Dutch Laravel Foundation

What Dutch Laravel Foundation does

The Dutch Laravel Foundation (Stichting Laravel) is a non-profit knowledge and industry organization founded in June 2019 in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, with the explicit approval of Taylor Otwell, creator of the Laravel PHP framework. It promotes professional Laravel usage in the Dutch market and serves three constituencies: Laravel-specialized agencies and development teams, organizations (opdrachtgevers) seeking vetted Laravel developers, and HBO/MBO students seeking Laravel internships and training. Its offerings include a tiered membership program (€450/year for freelancers, €1,250/year for agencies), the 'Zoek Laravel Experts' directory, the Stagebank internship platform, guest lectures at educational institutions, certification programs (Laravel Company Certified and Developer Certification), the Larabelles diversity initiative, a free Hosting Hotline in partnership with Shock Media, and a calendar of community events including meetups, hackathons, the annual LaraFest, and CxO dinners.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through membership subscriptions, certification program resale (with member discounts on Laravel Company Certification and Developer Certification exams), and partner-driven discounts on tools such as JetBrains PhpStorm, Sentry, Oh Dear, NativePHP, Lettermint, and Laravel Shift. The foundation operates on a community-led go-to-market motion: it does not sell software, but it bundles network access, knowledge exchange, lead generation, and credibility signals (the 'keurmerk') into a subscription that is sold directly via its website. Its 44 listed member organizations range from individual freelancers to mid-sized agencies (e.g., PAQT at 60 professionals) and one large Belgian member (Easi at 680 employees), and the foundation itself is volunteer-run with a 9-person core team.

Name

Dutch Laravel Foundation

Legal name

Stichting Laravel

Website

https://dutchlaravelfoundation.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Dutch Laravel Foundation is a Netherlands-based non-profit that promotes the Laravel PHP framework through a 44-member agency network, certification programs, community events (meetups, LaraFest, hackathons), an internship platform (Stagebank), and guest lectures, operating on annual membership fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Source Developer Community Foundation

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• PHP framework community
• Laravel certification
• Developer membership
• Tech community events
• Open source foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Zoetermeer

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: The foundation generates revenue primarily through annual membership fees charged to agencies (Bureaus & development teams) at €1,250/year and freelancers (ZZP) at €450/year. Members receive access to a network of Laravel specialists, exclusive events, a certification mark, leads for new projects, and discounts on tooling such as JetBrains, Sentry, Lettermint, Oh Dear, and NativePHP.
2. Events and conferences: Revenue from organized events including meetups, hackathons, LaraFest, and the CxO diner. Events provide networking, knowledge sharing, and community engagement opportunities.
3. Laravel certification programs: The foundation offers discounts on Laravel Company Certification (from €799 to €599 for certified companies) and Developer Certification exams (from €249 to €186.75). Certified companies receive a €250 discount on DLF membership and pay only €99 per Developer Certification exam.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Dutch Laravel Foundation (Stichting Dutch Laravel Foundation) is a non-profit foundation founded in June 2019 in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, that promotes the Laravel PHP framework within the Dutch developer and business community. It operates a paid membership program (ZZP at €450/year and Bureaus at €1,250/year) covering 44 member organizations, administers the official Laravel "keurmerk" (quality mark) endorsed by Laravel creator Taylor Otwell, runs Laravel company and developer certification exams, and organizes community events including LaraFest, hackathons, meetups, the CxO Diner, and the LarAward.

Product overview

The Dutch Laravel Foundation is a non-profit knowledge and industry organization that promotes the Laravel PHP framework and facilitates knowledge exchange among Laravel developers in the Netherlands. Rather than offering a unified software product, the foundation provides a membership program connecting Laravel professionals, operates an internship bank linking students with member companies, delivers guest lectures at educational institutions, organizes community events (meetups, hackathons, LaraFest, CxO dinners), and offers a hosting hotline in partnership with Shock Media. The foundation helps project owners find suitable Laravel developers through its expert directory and supports the Laravel ecosystem through various community initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Members receive ~10% discount on Laracon EU tickets, 20% off JetBrains PhpStorm licenses, €250 off DLF membership if Laravel Company Certified, and other tooling discounts.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Taylor OtwellflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaylor Otwell, creator of Laravel, gave formal approval for the Dutch Laravel Foundation to be established in June 2019. His endorsement is the foundation's most important strategic asset, providing legitimacy and authority for the organization in the Netherlands.
• Shock MediacoreTechnology or IntegrationShock Media hosts the Dutch Laravel Foundation website and provides a free Hosting Hotline service for all DLF members. The partnership offers members a sharp partner rate and welcome discount on managed hosting services. This is a long-term hosting and infrastructure partnership.
• JetBrainsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJetBrains provides DLF members with a 20% discount on new PhpStorm licenses. JetBrains also hosted a DLF meetup at their Amsterdam office in 2025.
• SentryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSentry offers DLF members a 3-month free trial on their error-tracking and performance-monitoring platform, providing development teams with production debugging tools.
• LettermintminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLettermint provides DLF members with 30% discount on their subscription service.
• Oh DearminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOh Dear (monitoring service by Freek van der Herten) offers DLF members 30% discount on their subscription. DLF member Platform11 is also active at Oh Dear.
• NativePHPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNativePHP provides DLF members with 20% discount on Pro or Max licenses for building native desktop applications with PHP/Laravel.
• Laravel ShiftminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLaravel Shift (automated code upgrade service) is listed as a partner providing additional discounts to DLF members.
• LarabellescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DLF financially supports the Larabelles — an international community of women in Laravel and web development — on a monthly basis. This partnership promotes diversity and inclusion in the Laravel ecosystem and is explicitly framed as a strategic investment in the community.
• QlicminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-organised a meetup on October 23, 2025 in Groningen with talks on AI and software development, demonstrating the DLF's co-organised meetup model.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Apache Software Foundation: Long-established non-profit foundation stewarding a broad portfolio of open-source projects. Provides the canonical example of a vendor-neutral foundation model that the DLF aspires to for the Laravel ecosystem.
• Linux Foundation: Largest non-profit technology ecosystem organization, supporting Linux, Kubernetes, and many other open-source projects. Represents the scaled, mature version of the foundation-based ecosystem model that the DLF applies locally to Laravel.
• Eclipse Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting a portfolio of open-source projects and working groups. Shares the DLF's model of membership tiers, events, and ecosystem coordination, though at significantly larger scale.
• Cloud Native Computing Foundation: Linux Foundation sub-foundation supporting cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes. Operates a similar foundation-based ecosystem coordination model with membership tiers, events (KubeCon), and certification programs.
• Python Software Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting the Python programming language and its global community. Shares the DLF's non-profit, membership-supported, community-driven model, though at vastly larger scale and applied to a general-purpose language rather than a specific framework.
• Rust Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting the Rust programming language. Operates a similar model to the DLF (membership dues, events, ecosystem coordination) but at much larger scale and for a systems programming language.
• OpenJS Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting JavaScript projects including Node.js and jQuery. Operates a comparable membership-and-events model for a different developer ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Drupal Association: Non-profit organization supporting the Drupal CMS framework and its community of agencies and developers. Shares the DLF's model of membership dues, events, certification, and promotion of member companies to prospective clients.
• PHP Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting the PHP language ecosystem, the parent technology of Laravel. Operates a similar membership and grantmaking model to sustain open-source development, making it the most directly comparable peer to the DLF.

Emerging players

• Symfony: Major PHP framework competing with Laravel, backed by SensioLabs and a community of agencies. Comparable because it serves the same PHP developer/agency ecosystem with similar events, certification, and community resources, though Symfony is more company-driven than foundation-driven.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dutchlaravel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dutch-laravel-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Dutch Laravel Foundation