Freshheads didn't set out to become a specialist. Like a lot of good things, it started small, two student friends in Tilburg, working together before most people had even heard of "the internet." When the internet did arrive, they were right there to meet it, building some of the earliest websites for local businesses.
Almost 25 years later, that same instinct to notice where the world is heading and get there early has shaped everything about how Freshheads works today.
The agency market in the Netherlands has had a tough few years. Agencies were left with a choice: get big by buying up smaller agencies, or get focused.
- Thomas Houët, operational manager at Freshheads.
Freshheads chose focus, and it paid off.
Betting on platforms and marketplaces
Rather than being a generalist agency, Freshheads doubled down on a niche: online marketplaces and platforms. Think YoungOnes, the freelance platform for casual work in restaurants, festivals and logistics built end-to-end by Freshheads or the wider category of businesses whose whole model runs through a digital platform, in the same space as household names like Marktplaats.
That focus gave Freshheads a clear identity: a core team of designers, developers and strategists working closely together, because for this agency, strategic thinking and technical execution have always had to go hand in hand. Today the team holds steady at around 40 employees.
A hiring process built on trust in the team
Recruitment at Freshheads doesn't sit with one person or one department; it's spread across department managers, including Thomas, who oversees hiring for the operations side of the business. It's a deliberately distributed approach, one that puts hiring decisions in the hands of the people who know the roles best.
Through all of it, Homerun has been a steady presence. Freshheads has used the platform for around four years, and Thomas has a clear view on what makes it work for a team like his.
It's just easy to use. The team collaboration, the comments, being able to message privately about something sensitive, getting flagged when the same person has applied more than once, that's the stuff that actually makes a difference day to day.
That kind of everyday usability is exactly what Homerun aims for: not flashy, just genuinely helpful for a team that needs to move quickly and stay aligned.
Strong employer branding, and an eye on the future
Freshheads doesn't track hiring speed as a formal metric, but Thomas is quick to point out one of the agency's real strengths: employer branding. Candidates follow Freshheads for years before ever applying, a sign that the agency's niche positioning and reputation resonate well beyond its current team.
Like many agencies right now, Freshheads is thinking carefully about how the skills the industry needs are evolving. It's a conversation Thomas and Homerun's Ania found they had a lot in common on, as both navigate what good hiring looks like as the talent landscape shifts. For Freshheads, it's less a challenge to solve than a trend to stay ahead of, in the same way the agency has stayed ahead of bigger industry shifts before.
Built on a niche, built for what's next
What comes through most in talking with Thomas is a pattern: Freshheads succeeds by choosing focus over scale, and by working with tools that support that focus rather than complicate it. Homerun's role in that story is a simple one: stay out of the way on the day-to-day mechanics of hiring, so a lean, specialised team can spend its energy where it matters most: finding great people who fit where Freshheads is headed next!
