In a few short years, Goin’ has gone from a Utrecht startup to an international EdTech player. More than 150 universities now use the platform, which helps students meet each other and build a community before their first day on campus.
That growth brought a strategic question to the surface for founders Lars Molenaar and Roy den Hartog: what does the next phase of Goin’ look like, and could an outside partner play a part in it?
Last year they decided to find out properly. Not because they needed a deal, but because they were negotiating from very strong position. The process drew multiple interested parties and ended in a partnership with Committed Capital.
Why go to market at all?
The idea didn’t arrive overnight. Goin’ had been approached by interested parties on and off for years, and the same question kept coming back around the founders’ table: do something with that interest, or keep growing independently?
“There were several moments where we had strategic interest on the table,” says Roy. “And that created a bit of noise internally. Are we doing this, or are we just carrying on by ourselves?”
“We didn't want to make a decision off the back of one conversation or one offer. We wanted to know who was out there, how they saw Goin', and above all who we could build the next phase with.”
Rather than picking up one of those inbound conversations, the founders decided to widen the lens. If they were going to look at their options, they wanted a real read on the market.
“We didn’t want to make a decision off the back of one conversation or one offer,” Roy says. “We wanted to know who was out there, how they saw Goin’, and above all who we could build the next phase with.”
Why bring in an adviser?
That raised a second question: do it yourself, or bring in help? For Lars and Roy, reach was the deciding factor. Founders know their own market and network well. That’s not the same as knowing the investor landscape.
“On your own you might get to ten parties, maybe twenty. You’re never going to run it at that kind of scale.”
“We've seen how much it can pull you away. With a professional sitting in between, you keep growing.”
There was also the business to think about. Goin’ was growing fast, and the founders didn’t want a months-long process swallowing their attention.
“You can stay focused on the business while the process runs,” says Lars. “We’ve seen how much it can pull you away. With a professional sitting in between, you keep growing.” And that’s not just about headspace: “Hitting your numbers during the process gives the other side confidence too.”
So how do you pick the right one?
Choosing Stepstone wasn’t only about deal experience. The relationship was already there.
“I’d been talking to Stepstone about Goin’ long before there was any actual process,” says Lars. “They gave advice and thought it through with us without expecting anything in return.”
That’s what set them apart from some of the other firms the founders met. The conversation didn’t open with valuations, offers or getting a deal signed. It started with Goin’, where the founders wanted to take it, and whether this was even the right moment.
That was put to the test before the process began: at one point, when the founders were weighing up going to market, Stepstone told them to wait.
How did the process actually feel?
Once it started, what mattered most was how hands-on the support stayed. The founders had assumed Stepstone would step back once a preferred party was picked. Instead, the team stayed in the room until closing.
“If anything, I expected less involvement once we’d chosen the investor,” says Roy. “That genuinely surprised me. They were in almost every significant conversation right through the process, including with the lawyers and the other advisers. Which meant we didn’t have to be.”
That freed the founders up to keep their attention on the company. “A process like this takes time, of course,” says Lars. “But there’s a world of difference between organising it all yourself and having an experienced team pushing it along and doing the prep.”
Where's the real value?
Looking back, Lars and Roy point to two things: reach, and control of the process. Going out broadly brought parties to the table they’d never have found themselves. And having several of them changes the dynamic entirely. Instead of a one-on-one negotiation, you get a competitive process where the company has far more say over pace, terms and structure. “Everyone knows a competitive process is running,” says Lars. “You can shape it on your own terms and set the timelines yourself.”
Maybe more valuable still: it forces you to look hard at your own business. “In a very short time you get a lot of different perspectives on your company,” Lars says. “People ask different questions, they look at growth differently, and sometimes they spot opportunities or risks you’ve stopped noticing yourself. That’s worth a lot on its own.” After several rounds, Committed Capital came out as the best fit.
What did you enjoy most?
Tellingly, it isn’t only the outcome the founders mention. The process itself stands out just as much.
“What you hear beforehand is that these things are brutal,” says Roy. “And we actually loved big parts of it. You’re sitting with sharp people who go deep into your business and start asking very fundamental questions about something you’ve spent years building.”
“Roy and I kept saying to each other: even if it had collapsed on the final day, we still wouldn’t have wanted to miss it,” says Lars. “We almost miss it now.”
And the hardest part?
It’s still demanding, especially alongside a fast-growing company. “The hard part is that you’re doing two things at once,” says Lars. “The business carries on regardless: customers, team, product, growth. And running next to that is a process throwing questions, analyses and decisions at you non-stop.”
What does the next phase look like?
The starting point hasn’t changed: keep building. The founders say the partnership with Committed Capital fits that. Since closing, entrepreneurs and specialists from the network have been pulled into Goin’s plans regularly. “That’s exactly what we were after,” says Lars. “Not someone telling us how to run our company after the deal, but a partner adding knowledge, experience and perspective to what we’re already building.”
“In the end a partnership like this has to make Goin’ stronger,” says Roy. “We can invest more in the product and the team, and build faster on the things we care about. That pays off for our customers, for the students using Goin’, and for our own people.”
So the transaction isn’t a finish line for Goin’. It’s an accelerator. With more capacity, more expertise and more room to invest, the company can keep pushing its international ambitions while creating more value for the universities, students and employees who are part of Goin’ every day.
Read more about the partnership between Goin’ and Committed Capital.
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