Sortlist

TLDR

Sortlist is a Brussels-based B2B Marketplace that matches companies with marketing, digital, and creative agencies, having facilitated over EUR 600 million in professional service transactions for 120,000+ companies annually.

Overview

Sortlist was founded in 2014 by four students, Thibaut Vanderhofstadt, Charles De Groote, Nicolas Finet, and Michael Valette. The founders were already running their own digital agency and recognized a repeated problem: companies struggled to find the right agency partner. Their personal experience of being asked to recommend other agencies when turning down work became the product insight for Sortlist.

The platform uses AI-powered matching combined with verified client reviews to connect businesses with agencies across marketing, digital, design, PR, and creative disciplines. Sortlist operates in Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and the MENA region, serving 80,000+ verified agencies and freelancers.

Funding milestones include a EUR 550,000 seed round from Lean Fund and private investors (2015), a EUR 2M round (2019), and an EUR 11M round led by Belgium's SRIW and The Club Deal, alongside angel investors including Rodolphe de Hemptinne and Diego Du Monceau. Total funding raised is approximately EUR 15M across three rounds. The company has reported consistent 40%+ annual revenue growth.

Key People

• Thibaut Vanderhofstadt - Co-founder and CEO
• Charles De Groote - Co-founder
• Nicolas Finet - Co-founder
• Michael Valette - Co-founder

Funding History

• Seed, EUR 550K (2015): Lean Fund, private investors
• EUR 2M (2019): undisclosed investors
• EUR 11M: SRIW, The Club Deal, business angels