Start Making Sense

Communications and Creative Servicesstartmakingsense.nl

Start Making Sense! is a hybrid communications agency based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, delivering brand building, advertising, sponsorship and events, marketing PR, and CRM services to multinational enterprises (Samsung, Shell, Heineken, Porsche, Volvo, Tata) and local companies via project-based, custom-priced engagements.

Company typePrivate
Founded2018
HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Start Making Sense does

Start Making Sense! is a hybrid communications agency headquartered at Balthasar Floriszstraat 1-huis, 1071 TZ Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 2018 (with public materials dated from that year) and operating with 1–10 employees, the firm positions itself between a traditional network agency and a creative hot shop, claiming to combine the diversity and continuity of network reach with the hands-on decisiveness and cost efficiency of a smaller studio. The core service offering spans brand building, advertising, sponsorship and events, marketing PR, and CRM, delivered across offline and online, mobile, and digital channels, with stated capabilities in strategy, concept development, content creation, copywriting, art direction, and campaign production.

The business model is professional services, project-based and quote-driven, with no publicly disclosed pricing tiers and contract cadence described as multi-year in some cases. For each engagement the agency assembles a bespoke team of experienced external professionals rather than relying on permanent bench strength, which the firm uses to argue against "invisible and unnecessary overhead costs." The client roster, presented as the agency's primary credential, includes more than 30 named brands spanning automotive (Porsche, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover, Skoda), energy (Shell), beverages (Heineken), technology (Samsung, TomTom), sportswear (Under Armour), airlines (Transavia), chemicals (Teijin), conglomerates (Tata, PON), banking (Rabobank), nonprofit (Save the Children), and government/destination marketing (I amsterdam). The agency is privately held, has no disclosed investors, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, no partnerships, no patents, and no technology platform; contact is centralized through a single named individual at a [email protected] address.

Start Making Sense firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Start Making Sense
Legal name: Start Making Sense!
Website: https://startmakingsense.nl
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2018
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Start Making Sense! is a hybrid communications agency based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, delivering brand building, advertising, sponsorship and events, marketing PR, and CRM services to multinational enterprises (Samsung, Shell, Heineken, Porsche, Volvo, Tata) and local companies via project-based, custom-priced engagements.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Start Making Sense industry classification

Industry

Product category: Communications and Creative Services
NAICS: Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising Agencies (54181), Public Relations Agencies (541820)
SIC: Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)
akta.pro industry: PRIMARYMPAAAAAA
Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies
Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Advertising Agencies (Full-Service/Creative)
SECONDARYMPAAAIAD
CRM Strategy, Implementation & Managed Services
Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Direct Marketing (CRM, Email/SMS, Loyalty)
SECONDARYMPAAAGAA
Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design
Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Experiential & Event Marketing Agencies

Keywords

Brand communications
Creative agency
Advertising services
Marketing strategy
Brand building

Where Start Making Sense is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Amsterdam
HQ country: Netherlands
HQ region: Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

Start Making Sense business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

Creative Services and Consulting: Project-based professional services delivering brand building, advertising, sponsorship & events, marketing PR and CRM solutions. Services delivered offline and online/mobile/digital channels.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Multi-year contract	Custom project-based pricing

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Start Making Sense product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Start Making Sense is a hybrid communications agency delivering brand building, advertising, sponsorship and events, marketing PR, and CRM services. The agency provides end-to-end creative output including strategy, concept development, content creation, art direction, copywriting, and campaign development and production. Services are delivered across offline and online/mobile/digital channels for clients ranging from local-oriented companies to multinationals.

Product overview

Start Making Sense is a hybrid communications agency that offers creative strategy, brand building, advertising, sponsorship & events, marketing PR, and CRM services. They provide a full range of communication services including strategy, concept development, content creation, copywriting, art direction, and campaign production across both offline and digital channels. The company operates as a services firm rather than a software product vendor, assembling project teams of experienced professionals based on client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Brand Building
Advertising
Sponsorship and Events
Marketing PR
CRM Communications
Creative Campaign Development and Production

Companies that use Start Making Sense

Customer profile

Named customers16 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Start Making Sense technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Start Making Sense partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Start Making Sense competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

KesselsKramer: Independent Amsterdam-based creative and communications agency with a similar lean, non-network structure delivering brand, advertising and PR work for European and international clients. Most direct domestic comparable to SMS's hybrid model.
Droga5: Award-winning independent creative agency (now part of Accenture Song) delivering brand strategy, advertising and content for global brands. Comparable in its hybrid model combining creative leadership with scaled delivery.
Anomaly: Independently-owned creative agency operating as an alternative to traditional network holding companies, offering brand strategy, advertising and content across multiple markets. Closely matches SMS's positioning as a 'creative hot shop' with network-level capability.
72andSunny: Independent full-service creative agency known for integrated brand campaigns and cross-channel work for major global brands. Comparable in delivering large-scale brand-building and advertising programs without legacy network overhead.
Mother London: Independently-owned London-based creative agency producing brand campaigns, advertising and content for global brands. Comparable as an independent full-service creative shop competing against networks on creativity and cost efficiency.
Wieden+Kennedy: Independently-owned creative agency producing brand-building, advertising and integrated campaigns for multinational clients including Nike, Heineken and Samsung. Directly comparable as a non-network hybrid agency serving the same enterprise client archetype as SMS.
Pool Worldwide: Amsterdam-based independent creative agency offering brand strategy, advertising and content production for European brands. Comparable as a fellow Dutch independent creative boutique competing in the same local market for similar client mandates.

Broad incumbents

Dept Agency: Amsterdam-headquartered digital creative and technology agency offering brand, marketing and engineering services at significantly greater scale. Comparable as a Dutch-headquartered full-service communications partner but with a broader tech-enabled portfolio.
DDB Amsterdam: Amsterdam office of DDB Worldwide, a long-established network agency offering advertising, brand and CRM services. Comparable in serving enterprise clients from the Netherlands but with the cost base and scale of a holding-company network.
TBWA\NEBOKO: Amsterdam-based office of TBWA\Worldwide, one of the largest global advertising networks. Comparable as a Dutch full-service advertising and brand agency competing for the same enterprise client budgets, but operating under network overhead.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Start Making Sense financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Start Making Sense leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Start Making Sense funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

Start Making Sense M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Start Making Sense

What does Start Making Sense do?

Is Start Making Sense a public or private company?

Start Making Sense is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.

When was Start Making Sense founded?

Start Making Sense was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Start Making Sense based?

Start Making Sense is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.

How does Start Making Sense make money?

One revenue line is on record: creative Services and Consulting.

Who are Start Making Sense's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are KesselsKramer, Droga5, Anomaly, 72andSunny, Mother London, Wieden+Kennedy and Pool Worldwide. Broad incumbents are Dept Agency, DDB Amsterdam and TBWA\NEBOKO.

Does Start Making Sense have an API?

No public API is recorded for Start Making Sense.

What industry is Start Making Sense in?

Start Making Sense's product category is Communications and Creative Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAAAA, Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies, with a secondary code of MPAAAIAD, CRM Strategy, Implementation & Managed Services. Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7311.