scouting experience
14
YEARS
Our team.
We’re a unified team of dedicated professionals working across all our companies. With a blend of expertise, creativity, and a shared vision, we bring diverse perspectives to every project we tackle.
CEO
Giels Brouwer
Giels is a serial entrepreneur and transformed the football industry by bringing the Moneyball methodology to football at SciSports and has the goal to do the same in the innovation industry with Akela. His secret? Profound passion and joy.
CTO
David Schrooten - van der Meer
Proficient in several programming languages, and a linux power user since his youth. His goal is to further expand and refine the architecture of Akela. By combining new cutting edge technologies with those that are battle tested, he thrives for Akela to deliver products that become a benchmark for others to follow.
UX Engineer
Erwin Retèl
Give Erwin anything and he will instantly make it look smooth as butter. A 15-years experienced magician in design and software development, Erwin’s forte lies in knowing what you’re looking for before you do so. Crafting solutions that marry functionality with elegance, his designs remain intuitive and sophisticated. When crafting dishes in the kitchen there’s no chance for anyone in the room to beat him.
AI Engineer
Martin Bongers
Driven by a hunger for technological advancements, Martin transitioned from working in the lab to startup scouting. Known for automating workflows, he will save anyone in the team tons of hours per week on repetitive tasks. Now, as an AI engineer at Akela, he’s poised to bring his expertise to reshape the future of scouting. On weekends there’s only one place where you will never find him: at home.
Venture Analyst
Noah Guicherit
Driven by an insatiable curiosity and passion for innovation, Noah thrives in the dynamic world of startup scouting. Constantly learning about new topics and emerging technologies, he’s known for his critical thinking and diligent approach to evaluating opportunities. With a sharp eye for identifying the next big thing, Noah is always ahead of the curve. Outside of work, he’s diving into the latest tech trends, ensuring his knowledge stays as fresh as his scouting skills.
Growth Engineer
Roy Mulder
Roy brings fresh perspectives and a problem-solving mindset to every challenge. By combining technical expertise with strategic insight, he creates impactful solutions that drive growth and fuel Akela’s innovation journey.
Together, we’re not just shaping the future—we’re creating it, one connection at a time.
The right find can change everything.
Founder Giels Brouwer built SciSports while studying in Twente. He explored whether the data principles behind Football Manager could apply to real football. The answer was yes. SciSports found Wout Weghorst when he was still on the bench at FC Emmen, and helped KRC Genk win the title with players the data already knew but the market did not. Clubs like Chelsea and AC Milan based their transfer decisions on that data.
From scouting footballers to scouting companies: the approach turned out to work everywhere. Thanks to technology, one scout did the work that used to take eighteen people. But one thing became clear in every search: success always comes down to people. That made the move into scouting professionals a logical one.
The approach is the same everywhere: data surfaces what keywords miss, AI finds the match on fit, and a scout validates the result. No black box, just a reliable outcome.
Today a team of scouts, AI engineers and analysts works from The Hague on three solutions under one engine: Replicruit for recruitment, Leadlister for sales and Alumniscan for alumni networks. Fourteen years of scouting experience, now serving your search. Backed by Unknown Group and The Source Group.