Nimble is looking for a third co-founder who can help engage customers and close deals to scale and realise an economically feasible short food chain with a transparent profit model and fair prices for farmers. To complement the Nimble team, we encourage you to apply if you are an experienced salesperson with an extensive network in the Dutch catering/horeca industry and are familiar or curious about making the Dutch Food System and industry more sustainable, resilient, and fair.
Nimble is a startup addressing the lack of processing capacity for nature-inclusive farmers in the Netherlands because the current system is rigid, opaque, and positions farmers as price takers. The team is able to use all vegetables of different shapes and sizes, including surplus, and creates transparency from farm to table. Nimble improves farmers’ access to markets, empowering them to get a fair price for their produce while growing their networks.
Nimble’s first product, seasonal pre-cut vegetables mixes, are convenient for chefs, saving time in the kitchen and allowing them to use more local and sustainable produce. Plus, it gives customers better access to a healthier diet! Nimble creates a fair, flexible light food processing infrastructure that gives autonomy back to farmers, and food businesses and consumers.
Nimble is supported by Fresh Ventures Studio, the van Kool tot Kimchi project, Rotterdam de Boer Op! and Nieuwe Nassen. The team has already secured some key customers (LUMC, Province South Holland) and ambitions to process 350 tons of Dutch vegetables by the end of 2026.
Nita van Dam - Co-Founder & CEO
Nita merges her expertise in agroecological research with the entrepreneurial skills honed at ReProduce, her inaugural U.S.-based startup aimed at reducing food waste and aiding farmers, complemented by over 6 years of experience in the restaurant and catering sector. She has lived in Taiwan, Spain, France and Mexico researching food culture and sustainable agriculture. At Wageningen Research, Nita worked on innovation and consumer trends in Short Food Supply Chains in the Netherlands, where she now uses her knowledge to foster partnerships with local farmers. Her commitment centres on strengthening local agriculture, ensuring fair farmer compensation and reducing food waste. Her vision for Nimble is to lead in accessible and healthy eating, bridging the gap between farmers and consumers to foster a more sustainable and equitable food system.
Melchior Huijts - Co-Founder & COO
Melchior has an expertise in Engineering and Systems Integration, which he championed at Rolls-Royce in the UK for 3 years, innovating the aerospace sector. It infuses Nimble with a strong foundation in structured analyses and creative problem-solving. His work as a Product Developer at a biomaterials startup has honed his resilience and adaptability, essential traits for navigating the constant changes in a startup landscape. Melchior spearheads the development of Nimble’s operations and processing facility, focusing on systems design and infrastructure that align with sustainable practices. Driven by a passion for ecological restoration, Melchior’s work is critical for Nimble’s operations at the intersection of technology and sustainability, guiding the company towards achieving its vision of a more sustainable and resilient food ecosystem through collaboration and innovation.
Help Nimble engage customers and close deals to provide caterers’ with farmers’ exceptional, fresh, and sustainable produce, tailored for chefs
Activities and key responsibilities
• Lead the customer outreach and customer strategy.
• Develop and maintain Nimble’s sales pipeline.
• Work closely with product development to ensure that customers identified needs are addressed
and incorporated into Nimble’s offering.
• Build a strong brand towards stakeholders and customers.
• Support the team on communication needs to establish Nimble as a recognized organisation.
• Help to build an organization that is an embodiment of a sustainable and equitable food system.
Experienced and well-connected salesperson in the Dutch catering/hospitality industry sharing the vision to foster a more sustainable and equitable food system
Education and experience
• Completed bachelor’s or master’s studies with a focus on Sales or Business Administration.
• Experienced salesperson with an extensive network in the catering/horeca industry in the
Netherlands.
• Strong affinity with nature-inclusive farming, fair trade and sustainability.
• Fluent in Dutch & English.
Competences
• Strong listening and communication skills.
• Results orientated with ability to proactively address customer opportunities.
• Analytical and strategic thinking and selling skills.
• Accurate and structured.
• Autonomous team player.
• Hands-on.
• Flexible and creative.
Rotterdam
Live in the Netherlands (preferably travelling distance to Rotterdam).
We are looking for somebody, ready to step into a founding role within an early-stage, revolutionary start-up. You will closely collaborate with the two co-founders to develop the venture and realise Nimble’s envisioned impact.
Be able to commit at least 2 days per week initially ramping up towards full time within 6 to 9 months.
Be aware, to be successful in this role you should have secured personal finance of at least 3 months.
Does this sound interesting? Apply so we can see if this role is a good fit for you.
Exploring a co-founder relationship differs from hiring or job searching. It’s about collaboration to express personal and shared values, regardless the outcome. The first step is understanding your personality, thinking, and interests. Due to the diversity of personalities, drives, and organizational cultures, they may not always align perfectly. Therefore, a personality and/or motivation test may be part of our procedure.
Questions? Ajaan Hijmans is pleased to help you. Call +31 6 53 90 58 29.
You can also learn more about Nimble by visiting their website.
Nimble has exclusively partnered with KAIROS People, entrusting them with recruiting the Commercial Co-founder.
