Strategy, transformation, M&A

Escape the ratrace. Join Sweav.

A carefully selected community of A-level strategy, transformation and M&A freelancers.

A group of Strategy and M&A professionals having dinner together, with one person smiling and raising a wine glass at the table.

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why sweav

Our USPs for freelancers

Curated projects

Receive new project opportunities every week and choose what suits you. Find well-paid, part-time and full-time assignments that match your expertise, ambitions and availability.

Freelance life benefits

Make freelance life easier with member-only discounts on bookkeeping software, insurance and pensions, plus ready-to-use project legal agreement templates whenever you need them.

Events

Reconnect with former colleagues, meet other freelance consultants and join inspiring events throughout the year, covering topics such as AI, financial independence and winning more projects.

Co-working

Work independently, without always working alone. Get free access to desk space at our Amsterdam HQ near Central Station to focus, connect or enjoy a change of scenery.

inside the platform

Find your next opportunity

Choose your next project in the Sweav app.

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Browse the live feed

Every project in one feed – title, client type, length and day rate visible before you tap in.

Open a project

Tap through to the full brief. Move between sections by tapping the left side to go back, the right to go forward.

The company & client

See exactly who you would be working with.

The project context

The business situation and what success looks like, in plain language – no thick decks.

The activities

A concrete list of what the work actually involves, so there are no surprises later.

The ideal Sweaver

An honest profile of the ideal fit, so you know in seconds whether it is for you.

Practicalities & apply

Deadline, start date, day rate and your estimated fee — then apply in one tap.

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Curated project opportunities

Transparent rates

Apply directly in the app

qualifications

Essentials to join Sweav

Unfortunately, Sweav is not for everyone. Find out in the checklist below if your eligible to join Sweav.

Background at an eligible firm

You spent time at one of the firms on our list below.

Additional criteria

4+ years of experience

Enough to run projects and deals independently, end to end.

Promoted at least once

You earned at least one promotion along the way.

Recent experience

It has been less than 15 years since you’ve left the selected firm.

Check if your firm is on the approved list

What is your area of expertise?

Step 1 of /2

Select an area to see the firms we work with.

Case study

Kramp regularly works with large consultancy firms and also employs several former strategy consultants. However, when strategic resources are stretched, the company sometimes needs extra hands and expertise at short notice. Therefore, Sweav helps Kramp move quickly by providing flexible strategic support when it matters most.

Case study

A key strategic initiative was to launch a geo-data management software platform to create robust geodatabases and visualize what’s beneath the ground.To design, build and launch the ‘Corporate Venture’, they wanted to form a team of business builders quickly.

Case study

Nobian is one of the biggest carbon emitters in the Netherlands. To accelerate their decarbonization journey, the Strategy & Transformation Director required extra capacity and specific expertise to complement his team.

Case study

Yourhosting, the largest Operating Company within Your.World and based in the Netherlands, identified customer churn as a key value creation lever. The goals was to move from a reactive to a proactive approach, adding more intelligence by predicting churn and enabling targeted, proactive interventions, rather than responding only after customers had already churned.

Laptop with some tabs opened on the screen, as a visual representing Your.World

Case study

Sweav member Leanne Hendriks collaborated with PostNL BE CEO Arvin Willemse to conduct an in-depth analysis of customer segments and margins, recommending a clear focus for the business. Together, they translated these insights into a high-impact strategic action plan, including best practices and concrete initiatives, while ensuring operational feasibility.

Case study

The Sweav member, Maarten Sanders, conducted a feasibility study, analyzing existing financing structures and exploring alternative, asset-light models from more mature industries. Maarten then developed a new concept, evaluating all options and preparing the organization for the transformation by reviewing the necessary contractual and legal structuring.

Case study

PostNL required specialized expertise to lead internal workstreams, translating data into actionable insights to drive change.

Case study

Ramphastos required external expertise to support a due diligence process for a potential investment in a B2B mobility platform. This need came from the complexity of the target company’s business model and the desire for an objective assessment.

Case study

Axelera AI was looking for a Chief of Staff to support the CEO and management team during a critical growth phase. They needed someone who could act as a “Swiss army knife” across strategy, operations, and fundraising preparation.

Case study

Wickey sought strategists to refine its existing strategic plan. Wickey had already conducted preliminary analysis but needed an external perspective to challenge and enhance the plan.

Case study

One of their portfolio companies was preparing for an exit after signing an exclusive agreement with an international buyer. It needed support to navigate the due diligence process and ensure a smooth transaction.

Case study

To support the exit preparations of one of its portfolio companies, the CFO and Apheon considered to temporarily onboard exit process support to ensure that all information is provided and presented in a consistent and timely manner to VDD providers. Besides the efficiency in delivering all information first time right, this has allowed the CFO to continue his focus on the business and key strategic exit streams.

Case study

The client needed support validating key commercial hypotheses before proceeding with the acquisition of a target company. This company operated in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) space, serving municipalities and semi-public organizations. Therefore, the confirmatory Commercial Due Diligence focused on the target’s future growth prospects. In addition, it assessed the broader market dynamics.

Case study

Eurofiber’s growth is partly driven by an ambitious buy-and-build agenda. Once Eurofiber successfully acquires a target, the Post Merger Integration (PMI) team takes over and integrates the business according to a pre-agreed integration plan. In addition, the team works closely with the acquiring Business Unit and supportive functions. However, when several integration projects run simultaneously, the team sometimes lacks the capacity to manage them all effectively.

Case study

NewPort sometimes requires niche market expertise for deals or temporary support on specific (strategic) challenges in portfolio companies. Due diligence or integration skills are needed, but they don’t require a blue chip consultancy or advisory firm.

Sweav Add-on support for deals and value creation

Case study

Uber Eats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by Uber in 2014. The meals are delivered by couriers using various methods, including cars, scooters, bikes, or on foot. It is operational in over 6,000 cities in 45 countries as of 2021. The Uber Eats operations team faced the challenge of quickly setting up new large strategic partnerships. The workload coming from the challenge was too much to handle with the existing capacity of the team.

Case study

Otrium experienced rapid growth and expanded from the Netherlands to the UK, Germany, France, and the United States. As a result, informal structures became unsustainable as the company scaled. In addition, the hiring team could not keep up with the company’s growth ambitions.

Case study

Ace & Tate had the ambition to grow rapidly and open at least 10 additional retail stores. Key question for the new CFO was how to finance this ambition. With external capital becoming more expensive, the challenge was to free up cash from the current operations to finance growth.

Case study

Over the past few years, Nooteboom further strengthened its leading position as a wholesaler. However, to secure future growth, the company needed to refine its commercial growth strategy.

Commercial growth strategy support for Nooteboom Textiles

Case study

The internal logistics team was looking to optimize processes to reduce the costs. The person responsible for this project dropped out. Usually, such cost reduction projects go to traditional consultancy firms but Vanderlande required specific expertise and was under time pressure.

Case study

Driven by an active buy-and-build strategy, FGN was in the process of acquiring Dutch physiotherapy practices, managed by entrepreneurs who largely operate independently in their own regions. FGN needed someone to manage the M&A process

Case study

Lightyear raised this money to change its product from developing the world’s first car on solar-energy to creating solar panels for other car manufacturers. This transition required an entire new business model and management team.

Case study

Parcom’s portfolio operations team works with portfolio company management to improve operational efficiency and boost value creation. However, sometimes certain specific skills are not available in the team, or the team has too little capacity. That’s when Parcom calls Sweav.

Lady wearing traditional clothes with print

Case study

EuroParcs was growing rapidly, largely as a result of its buy-and-build strategy. As a result, the company had to build its European footprint and integrate new acquisitions. In addition, EuroParcs needed to create a robust foundation for future growth, professionalize the organization, and develop a uniform operating model. Therefore, the Director Strategy and Transformation needed support across several workstreams.

Case study

Venture Capital backed companies frequently need to raise funds to continue their growth trajectory. However, raising funds takes time and requires specific expertise. Portfolio company management often doesn’t have the expertise, and the VC often doesn’t have the capacity to fully manage the fundraising process.

Man trying to walk and two doctors checking progress and taking notes

Case study

3i group, was looking to sell Nexeye to a future owner. Making sure the internal process of selling the company and coordinating with all stakeholders runs smoothly, is a lot of work. 3i was looking for someone to support the CFO in this process.

Case study

The CEO was looking for help on key strategic topics that could set them apart from competition. However, he was hesitant to bring in a traditional consultant because of the price tag and the lack of pragmatism. He did however consider working with external (freelance) specialists, and contacted Sweav.

Case study

Exact has an in-house M&A team to execute its ambitious buy-and-build agenda. However, transactions vary in size and volume. In addition, the exact timing of deals is hard to anticipate. Therefore, when the team gets too busy, flexible support becomes highly valuable.

Case study

Within Infinitas Learning, strategic projects are led by the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and his team. However, sometimes the team is lacking capacity to deliver on all strategic priorities, or is in need for additional specific expertise.

Case study

ZND is a Dutch company specializing in innovative solutions for perimeter security and fencing systems. On two occasions, the CEO faced the challenge of transforming and improving (data) architecture, insights and reporting. Expertise and resourcing to push this forward quickly wasn’t available within the company. Therefore. he decided to bring in external resources to complement his team for a longer period of time.

Construction worker entering solar panel farm

Case study

Cordstrap is a global leader in cargo securing solutions, ensuring safe transport of goods. It operates as a privately owned company in over 50 countries worldwide. Cordstrap’s CEO was in need of smart strategic thinkers who could also get things done. The challenge wasn’t to develop a high-level strategy, this was already in place, but to take that strategy and make it work so that actual value could be created.

Supervisor with a large ship in the background

how it works

From hello to your first project

Three steps, no black box. We get to know you, confirm your application, and set you up to start by giving you access to our platform.

Eligibility check

We make sure you meet the eligibility criteria specified above. If met, we schedule an intake call to get to know you better.

Conversation

A real conversation to understand your background and working style, and make sure it lines up with the kind of clients and projects we work with.

Start applying

You browse opportunities directly within the app, and apply to those you are interested in.

Name your own day rate and keep the full rate

You choose the day rate you apply at. Sweav’s fee is never taken out of it: it’s added on top and paid by the client.

typical sweaver day rate

€1,200 – €1,800

100% of your rate is yours

Nothing is deducted from your rate.

Hi, I am Benoit. I've combined starting a PE firm with freelancing.

“When I quit a PE firm to start my own, I shrank personal financial commitments and became a member at Sweav. This way, I could do on-demand and flexible projects as an independent investment professional if I needed to earn money while pursuing my dream.”

Hi, I am Lisette. I focus mostly on ESG and sustainability.

“I’ve been involved in several interesting projects, but what I find most exciting about working as freelance consultant is the freedom to combine what I love. I believe most of us are fortunate enough to have so many exciting opportunities in life. I don’t want to spend too much time behind Excel and PowerPoint.”

community

More than just projects

Freelancing doesn’t have to be lonely. We bring Sweavers together all year round — dinners, talks, sports and socials.

Sweav New Year’s drinks

Sweav Antwerp community event

the sweav podcast

Freelance life, in their own words

Sweavers on leaving the firm, setting their rate, and building a career on their own terms.

View Podcasts

faq

Still have questions?

I'm from banking or PE, not consulting — is Sweav for me?

Yes. We work with top-firm strategy and M&A talent across consulting, investment banking, PE and deal advisory. If you can lead a project or deal end to end, you’re who we’re looking for.

What are typical day rates for freelancers at Sweav?

Most Sweav members work within a day rate of €1200 to €1800. Experienced professionals working with large, profitable clients are at the higher end. Less experienced professionals working with start-ups and NGOs are at the lower end. You name your own day rate, and rates sit at the high end for independents. Sweav’s fee goes on top, paid by the client — never out of your rate.

How can I apply to a project?

Only approved sweav members with access to the app can apply to projects. Vetted projects are posted to the app with scope, client and day rate up front. You browse and apply to whatever projects you think are a good fit through the app.

Do I need to work exclusively through sweav?

No. There’s no exclusivity, minimum, or lock-in. Keep your own clients and work however you like.

What kinds of clients can I expect to work with?

We have a wide range of clients from PE funds, corporates and scale-ups and start-ups.

Should I create a BV or a sole proprietorship?

This depends on your situation. There’s no one-size-fits-all, but here are the main angles:

1. Fiscal (tax optimization)