2024 best new venture: Opinium Amsterdam
Opinium Amsterdam was founded to service the research needs of EU-headquartered organisations and capitalise on the city’s pool of talent.
The team at Opinium Amsterdam is entirely staffed with client-facing researchers, with the team the client ‘buys’ being the team that delivers the work, and the focus is on where the company can add value.
Equally, 85% of projects at Opinium Amsterdam are carried out in partnership with other agencies, research technology firms or data providers.
The team actively collects client feedback for use in research innovation and to inform hiring strategies. Examples include the development of the company’s user experience offer and creating an online European omnibus to help clients to gauge the views of nationally representative citizens from 24 EU countries.
Opinium Amsterdam also recruits to reflect the diversity of its clients, their business needs and the people we research across Europe, with 88% of staff from ethnically diverse backgrounds, 77% being multi-lingual and half having worked outside market research.
In addition, Opinium Amsterdam has helped found Women in Research Amsterdam, attracted high-profile sponsors such as Netflix, Miro and Booking.com to offer bi-annual free-to-enter events for researchers across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux), presenting at major conferences, and featuring at career events for both academics and school-leavers.
Opinium also sets aside 5% of its profits to support the communities in which it operates, and last year the business’ pro-bono research secured funding for period product provision across Amsterdam.
In its second operating year, revenue was up 61% year on year and profit saw a year-on-year rise of 32%.
Opinium said that 80% of clients had commissioned more than three projects with it in the last 18 months, with no one client accounting for more than a quarter of revenue.
The Amsterdam team has a gender pay gap of 0%, with the office female led, and all staff said they had the opportunity to develop and progress.
Emily Dickinson, head of Opinium Amsterdam, said: “This award is a testament not only to the brilliant team here in Amsterdam, but to our teams in London, Cape Town and New York who support us, challenge us and make us better every single day.
“It represents the hard work, commitment and partnership of so many – from clients to suppliers, to the people past and present who have helped us get to where we are today. So, from all of us here in Amsterdam, thank you. This one is for you.”

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