Joost Bakhuizen

Joost started his career at Kempen Corporate Finance, where he gained a great deal of experience in transactions as an adviser on mergers and acquisitions of larger, often listed, companies. Armed with this experience, he then dived in at the deep end, working in Strategy & Corporate Development at Van Lanschot Kempen. In 2010, he became responsible for Van Lanschot Participaties, the predecessor of Bolster. Joost is co-founder of Bolster.

“Every day in our office, I see the 20 posters of our portfolio companies on the wall. For me, that makes 20 stories. We experience all kinds of things with the companies we invest in. Great things, fun things and sometimes also difficult things. Each and every collaborative venture is valuable, with the shared goal of enabling the company to grow and eventually to achieve a good return.

Above all, it’s working together with people that is precious to me – the management teams and co-shareholders. Those intensive collaborative experiences make it a wonderful experience. There’s a close bond with the management teams. So close that many entrepreneurs have become investors in Bolster after selling their company. A bond for life. I feel the same closeness within Bolster. Because of everything that we’ve been through together, we often only need half a word to understand one another. We’re on the same journey together. A journey full of fascinating stories and great enjoyment!”