Martijn de Kuijper: Building, Selling, and Surviving the Startup Life
Martijn de Kuijper’s career has been defined by spotting gaps, building fast, and navigating the highs and lows of startup life. After co-founding YunooDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in 2009, a Dutch fintech focused on personal finance, he went on to launch FosburyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → , a platform aimed at rethinking the way event organizers and venues managed digital operations. Each venture sharpened his skills in product design, user experience, and early-stage growth.
In 2015, de Kuijper co-founded RevueDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → , a newsletter platform designed to make publishing simple and accessible for writers and creators. Alongside his business partner Mohamed El MaslouhiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, he grew Revue steadily, securing investment and attracting media clients in the Netherlands and beyond. By January 2021, Revue reached a milestone few Dutch entrepreneurs achieve: it was acquired by Twitter , bringing de Kuijper to Silicon Valley.
But the reality of corporate life soon set in. When Jack Dorsey left and Elon Musk took over Twitter in late 2022, de Kuijper found himself marginalized. His team dissolved, Revue was deprioritized, and months of uncertainty followed. He became a bystander in his own creation, navigating bureaucracy, frozen laptops, and a workplace culture he could neither influence nor control. Eventually, he oversaw the closure of Revue, secured his equity, and quietly stepped away in mid-2025.
Returning to the Netherlands, de Kuijper embraced a slower pace: co-managing a clothing store with his wife, spending time with his children, and exploring a small tech project for event planners. His journey illustrates the full spectrum of a founder’s life—from rapid innovation and high-profile acquisition to navigating corporate turbulence and reclaiming control over his own work.
Source:
A.M.
