Han Groot

Han de Groot is a Dutch entrepreneur-turned-investor best known as the founder and CEO of MetrixLab, a market-research technology company he started in 1999. He built MetrixLab from a startup into a pioneer of online survey research across Europe and Asia, executing six acquisitions in multiple countries to accelerate its growth. In 2014 he merged MetrixLab with Japan's Macromill, creating one of the world's largest online survey/marketing-technology groups, with more than €300M in annual revenue, roughly 1,800 employees, and around 30 offices worldwide. He served as a global CEO of the combined Macromill Group into late 2015, then continued as a board member and shareholder until the company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2017.

After his MetrixLab exit, de Groot turned to investing full-time. He co-founded VOC Capital Partners (VOCCP), the venture vehicle assembled with fellow Dutch ex-entrepreneurs Jan Willem Gerritsen (a MetrixLab co-founder), Pieter Schoen (Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij), Jan-Niek de Groot, and Nico Schuurbiers. VOCCP positions its partners as "builders, not bankers," providing hands-on operational support and "smart money" rather than purely financial capital, and deliberately keeps a concentrated portfolio so the partners can stay closely involved.

Since 2017 de Groot has also been an active investor in life sciences, and in 2018 he co-founded Curie Capital, an early-stage life-sciences venture firm based in Amstelveen where he is Founder and CEO. Curie Capital backs companies "developing first- or best-in-class products" for serious diseases, with a notable concentration in oncology and immunology. He has separately co-founded Stadswaarde, a real-estate investment vehicle, and operates through a de Groot family-office structure.

De Groot holds an MSc and describes his investing philosophy as backing companies that have moved beyond the "eureka phase," favoring partnership, collaboration, and long-term involvement over passive capital.

• Two distinct vehicles, two theses. Through VOCCP he backs technology-enabled B2C/B2B businesses with global scalability; through Curie Capital he backs early-stage life-sciences and oncology biotech.
• "Builders, not bankers." VOCCP explicitly markets "smart money" — advisory and operational support at critical growth moments — and limits the number of portfolio companies to maintain a tight knowledge ecosystem around each one.
• Significant minority stakes. VOCCP typically takes a meaningful minority position (roughly 20–40%) rather than small passive checks.
• Proven product, ready to scale. VOCCP targets companies past early development that have validated their product and need capital and expertise to accelerate — historically companies generating around €50k+ in monthly revenue.
• Check sizes ~€500k–€3m. Stakes generally range from €500k to €3m, though seed entries can be smaller (e.g., €250k into MiniBrew).
• "Beyond the eureka phase." De Groot has stated he prefers to invest after the initial idea stage, emphasizing partnership and collaboration with founders.
• Sector specialization in life sciences. Curie Capital concentrates on first- or best-in-class therapeutics, especially oncology and immunology, primarily in the Netherlands.