Good morning! The startup scene in The Netherlands last week was vibrant as ever. Here's what you need to know:
News & Updates
Data visualisation startup Silk was acquired by Palantir for an undisclosed amount. The Amsterdam-based company announced the team will be joining the Silicon Valley unicorn.
According to excellent research done by business newspaper FD, investors pay too much for Dutch startups in the early stage (link's in Dutch).
Plugify, the platforms for music gigs, started its long-awaited crowdfunding campaign. The startup needs 650.000 euro, after a week it's already at more than 50 percent.
Dutch bank ING selected four new startups for its fintech class of 2016: Surance, Startup Insight, Gekko and Axyon.
Seven early stage startups just came out of the summer edition of Launchlab, YES!Delft’s three month-pressure cooker program. Winner according to the public and jury: Gyre – an alternative to a plastic bag, with the size of a credit card.
Otly got the attention from Uber's Travis Kalanick. The startup teaches children about the value of money and saving with the help of a digital wallet / piggy bank. Of course this isn't 'funding', the deal is more about support and pocket change than a real investment.
So you’ve got the funds necessary to hire talent? Here’s how to do it, with the 5 P’s of startup recruitment: People, Process, Payment, Perks and Product.
Funding
Dutch marketing software startup Bynder announced a whopping $22M (€19,7M) Series A funding round led by New York-based Insight Venture Partners.
Monday morning read
Curation was key to help reach Blendle's 1 million users, writes CEO Alexander Klöpping. (Medium)
This always bothered me in pitches: startups existing for the sole purpose of an exit. Pascal Finette quickly explains why this is such a bad idea. (The Heretic)
Marissa Mayer brought much more to Yahoo than you could think of. (HackerNoon)
Image: Pixabay