About
Akela

Akela is the go-to scouting platform for bringing innovative companies from every segment and niche of the world directly into your workflow.

Akela continues where other data providers stop. We combine databases from all known companies and enrich your feed with our own AI-generated content, sourced directly from the companies, media and the web.

Over the past 12 years we have guided corporate venturing teams worldwide to making the best bets in any domain and geography. Top teams globally rely on Akela to get to the founders they need and to do so in the most efficient way possible. We take them to the right place at the right time and reliable data is there to back their decisions.

Our mission is to accelerate the future where strategic innovation opportunities and solutions are available to every innovation leader for driving positive change in the world.

The team

Giels Brouwer

CEO

Giels is an avid collector of useless facts and gadgets. Who doesn’t love rocket skates? In his free time, he organizes holidays for friends, family and fraternities. Giels is a serial entrepreneur and transformed the football industry by bringing the Moneyball methodology to football at SciSports and has the goal to do the same in the innovation industry with Akela. His secret? Profound passion and joy.

Yasmeen De Piante

CCO

Creating connections is Yasmeen’s superpower. Born quadrilingual, her sweet spot is found in building strong partnerships across various continents. With Akela she is on a mission to make it the most widely adopted AI-scouting platform in the world. Next to that, you will find her organizing get-togethers that people will remember for years and engaging in any competitive-based game activity.

David Schrooten

CTO

David is a former computer hacker, who for the last decade has been the architect of several complex software systems in various industries. Proficient in several programming languages, and a linux power user since his youth. His goal is to further expand and refine the architecture of Akela. By combining new cutting edge technologies with those that are battle tested, he thrives for Akela to deliver products that become a benchmark for others to follow. David is a family man with a family van.

Erwin Retèl

UX Engineer

Give Erwin anything and he will instantly make it look smooth as butter. A 15-years experienced magician in design and software development, Erwin’s forte lies in knowing what you’re looking for before you do so. Crafting solutions that marry functionality with elegance, his designs remain intuitive and sophisticated. When crafting dishes in the kitchen there’s no chance for anyone in the room to beat him.

Kees Bosch

AI Engineer

If you ask how we secured our reliable and top-notch data, Kees is the answer. After years of gathering, cleaning and other time consuming yet critical Data Science tasks that nobody likes, he can now focus on developing predictive models and AI features, further advancing both the product and himself. Weekend entrepreneur, if he’s not building a side-business you will find him at the football field, or surfing.

Martin Bongers

AI Engineer

Driven by a hunger for technological advancements, Martin transitioned from working in the lab to startup scouting. Known for automating workflows, he will save anyone in the team tons of hours per week on repetitive tasks. Now, as an AI engineer at Akela, he’s poised to bring his expertise to reshape the future of scouting. On weekends there’s only one place where you will never find him: at home.

Roos Bijl

Finance Manager

Roos is the numbers maestro at Akela, entrusted with overseeing financial administration and reporting. With her keen eye for detail, she maintains a firm grasp on the company’s financial health. Beyond her financial wizardry, Roos is known for her active lifestyle, sociable nature, and willingness to lend a helping hand wherever needed!

Founding Partner

Akela is a spinoff of Unknown Group.

Unknown Group supports entrepreneurs to scale their solutions that contribute to a better world: “fuel founders to fix the future”. We believe the future is broken and founders have the solutions to fix it as they turn the world’s problems into opportunities.

Read more about them here: www.unknowngroup.com