides Food for Skin, Angela is working pro bono for 2 organisations focused on humanitarian emergency response.
Laurie Lancee
Founder of Vinimini
Laurie Lancee is the founder of Vinimini, an Amsterdam startup that provides reliable food supplements that help to prevent food allergies in babies. She is also the founder of LauLan Finance as well.
Laurie finished her Hospitality Management and Business Administration degree and worked in Paris, Shanghai and London. She settled in Amsterdam and got a degree in Business Economics and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
Over the past 13 years, Laurie built a successful career in business finance and accounting at multinationals such as HEINEKEN.
Zsofia Kollar
Founder of Human Material Loop
Zsofia Kollar is a designer and the founder of Human Material Loop, a startup that researches the concept of humans as a sustainable material of the future. She is interested in human interaction, society at large, and the politics of the everyday.
Zsofia founded the company with a mission to show that people are equal to the ecosystem and not above it. She has also published a book, “Object-Oriented Identity,” which deals with consumer identity.
Anne-Sophie Schürmann
Founder of Growth & Glunder
Anne founded Growth & Glunder to offer specialised family, school and group counseling to children with developmental disabilities. Besides, she is also the founder of Vesper, a school care facility designed to support children aged 4 to 13 with extra care needs. She completed her MSc at the University of Amsterdam.
Melissa Romero
Co-founder & CEO at Baubo.Care
Melissa is a seasoned business leader with broad experience across a wide range of CPG categories in marketing, commercial and general management-type roles.
She has a proven track record building brands, leading multifunctional teams, and delivering on business KPIs (revenue, share, profit, brand penetration, and equity).
After a decade at the biggest CPG company in the world, Melissa was chosen among a selected group of talents to join startup generator Antler, where she combined her experience and passions to build a new venture: Baubo.care – a platform that aims to empower women to live through menopause in a positive way.
Monique Janke
Co-founder of Bundleboon
Monique is the co-founder of Bundleboon, a personal shopping experience for parents and kids. She has a broad business understanding, including raising investment, inventory analysis, team management, and marketing strategy.
According to Monique, her strong focus is on e-commerce buying and fashion. She, along with her co-founder, appeared on Dutch Dragons’ Den in 2020.
Nelli Jeloudar
Co-founder of Bundleboon
Nelli, the co-founder of Bundleboon, completed her studies in English and marketing management since the ethics of promotional activities excited her. Prior to Bundleboon, she worked for a similar company called The Cloakroom, an online personal shopping service for men.
