WeKnowPeople

What WeKnowPeople does

We Know People B.V. is a Dutch marketing recruitment specialist founded in 2011 and headquartered in Haarlem, Netherlands. The company recruits medior and senior professionals for marketing, digital, communication, data, and e-commerce roles across a multi-brand group: We Know People (commercial B2B recruitment), We Know Public (public sector and societal organizations), We Know Executives (executive search and interim management for CMO/CCO-level roles), and We Know People Interim (temporary staffing and detachering). The firm claims a network of more than 30,000 marketing professionals across the Netherlands — including 23,000+ interim professionals — and serves a client base that spans startups to corporates, with named customers including Bol.com, Keune, NELSON, and Online.nl.

The business model is transaction-based. Permanent placements are billed as a percentage of the placed candidate's all-in annual gross salary (including vacation pay, 13th month, profit-sharing, and car tax contribution), backed by a 12-month guarantee. Interim placements run on a No Cure No Pay basis with candidates proposed within 48 hours. Freelance/contract placements are billed as a percentage of the candidate's hourly rate multiplied by hours worked. An optional start fee covers vacancy content, video, and paid publishing. Distribution is entirely direct, driven by named recruitment consultants, supported by email job alerts, LinkedIn, organic social, and SEO-optimized website content.

There is no proprietary technology platform, no app, no API, no disclosed AI or automation capability, and no patents. We Know People operates as a traditional recruitment services firm in which human expertise and personal matching are the primary assets. The company is privately held (Besloten Vennootschap under Dutch law), with 11-50 employees, no recorded funding rounds, no external investment, no parent company, and no disclosed revenue. Legal compliance for freelance/detachering arrangements is supported through a partnership with Pot Jonker Advocaten and Dutchtaxadvice for Wet DBA guidance.

Name

WeKnowPeople

Legal name

We Know People B.V.

Website

https://weknowpeople.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

We Know People B.V. is a Dutch marketing recruitment specialist, founded in 2011 in Haarlem, placing medior and senior marketing, digital, communication, data, and e-commerce professionals via permanent, interim, and executive search services for B2B, public sector, and enterprise clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Temporary Help Services (561320)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire (BPACAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Government & Public Sector Direct Hire (BPACAFAK), Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG), Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO), Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC)

Keywords

• Marketing recruitment
• Executive search
• Interim staffing
• Talent acquisition
• Marketing staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Haarlem

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Recruitment Commission (Werving & Selectie): Success-based fee earned when a placed candidate enters an employment relationship with the client. The fee is calculated as a percentage of the candidate's all-in fulltime annual gross salary (including vacation pay, 13th month, profit-sharing, and car tax contribution). A 12-month guarantee period applies where no additional fee is due if a candidate leaves during probation period.
2. Start Fee: Optional fee at the start of an assignment, covering startup work such as recruitment consultant assignment, progress monitoring, vacancy text creation, video production, and publication on LinkedIn, social media, and Google. Additional marketing is charged one-to-one.
3. Interim Recruitment (No Cure No Pay): Interim professionals placed on No Cure No Pay basis - no placement fee charged if no successful placement is made. Candidates provided within 48 hours for any marketing, digital, communication or data function.
4. Freelance/Contract Placement Fee: Fee based on a percentage of the hourly rate paid by the client to the candidate, multiplied by the number of hours the candidate works for the client, for the duration of the freelance or contract agreement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

We Know People is a Netherlands-based recruitment agency specializing in placing medior and senior marketing, digital, communication, data, and e-commerce professionals. The firm delivers permanent recruitment (Werving & Selectie), interim recruitment on a No Cure No Pay basis, detachering (staffing) compliant with Dutch labor law (Wet DBA), and executive search through dedicated sub-brands (We Know Public, We Know Executives, and Interim). It serves employers ranging from startups to large corporates, drawing on a network of more than 30,000 marketing professionals across the Netherlands.

Product overview

We Know People operates as a recruitment group with multiple specialized brands. The core offering includes We Know People for commercial recruitment, We Know Public for public sector placements, and We Know Executives for executive search. Service delivery spans permanent Werving & Selectie (Recruitment), Interim Recruitment on a No Cure No Pay basis, and Detachering (staffing) for flexible temporary capacity. The group maintains a network of over 30,000 professionals in marketing, digital, communications, data and e-commerce, serving organizations from startups to corporates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• We Know Public: Recruitment for public and societal organizations (maatschappelijke organisaties).
• We Know Executives
• We Know People Interim

Products and services

• Werving & Selectie (Permanent Recruitment) Permanent recruitment service matching organizations with qualified medior and senior marketing, digital, communications, data and e-commerce professionals on a success-based fee structure (percentage of annual gross salary).
• Interim Recruitment (No Cure No Pay) Temporary staffing solution providing interim marketing, digital, communication or data specialists within 48 hours, operating on a No Cure No Pay basis with no placement fee if no successful placement is made.
• Detachering (Staffing) Staffing solution bringing in temporary marketing professionals via We Know People, offering flexible capacity without direct client employment, with arrangements compliant with Dutch Wet DBA labor law.
• We Know Public (Public Sector Recruitment) Specialized recruitment label serving public and societal organizations, placing communicators, marketeers, and fundraisers within government and non-profit employers.
• We Know Executives (Executive Search) Executive search and interim-management service placing C-level and senior marketing leadership such as Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Commercial Officers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Candidates available within 48 hours for interim marketing, digital, communication or data positions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Pot Jonker Advocaten BV DutchtaxadvicesupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal advisory partnership for Wet DBA compliance and employment relation assessment. Partners Martyn Top ([email protected]) and Bas van Gorp ([email protected]) provide guidance on Dutch labor law matters related to freelancer and ZZP worker arrangements.
• We Know PubliccoreOthersSpecialized label within the We Know People Group focused on public and social organizations. Provides recruitment services for communicators, marketeers, and fundraisers in the public sector and non-profit organizations.
• We Know ExecutivescoreOthersExecutive search brand within the We Know People Group. Specializes in C-level and senior management recruitment including CMO, CCO, and other marketing leadership positions.
• We Know People GroupcoreOthersParent organization operating specialized recruitment labels including We Know People (commercial), We Know Public (public sector), We Know Executives (executive search), and interim recruitment services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BOLD Company: Amsterdam-based marketing and digital recruitment agency placing mid-to-senior marketing professionals. Closely comparable vertical specialization and target customer base to WeKnowPeople.
• The Selection Lab: Dutch recruitment firm focused on marketing, communications, and digital roles. Similar candidate pool, employer segment, and success-fee revenue model.
• Bloom Recruitment: Dutch marketing, digital, and communications recruitment firm serving both employers and candidates. Direct niche competitor with overlapping marketing-vertical specialization and B2B recruitment focus.

Emerging players

• VONQ: Dutch-headquartered recruitment marketing technology provider serving the same employer clients on talent attraction. Adjacent rather than direct — competes for marketing recruitment budgets via job advertising and programmatic channels.

Broad incumbents

• Hays Netherlands: Global recruitment firm with a Dutch marketing and digital practice. Competes for the same enterprise marketing hires with a larger international footprint and broader functional coverage.
• Michael Page Netherlands: Global professional recruitment firm with strong Dutch marketing and digital coverage. Overlaps on senior marketing placements and interim mandates; competes on enterprise client relationships.
• HeadFirst Group: Major Dutch staffing and HR services group with marketing/digital recruitment offerings. Comparable in detachering/interim capabilities and Wet DBA compliance handling, but operates at significantly larger scale.
• Robert Half Netherlands: Global professional staffing firm with marketing and creative interim placement services in the Netherlands. Overlaps on interim/detachering marketing talent but at much larger scale.
• Aquent: Global marketing, creative, and digital staffing firm with detachering-style offerings. Comparable in serving interim/freelance marketing talent pools at enterprise scale.
• YER Talent Solutions: Large Dutch recruitment firm operating across multiple professional verticals including marketing and digital. Offers similar placement services but at broader scale and across more functions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/weknowpeople

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WeKnowPeople