Smilestaff.nl

Smilestaff.nl is a digital job board and matching platform based in the Netherlands, built exclusively for the dental care sector. The platform connects dental practices directly with dental assistants, prevention assistants, dental hygienists, dentists, and practice managers — free, fast, and without intermediaries. Candidates can apply for free; practices can post vacancies at no cost and only pay when they want extra visibility through a sponsored or boosted listing (pay-per-use model).
The platform was launched approximately one year ago, driven by direct demand from the market, and was founded by a practicing dental hygienist with first-hand knowledge of staffing challenges in dentistry. After an initial smaller version, the platform has been fully rebuilt into a professional and scalable product. Smilestaff.nl is currently in the pilot phase with its first customers and has been developed entirely in-house, accessible via the website.

Business model:

Smilestaff.nl operates on a freemium model with a pay-per-use upsell. Practices and dental professionals can create a free account and post vacancies at no cost. When a practice wants additional reach — through a sponsored or boosted vacancy — they pay per application or per boost. There are no subscription fees or long-term commitments, keeping the barrier to entry low while the revenue model scales directly with usage.
As the platform grows and collects meaningful recruitment data, a second revenue stream will be introduced: subscription plans for recruiters and large dental chains. These subscriptions will offer access to advanced analytics, candidate insights, and priority placement — priced based on usage and scale. This data-driven tier targets professional recruitment agencies and multi-location dental groups who need more than a single job posting.

USP’s:

Free for both sides: practices post vacancies for free, candidates apply for free — direct connection without expensive recruitment agencies
Pay-per-boost model: practices only pay for extra visibility when they choose to, based on actual applications received
100% focused on dental care: the platform was built by a practicing dental hygienist with insider knowledge of the sector
Market validation through competition: since launch, multiple other dental-specific job boards have emerged in the Netherlands (such as Mondzorgvacatures.nl, Mondzorgrecruiters.nl, and Mondzorgbaan.nl), confirming there is a real and growing market for specialized platforms in this niche

Investeringsbehoefte:

– Marketing; paid acquisition to attract dental practices and professionals to the platform: €35.000
– Sales structure; business development (processes, outreach, partnerships with dental associations and practice groups): €20.000
– Operational costs; runway (12 months of stable operations while scaling): €15.000
– Platform; infrastructure scaling to support growth (not features — the core is built): €5.000

Gewenste competenties investeerder:

We are looking for an investor with hands-on experience in building marketing and sales structures for B2B platforms or marketplaces. The product is live and functional — what we need now is the expertise and network to grow it. An investor who has scaled a platform, marketplace, or SaaS product from early traction to meaningful revenue would be the ideal partner.

Ervaring founder(s):

The founder is a practicing dental hygienist with direct experience working in dental practices, giving her deep insight into the staffing challenges facing the sector. Over a year ago, a first smaller version of the platform was launched in response to concrete demand from the field. Based on that real-world experience and user feedback, the platform was fully rebuilt into the current version of Smilestaff.nl. The combination of being both a dental professional and an entrepreneur makes it possible to build a solution that genuinely reflects the day-to-day reality of dental practices and oral health professionals.

Overige relevante informatie:

The platform has been self-funded by the founder to date. Total investment consists of personal time and out-of-pocket costs for development, hosting, and tooling (approximately €5.000–€10.000 over the past year). No external investment rounds have taken place yet. The founder is now seeking her first external investment to accelerate marketing and platform growth.