Hans Lemm

Hans: "Immediately after completing my studies, I embarked on my career as an independent copywriter. Later, together with art director Quicho ten Haaf, we formed a creative team that operated freelance, serving both individual clients and corporations. When Dell Computer approached us for an international campaign, it marked the inception of our agency. Subsequently, prestigious clients such as Van Lanschot Bankiers and Oracle came on board. Over the years, we experienced steady growth, and the contours of a comprehensive creative agency emerged.

About ten years ago, we made the strategic decision to further specialize in the domain where we already had considerable experience: the B2B market. B2B communication is truly a specialized field, often involving numerous segmented target audiences and complex subject matter. This happened to be precisely where our strengths lay: effectively conveying intricate concepts in a clear and understandable manner to specific target groups. With the addition of Marjolein Fritschy as a third shareholder, we introduced another specialty to our agency: Health.

With B2B and Health, we now have two successful labels in our portfolio. Occasionally, we were approached by parties interested in acquisition, but we consistently kept our distance because either we didn't view it as very serious or we didn't feel comfortable with the potential suitors. It did become serious, however, in early 2020 when we established a good rapport with an interested party from America.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the deal ultimately fell through, but it ignited our ambition to elevate the agency to a higher level through acquisition. We were determined to take the next step, focus more on what we excel at and derive energy from, and further professionalize aspects such as Finance and HR.

We have enjoyed working with Rembrandt M&A for many years. Thus, the idea arose to request them to conduct an indicative valuation for us. What is our company actually worth? Rembrandt, led by Dennis van de Kamp and his team, executed this task excellently for us. Coincidentally or not, just as the valuation was completed, we made contact with Happy
Horizon: a rapidly growing digital agency group.

It was an immediate and excellent fit, both personally and professionally, so we continued discussions with them. Ultimately, this led to the acquisition by Happy Horizon in the spring of 2023.

It goes without saying that you will be faced with a lot of questions during such an acquisition; about finances, the IT structure, and numerous legal issues. In the meantime, of course, the business must continue to operate. As a CEO you are used to setting the course yourself, but an acquisition process is a unique and impactful event in the life of an entrepreneur where it is not easy to pull all the strings.

Then it is nice to have a party like Rembrandt, who knows the world of mergers and acquisitions through and through, at your side. They offer the tools and guidance you need at that moment. In any case the people at Rembrandt are very approachable; for example, it is nice if you can also call them at the weekend if something is bothering you and they can immediately put your mind at rest.

It's remarkable that, as mentioned, we've been collaborating with Rembrandt as a marketing partner for about five years. In that regard, it's comforting to work with a party that feels familiar. At the same time, as an agency, you suddenly find yourself in a different relationship, that of a client, where it's crucial to ensure there's no friction. Fortunately, the team at Rembrandt has organized this process with integrity, keeping channels completely separate. It worked perfectly.

We have since physically relocated our office to the hub of Happy Horizon in Amsterdam. We're already experiencing the benefits of the synergy that arises daily from collaborating with other specialists within Happy Horizon. It's satisfying to see that as an agency, we've truly been able to take that next step forward."

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