No founder should raise alone.
The door to community capital is open. Platforms made sure of that. Yet great companies still fail to raise, because a round is real work, the industry earns more when it stays complicated, and most founders do it alone. Crowdpowder exists for what happens after the door opens: we treat your equity as a product, keep it simple, and run the round beside you until the money is in the bank.
Two friends who learned the difference between speculation and ownership the expensive way.
Koen and Daniël met in high school in 2013 and have been friends ever since. Same bachelor's degree (Industrial Engineering & Management), and by year two, a first company: Invivity, a two-person management consultancy with projects for ZuidZorg, Ballast Nedam Development, DAF Trucks and Eyevestor.
Neither of them comes from money. As students they borrowed to invest in public markets, got burned in crypto, and learned early what risk feels like when it's your own money on the line. That expensive lesson turned into a fascination with how equity really works, a final internship at equity platform Eyevestor, and eventually Eyevestor becoming Invivity's client. Daniël ran product, Koen ran operations, and they helped the platform earn its EU licence.
From that front-row seat they watched great companies run campaigns that failed. Not weak businesses: underprepared founders who underestimated the process, with nobody doing the work alongside them. So in 2025 they started Crowdpowder. The firm that runs the round with you, treats your equity as a product to be designed instead of a bet, and doesn’t leave until the money is in the bank.
Four commitments we do not negotiate on.
Making the complex simple.
Raising funds is a world of jargon, structures and small prints. You get a team beside you that makes the complex seem simple.
Honest, even when it costs us.
If you're not ready to raise, we say so and tell you why. We only want to run rounds that can succeed.
Execution, not advice decks.
We don't hand you a report and wish you luck. We do the work with you until the money is in the bank.
Independent by design.
We're not a platform and we don't sell one. We pick the route and the licensed partners that fit your round, not the other way around.
Small team. One goal.Your campaign gets all of us.
Crowdpowder is a boutique equity consultancy with one job: making a complex world simple enough so that you can actually raise in it.
Who you'll work with
Koen Giesbergen
Managing Partner, Founder
Your creative systems-thinker who designs the round before anyone runs it: the structure, materials, terms and funding strategy that fit your company. If there's a structural puzzle, it lands on Koen's desk.
- Outside work:
- Obsessive about music production and self-improvement; a beat on to think, philosophy and psychology to keep sharpening how he thinks.
- Favourite book:
- Build, Tony Fadell
Daniël Donkers
Managing Partner, Founder
Your guide through the whole journey. Daan keeps founders, investors and stakeholders moving in the same direction, especially in the weeks it gets stressful.
- Outside work:
- The friend who organizes it, whatever "it" is, from first idea to the day itself, ideally with a bit of pressure on it. Clears his head on silent walks in nature.
- Favourite book:
- Becoming Supernatural, Dr. Joe Dispenza
Frederik Wetzker
Consultant
Ex-management consultant who solves problems with equal parts structure and creativity. Frederik is the one who spots what others miss, in your plan and in your numbers.
- Outside work:
- Chasing his limits through extreme sport challenges and adventurous travels.
- Favourite book:
- Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink
The team behind Crowdpowder
Elske Engel
Finance
Translates numbers into clarity and calm. Keeps the financial side of your engagement clean, predictable and surprise-free.
- Outside work:
- Loves baking and digging into healthy food; can spend hours hunting for new recipes and ways to cook that are healthy and tasty at the same time.
- Favourite book:
- All the Blue of the Sky, Mélissa Da Costa
Max Sluiter
Business Controller
Finance professional with roots in e-commerce and retail. Max keeps Crowdpowder's own numbers sharp, because a firm that manages your raise should have its house in order.
- Outside work:
- Picked up golf just over a year ago; he and his golf buddies already fantasise about the day they no longer have to work and can play as often as they want.
- Favourite book:
- Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
Joris Zandbergen
Designer
Investors judge your campaign in seconds. Joris makes sure what they see matches the quality of what you built.
- Outside work:
- Loves to create customized wooden furniture with unique functionalities.
- Favourite book:
- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Partners and advisors
Crowdpowder's investors and strategic soundboard.
Tijs van Schaik
Venture Partner
Founded his first IT company at 17, so he knows what building one feels like.
- Outside work:
- Goes down rabbit holes about how technology, society and human behaviour intersect, then turns what he finds into practical concepts, experiments or stories that make the future feel tangible.
- Favourite book:
- Twelve Rules for Life, Dr. Jordan Peterson
Jari Gabriëls
VenturePartner
Connects Crowdpowder and its clients to the partners, networks and opportunities beyond their own contact lists.
- Outside work:
- Strength training: constantly pushes himself to become stronger and fitter.
- Favourite book:
- The Virgin Way, Richard Branson
Wouter van Dijke
Venture Partner
Serial entrepreneur, 13+ years building companies across industries. Has sat in the founder's chair long enough to know which advice actually helps.
- Outside work:
- Playing football and swimming with his kids, Pepi (1) and Jet (3). Those are the moments he enjoys most and always looks forward to.
- Favourite book:
- Menselijke gebreken voor gevorderden, Roos Vonk