What Heartbeat Ventures does

Heartbeat Ventures is a Utrecht, Netherlands-based boutique consulting firm that has been operating since 2014 (sometimes cited as 2013) with a team of approximately 10-11 practitioners. The firm provides strategy, design, and execution services to organisations working on public health, prevention, and healthy living in the Netherlands. Its work is built on three pillars: Strategy (clarifying purpose and vision, reframing complex challenges, and producing actionable roadmaps), Design (creating people-focused solutions such as value propositions, programmes, and communications), and Execution (hands-on programme management and organisational effectiveness support). The firm explicitly does not develop software or technology platforms; its core methodology draws on Behaviour Design, Design Thinking, and Systems Thinking applied to health challenges.

Heartbeat Ventures serves a narrow set of Dutch health-sector clients, including the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), Samenwerkende Gezondheidsfondsen (the Collective of Dutch Health Funds), Coalitie Leefstijl in de zorg, Long Alliantie Nederland, Beweegalliantie, Sportinnovator, and patient associations such as NVOO. Engagements are project-based, often multi-year, and delivered through co-creation with stakeholders, typically culminating in artefacts such as strategy houses, manifestos, impact models, and implementation roadmaps. The firm offers free initial consultations and conducts work both online and at its Utrecht 'Heartquarters' office.

The business model is professional-services revenue: project-based fees quoted per engagement, with no public pricing, no software product, and no disclosed funding or external investors. The firm is privately held, with no parent company, no disclosed ownership structure, and no public registration of legal entity type. Marketing is limited to direct outreach, a Squarespace-hosted website, LinkedIn presence, and referral-driven engagement, consistent with a small, relationship-led practice rather than a scalable platform business.

Name

Heartbeat Ventures

Legal name

Heartbeat Ventures

Website

https://heartbeat.ventures

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Heartbeat Ventures is a Utrecht-based boutique consulting firm of about 10-11 practitioners that provides strategy, design, and execution services to Dutch government ministries, health foundations, and patient associations working on public health and prevention.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Strategy Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

Keywords

• Health strategy consulting
• Behaviour design consulting
• Public health advisory
• Health innovation consulting
• Systems thinking consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Project-based consulting engagements with organizations in the health sector, including strategy development, design, execution support, and program management. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for engagements with government, healthcare organizations, and health foundations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Heartbeat Ventures is a boutique consulting firm that helps organizations in the public health and prevention sector with strategy, design, and execution. Engagements typically cover clarifying purpose and vision, co-creating multi-year strategies, designing people-focused solutions (value propositions, programs, communications), and providing hands-on implementation and program management support. Work is delivered through tailor-made project approaches for government ministries, health foundations, patient associations, and sports innovation organizations in the Netherlands.

Product overview

Heartbeat Ventures is a consulting firm offering strategy, design, and execution services focused on public health and healthy living. They provide tailor-made project approaches across three core areas: Strategy (clarifying purpose and vision, reframing complex challenges, developing pragmatic and actionable roadmaps), Design (creating people-focused solutions for health promotion including value propositions, products, services, communications, and strategic programs), and Execution (hands-on support implementing and scaling solutions, including program management and organizational effectiveness). They work with organizations including government ministries, health foundations, and advocacy coalitions to advance health promotion and disease prevention. The firm does not offer a software product or technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy Consulting Consulting service that helps clients in the health sector clarify their purpose and vision together with stakeholders, reframe complex challenges, identify essential drivers of impact, and arrive at decisive, pragmatic, and actionable strategies.
• Design Consulting Consulting service that designs people-focused solutions to bring health to more people in a sustainable way, including new value propositions, products, services, communications, and strategic programs.
• Execution Consulting Consulting service that brings strategy and design to life through hands-on support with implementing and scaling solutions, including program management and organizational effectiveness.

Quantifiable outcome

• Broadly supported strategy with clear frameworks, high-level impact model, and roadmap developed for the Beweegalliantie
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport engaged Heartbeat Ventures to support the development of the multi-year strategy for the Beweegalliantie. This collaboration involved co-creation with stakeholders to define ambition, impact goals, and strategic direction.
• Samenwerkende Gezondheidsfondsen (Collective of Dutch Health Funds)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term strategic collaboration on a wide range of public health themes, culminating in the shared manifesto for a healthy society presented in 2024.
• Coalition Leefstijl in de zorg (CLZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic support for implementing lifestyle in healthcare, with ongoing design, execution and visualisation support provided.
• Long Alliantie Nederland (Lung Alliance Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported in redefining its raison d'être and developing a shared multi-year strategy based on broad input from board, members, and project team, resulting in a clear strategy house adopted in June 2025.
• NVOO (Dutch Association for People with Overweight and Obesity)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArticulated societal mission, long-term vision, and 3-year strategy in preparation for their official launch, strengthening their role in healthcare policy advocacy.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• The Behavioural Insights Team: BIT is a behavioural science consultancy applying behavioural design to public policy outcomes — directly comparable to Heartbeat's behaviour-design methodology and prevention-policy positioning, though operating globally rather than Netherlands-only.
• Frog Design: Frog is a global design-strategy firm rooted in design thinking for product, service, and experience innovation — sharing the design-thinking methodology lineage that Heartbeat integrates into its health strategy work.

Regional players

• Andersson Elffers Felix (AEF): AEF is a Dutch consultancy with strong practices in public sector, healthcare, and behavioral change, competing for the same Dutch government and health-organization mandates as Heartbeat at comparable scale.
• Significant: Significant is a Dutch consultancy specializing in public sector and healthcare transformation, working with ministries, municipalities, and health organizations on strategy and program delivery in the same Dutch market.
• TwynstraGudde: TwynstraGudde is a Dutch management consultancy with public sector, healthcare, and organizational development practices, serving clients across the Netherlands with similar project-based engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Consulting Group (Health Care practice): BCG's Health Care practice serves providers, payers, and public health bodies globally, including in the Netherlands, often competing for the same preventive-health and system-transformation mandates.
• EY-Parthenon (Health): EY-Parthenon's healthcare strategy practice competes for Dutch health-system transformation mandates at much larger scale, offering broader consulting capability with overlapping public-health focus.
• McKinsey & Company (Health Systems practice): McKinsey operates a global Health Systems practice that competes for Dutch public-health transformation mandates, offering broader capability but less health-domain specialization than Heartbeat.

Direct peers

• Gupta Strategists: Gupta Strategists is a Dutch strategy consultancy dedicated to the healthcare sector, advising providers, insurers, and government on strategic and operational challenges — a direct comparability match on sector, geography, and boutique scale.
• Vintura: Vintura is a Dutch boutique consultancy focused on healthcare strategy and transformation, serving pharmaceutical companies, providers, and government health bodies — closely aligned with Heartbeat's health-focused, boutique, Netherlands-anchored positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heartbeat-ventures

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 Heartbeat Ventures