Blue-Merge
Blue-Merge is a Netherlands-based SaaS platform connecting Dutch students (VO, MBO, HBO, WO) with companies for orientation days, internships, excursions, guest lectures, and vacancies, operating on institutional subscriptions and bootstrapped since 2016.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersEindhoven, Netherlands
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Blue-Merge does
Blue-Merge (formerly BedrijvenMeeloopDag) is a Netherlands-based software platform that connects students at all Dutch educational levels (VO, MBO, HBO, and WO) with companies for structured work-based learning activities. Founded in 2016 by Koen van Steensel, a former Fontys mechanical engineering student, the platform originated from organizing one-day workplace orientation visits (meeloopdagen) for technical HBO students and has since evolved into a comprehensive SaaS system covering meeloopdagen, internships, excursions, guest lectures, business-linked assignments, company fairs, and vacancies. The platform supports filtering of companies by education level and sector, with embedded curriculum integrations at partner institutions and a self-registration portal for companies.
The product is a modular web platform with eight distinct modules corresponding to the activity types listed above. Schools access it through account-manager-led onboarding and curriculum integration (notably at Fontys Eindhoven across five engineering programs), while students can self-serve browse and book orientation days with one click. Companies can self-register and be published on the site within one day. The platform reports 2,756 connected companies, 341 connected educational programs, and 4,832 students matched to companies to date.
Blue-Merge operates a subscription-based revenue model targeting educational institutions, with annual billing and custom enterprise-style pricing. Distribution is a hybrid: account managers conduct field sales to schools, while the company side runs on a self-serve product-led growth model. The company is privately held, bootstrapped, and operates from Eindhoven with a single founder-employee at the time of latest reporting, actively hiring field account managers to scale. No external investors, subsidiaries, or public financial disclosures are present in the source material.
Blue-Merge firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Blue-Merge
- Legal name
- Blue-Merge
- Website
- https://blue-merge.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Blue-Merge is a Netherlands-based SaaS platform connecting Dutch students (VO, MBO, HBO, WO) with companies for orientation days, internships, excursions, guest lectures, and vacancies, operating on institutional subscriptions and bootstrapped since 2016.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Blue-Merge industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Technology Platform
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL)
Keywords
Where Blue-Merge is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Eindhoven
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Blue-Merge business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Platform Licensing: Blue-Merge provides a complete software system/platform to educational institutions enabling them to quickly and easily organize various activities with the business world. The platform serves schools across VO, MBO, HBO and WO levels.
- Platform Subscription for Educational Institutions: Educational institutions subscribe to the platform for organizing meeloopdagen, excursions, guest lectures, projects, internships, and company/student markets.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Custom pricing based on institutional needs |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Blue-Merge product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blue-Merge operates a software platform that connects educational institutions with businesses for organizing work-based learning activities across Dutch educational levels (VO, MBO, HBO, WO). The platform supports internship days (meeloopdagen), excursions, guest lectures, projects, internships, career fairs, and job postings, enabling students to discover and book company experiences aligned with their studies while helping companies recruit technical talent.
Product overview
Blue-Merge operates as a unified software-as-a-service platform connecting educational institutions with businesses. The platform consists of a core system (Blue-Merge Platform) with multiple integrated modules covering the full spectrum of work-based learning activities: Meeloopdagen for workplace orientation days, Stages for internship placements, Excursies for group company visits, Gastcolleges for guest lectures, Opdrachten for business-linked projects, Bedrijvenmarkten for career fairs, and Vacatures for job postings. The platform serves all Dutch educational levels (VO, MBO, HBO, WO) and supports both students seeking career orientation and companies seeking to recruit and engage with future talent.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Blue-Merge Platform A comprehensive software platform that enables educational institutions to organize and manage various activities with businesses, including internship days, excursions, guest lectures, assignments, company fairs, and internships for students across VO, MBO, HBO, and WO educational levels.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4832 students have been brought into contact with companies through the platform
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Blue-Merge
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Blue-Merge technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Blue-Merge partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Study Association (First Partnership)minorFirst-ever collaboration with a study association, expanding partnerships beyond educational institutions to student organizations.
- Summa CollegecorePartnership agreement for expansion to include MBO students alongside HBO students at Summa Engineering and Summa Techniek.
- Fontys EindhovencoreBMD officially scheduled into the curriculum for programs including Werktuigbouwkunde, Mechatronica, Elektrotechniek, Industrieel productontwerpen and Technische bedrijfskunde at Fontys Engineering Eindhoven.
- Fontys Venlo (FHTenL)coreFirst collaboration agreement signed with Fontys Venlo. BMD would visit annually to present to first-year students about opportunities to connect with interesting companies throughout their studies.
- Avans HogeschoolminorHBO Technical/Engineering program partner in Breda with presentations scheduled for classes.
- ROC Midden NederlandminorMBO Technical/Engineering and ICT and MBO Bouw programs at Nieuwegein and Amersfoort campuses.
- HAN (Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen)minorHBO Technical/Engineering program partner.
- HU (Hogeschool Utrecht)minorHBO Technical/Engineering program partner.
- ROC Tilburg (Yonder)minorMBO Technical/Engineering program partner.
- Haagse HogeschoolminorHBO ICT program partner.
- HvA (Hogeschool van Amsterdam)minorHBO Technical/Engineering program partner.
- Talland CollegeminorMBO Technical/Engineering program partner.
- Techniek College RotterdamminorMBO ICT program partner.
- Brainport EindhovencoreRegional technology and innovation ecosystem partner shown in Blue-Merge's partner logos.
- Provincie Noord-BrabantcoreRegional government partner in Blue-Merge's partner network for connecting education and business.
- MikrocentrumminorTechnology expertise center partner in the Blue-Merge ecosystem.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Blue-Merge competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Studentenbanen.nl: Dutch platform focused on part-time jobs and side jobs for students, with employer profiles and self-serve registration. Regional peer in the Dutch student-employer connection space, though narrower than Blue-Merge's work-based learning focus.
- Stagemark.nl: Dutch internship marketplace focused primarily on MBO stages and learning-pathway placements. Regionally comparable in the same Dutch market for the stage/internship module of Blue-Merge's offering.
Direct peers
- Magnet.me: Netherlands-based student recruitment platform connecting HBO and WO students with companies for internships, part-time jobs, and graduate positions via employer profiles and student self-registration. Closest Dutch direct competitor in the same institutional-employer-student matching niche.
- Symplicity: Provider of career services and student employment platforms used by universities globally, including modules for job postings, internship matching, and career fairs. Closely comparable as an institutional SaaS for organizing employer-student engagement activities across the full work-based learning spectrum.
- Handshake: US-based two-sided marketplace connecting students and recent graduates with employers for jobs, internships, and career fairs at universities and colleges. Directly comparable business model: B2B SaaS to educational institutions plus employer network, with student self-serve booking.
- Jobteaser: European platform (HQ in France) that partners with universities and business schools to give students access to employer events, job offers, internships, and career fairs via an embedded career centre. Strong direct comparison as European B2B2C work-based learning marketplace.
- Riipen: Work-integrated learning platform connecting post-secondary institutions, students, and employers for project-based learning, internships, and micro-experiences. Directly comparable model focused on facilitating employer-student work-based learning engagements through institutional partnerships.
- 12Twenty: University career services platform providing student employment, recruiting, and outcomes data tools used by career centres. Comparable as institutional SaaS that operationalizes the employer-student engagement workflow Blue-Merge addresses.
Broad incumbents
- Indeed: Global job-matching platform with growing education-to-employment features. Operates broadly in the same employer-student matching space but does not specialize in the work-based learning niche Blue-Merge occupies.
- LinkedIn: Global professional network with extensive student/graduate features, university partnerships, job matching, and increasingly work-based learning content. Broad incumbent that competes with Blue-Merge for institutional career services budget but as part of a much wider portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Blue-Merge social profiles
Digital presenceBlue-Merge financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Blue-Merge leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Blue-Merge funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Blue-Merge M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Blue-Merge
What does Blue-Merge do?
Blue-Merge operates a software platform that connects educational institutions with businesses for organizing work-based learning activities across Dutch educational levels (VO, MBO, HBO, WO). The platform supports internship days (meeloopdagen), excursions, guest lectures, projects, internships, career fairs, and job postings, enabling students to discover and book company experiences aligned with their studies while helping companies recruit technical talent.
Is Blue-Merge a public or private company?
Blue-Merge is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Blue-Merge founded?
Blue-Merge was founded in -1.
Where is Blue-Merge based?
Blue-Merge is headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Blue-Merge make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Software Platform Licensing is the primary driver. The others are platform Subscription for Educational Institutions.
Who are Blue-Merge's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Studentenbanen.nl and Stagemark.nl. Direct peers are Magnet.me, Symplicity, Handshake, Jobteaser, Riipen and 12Twenty. Broad incumbents are Indeed and LinkedIn.
Does Blue-Merge have an API?
No public API is recorded for Blue-Merge.
What industry is Blue-Merge in?
Blue-Merge's product category is Education Technology Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAMAL, Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 7361.