Restart Network

What Restart Network does

Stichting Restart Network is a Dutch non-profit foundation that operated the ONE Program, a tuition-free, one-year intensive coding bootcamp headquartered at CiC Rotterdam in the Netherlands from its 2016 founding until its May 2019 closure. The ONE Program targeted people facing barriers to conventional employment — specifically refugees with permanent asylum in the Netherlands, recipients of Dutch social benefits, and underrepresented minorities in tech (including women) — and delivered full-stack web development training through a three-phase structure: a 3-month Bootcamp Level (1,000+ coding hours covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, SQL, and version control), a 3-month Guide Level (MEAN.js stack plus personal leadership development), and a 6-month Developer Level (paid immersion at partner tech companies).

The organization's distinctive operating model, branded the "Crowdsourced School," eliminated traditional faculty in favor of weekly MasterClasses taught by industry practitioners from a roster of Technical Partners (AWS, Facebook, Microsoft, GitHub, IBM, Booking.com, Mendix, KPN, Yieldr, and others). The program was financed entirely by donations: Developer Partners (WeTransfer, Deloitte, Picnic, Port of Rotterdam, ABN AMRO, YES!Delft) funded tuition-free scholarships, supplemented by crowdfunding, individual donations, and in-kind contributions from Founding Partners including CiC Rotterdam, CityLab Rotterdam, Rotterdam Partners, and Rotterdam Municipality. Approximately 100 volunteers joined annually, drawing from Facebook engineers to university students. Governance was provided by a board (Chairwoman Melissa Ablett, Secretary Nick Yap, Treasurer Job Nijs), founders Teodor Cataniciu (President) and Frederick Rustler (Head of Admissions), Program Director Eseyas Abraha, and academic advisors from TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam School of Management.

Name

Restart Network

Legal name

Stichting Restart Network

Website

https://restart.network

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Restart Network was a Dutch non-profit that ran the ONE Program, a tuition-free one-year coding bootcamp in Rotterdam serving refugees, low-income individuals, and underrepresented minorities in tech through a Crowdsourced School model funded by corporate donations, in-kind contributions, and volunteer labor.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Tech Education

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Bootcamps & Accelerated Reskilling (Full-time/Part-time) (BPAEANAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Web Development (HTML/CSS/JavaScript, Front-End/Back-End) (EDAMACAC)

Keywords

• Coding bootcamp training
• Tech education nonprofit
• Refugee workforce development
• Full-stack web development
• Scholarship-funded learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Developer Partner Sponsorships: Tech companies in the Netherlands finance the program and offer every student a full scholarship. Developer Partners provide financial support enabling tuition-free education.
2. Crowdfunding: Individual donations from community members supporting the mission.
3. In-Kind Donations: Campus space provided as in-kind donation from organizations that believe in the mission.
4. Individual Donations: Public donations through payment links for supporting students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Restart Network operated the ONE Program, a tuition-free, one-year intensive coding bootcamp that trains students from refugee, low-income, and underrepresented minority backgrounds to become full-stack web developers. The program follows a three-phase structure: a 3-month Bootcamp (1,000+ hours of intensive coding in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL), a 3-month Guide Level (personal development and MEAN.js stack mastery), and a 6-month Developer Level internship at partner tech companies. The program is delivered through a Crowdsourced School model in which industry professionals from companies like Facebook, GitHub, AWS, Microsoft, and IBM teach weekly MasterClasses instead of traditional faculty.

Product overview

Restart Network is a non-profit organization operating a single unified product—the ONE Program—which is a tuition-free, one-year intensive coding bootcamp designed to accelerate diversity and inclusion in the European tech industry. The ONE Program consists of three sequential phases: the Bootcamp Level (3 months of intensive fundamentals training), the Guide Level (personal development and MEAN.js stack mastery), and the Developer Level (6-month internship at partner companies). Supporting offerings include the Crowdsourced School model (the underlying education philosophy), the Master Classes Program (industry-taught sessions), and Career Path Services (recruiter partnerships and alumni networking). The organization also provides an Impact Report documenting its outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ONE Program: The ONE Program was a transformative one-year coding bootcamp consisting of Bootcamp (3 months), Guide (3 months), and Developer (6 months) levels, designed to train refugees, low-income, and underrepresented minorities in tech for careers in the European tech industry.

Products and services

• ONE Program A one-year intensive coding bootcamp and transformative experience that trains students from refugee, low-income, and minority backgrounds to become full-stack web developers, delivered through Bootcamp, Guide, and Developer phases.
• Master Classes Program Weekly hands-on industry-led sessions taught by engineers and academics from leading tech companies covering topics such as APIs, version control with Git, UX design, cloud services, Big Data, Bot Development, and Agile development.
• Career Path Services Career development support including collaboration with senior recruiters from leading Dutch universities and tech companies, networking opportunities through Venture Cafe Rotterdam, and access to the alumni network and partner connections.
• Crowdsourced School An innovative community-driven education model that democratizes access to world-class tech education by connecting volunteers, industry professionals, and partners to deliver training, challenging traditional institutional education approaches.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students complete intensive 1,000+ hours of coding during 3-month bootcamp
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

26 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WeTransfercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDeveloper Partner that welcomes ONE Program students for the 6-month Developer Level. Contributes to funding student scholarships enabling tuition-free education.
• DeloittecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDeveloper Partner providing scholarship funding and hosting opportunities for ONE Program students.
• PicniccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDeveloper Partner contributing to scholarship funding for student tuition.
• Port of RotterdamcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDeveloper Partner supporting the program through student scholarships.
• ABN AMROcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDeveloper Partner funding student scholarships and providing career opportunities.
• YES!DelftcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDeveloper Partner and startup ecosystem connection for ONE Program students.
• YieldrcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner providing MasterClasses. Engineers host sessions and Tech Safaris for students.
• Booking.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner whose developers teach UX Design through MasterClasses.
• MendixcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner contributing expertise to the curriculum through industry collaborations.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner with business developers teaching cloud services through MasterClasses.
• FacebookcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner whose engineers teach 'Hello World' with APIs. Volunteers from Dublin office contribute to program.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner providing MasterClasses on Big Data and Cognitive APIs. Technology evangelists contribute to curriculum.
• GitHubcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner whose software engineers teach Version Control and Git through MasterClasses.
• IBMcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner with developers teaching Bot Development and IBM Watson through MasterClasses.
• KPNcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner with digital developers teaching Agile Development. Advisory Chair for Corporate Relations from KPN New Business.
• GitHubcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical Partner providing version control and software engineering expertise.
• CiC Rotterdam (Cambridge Innovation Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding Partner that provides campus space as an in-kind donation. Hosts over 100 tech companies at the location.
• CityLab RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding Partner that believed in Restart Network when it was nothing more than an idea.
• Rotterdam PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding Partner supporting the organization's mission from the beginning.
• Rotterdam MunicipalitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding Partner supporting the organization from inception.
• Venture Cafe RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation community partner. Guides volunteer and take part in Venture Cafe weekly. Best place in the region to grow network.
• Erasmus University Rotterdam School of ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner with Assistant Professor Samer Abdelnour serving as Advisory Chair for Social Enterprise. Collaboration on education and research.
• TU DelftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner with Professor Alexandru Iosup serving as Advisory Chair for Education. Fireside chats and academic collaboration.
• GreytminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partner contributing expertise, network, and resources to make the program possible.
• Refugee Start ForceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partner contributing to refugee integration ecosystem.
• Enactus EURminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStudent entrepreneurship organization partner contributing to the community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Le Wagon: Global coding bootcamp operating in 40+ cities with full-stack web development curriculum covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Ruby/Rails. Comparable curriculum and intensity, but for-profit with tuition-based revenue model.
• General Assembly: Established global provider of bootcamps and short courses in web development, data, and design. Overlapping curriculum focus and employer-network model, but serves paying students rather than marginalized populations.
• Ironhack: Global coding bootcamp with campuses across Europe offering full-stack web development. Comparable curriculum (HTML/CSS/JavaScript/MEAN stack) and intensive bootcamp format, but commercial tuition-based model.

Direct peers

• Per Scholas: US non-profit providing tuition-free tech training to individuals from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds, with employer partners hiring graduates. Closely comparable tuition-free, sponsor-funded, outcomes-oriented model.
• Ada Developers Academy: US-based tuition-free coding bootcamp for women and gender-nonconforming students from underrepresented backgrounds. Highly comparable mission, sponsorship-funded model, and intensive full-stack curriculum.
• /dev/color (formerly Code2040): Non-profit building pathways for Black and Latinx technologists through training and community. Highly comparable mission around underrepresented minorities in tech and corporate-partner-driven delivery.
• Techfugees: Global social enterprise convening a community of tech actors to solve refugee integration challenges. Closely aligned in mission, target population, and partner-led delivery model.
• Re:Coded: Bootcamp training refugees and displaced persons in web development across the Middle East and Turkey. Directly comparable target population, curriculum focus, and employer-placement model.

Emerging players

• CodeOp: Tech training organization focused on women and non-binary adults transitioning into software careers. Comparable focus on underrepresented groups in tech and intensive bootcamp-style delivery.
• Refugee Code Academy: Volunteer-led initiative offering coding training to refugees globally. Comparable in mission and crowdsourced teaching approach, though operating at smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Restart_Network
• Facebookfacebook.com/restartnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/restart-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Restart Network