Growing A Graphic Design Business To $2.1 Million/year
Growing A Graphic Design Business To $2.1 Million/year
Oct 23, 2024
Christiaan Huynen
Christiaan Huynen
● 6 min
● 6 min
Revenue/year
Revenue/year
$2.1 Million
$2.1 Million
$2.1 Million
No. of founders
No. of founders
2
2
2
Startup costs
Startup costs
N/A
N/A
N/A
Contents
About the company
About the company
Meet Christiaan Huynen, the brain behind DesignBro, a unique graphic design marketplace that handpicks the top 5% of designers to deliver agency-quality design work.
From logos and brand identity to product packaging design, DesignBro caters to businesses globally, with over 60% of its clientele based in the US.
But Christiaan’s story is more than just impressive growth figures—like the 50% quarterly growth rate or the 300% surge in the last year. It's a journey that ties together family legacy, tech innovation, and a relentless drive to redefine the design industry.
Here’s how Christiaan took his passion for design and tech and turned it into a thriving global business.
Meet Christiaan Huynen, the brain behind DesignBro, a unique graphic design marketplace that handpicks the top 5% of designers to deliver agency-quality design work.
From logos and brand identity to product packaging design, DesignBro caters to businesses globally, with over 60% of its clientele based in the US.
But Christiaan’s story is more than just impressive growth figures—like the 50% quarterly growth rate or the 300% surge in the last year. It's a journey that ties together family legacy, tech innovation, and a relentless drive to redefine the design industry.
Here’s how Christiaan took his passion for design and tech and turned it into a thriving global business.
The Story of Christiaan Huynen
The Story of Christiaan Huynen
Christiaan’s entrepreneurial roots run deep. Being a third-generation design entrepreneur, he didn’t just stumble upon this path—he was practically raised in it. Growing up in a family where branding, packaging design, and advertising were the norm, Christiaan learned the ropes early on. His grandfather, Dominique Claessens, laid the foundation by starting one of the world’s first branding and packaging design agencies in 1958. Oh, and Dominique wasn’t just any entrepreneur—he’s the guy who helped shape the iconic Heineken brand and created the world’s first design computer system, Aesthedes, long before Apple even thought of the Mac.
With such a rich family history in design, you could say Christiaan was destined for this path. But it wasn’t just about following in the family’s footsteps. Christiaan had a flair for computers and tech as well, tinkering with PCs, writing code, and building computers before he was even a teenager.
Christiaan’s entrepreneurial roots run deep. Being a third-generation design entrepreneur, he didn’t just stumble upon this path—he was practically raised in it. Growing up in a family where branding, packaging design, and advertising were the norm, Christiaan learned the ropes early on. His grandfather, Dominique Claessens, laid the foundation by starting one of the world’s first branding and packaging design agencies in 1958. Oh, and Dominique wasn’t just any entrepreneur—he’s the guy who helped shape the iconic Heineken brand and created the world’s first design computer system, Aesthedes, long before Apple even thought of the Mac.
With such a rich family history in design, you could say Christiaan was destined for this path. But it wasn’t just about following in the family’s footsteps. Christiaan had a flair for computers and tech as well, tinkering with PCs, writing code, and building computers before he was even a teenager.
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➤ Every week, we dig up stories of how regular people started and grew their businesses—
➤ Plus the marketing hacks that won them customers.
➤ Then, we share those insights with you.
➤ Every week, we dig up stories of how regular people started and grew their businesses—
➤ Plus the marketing hacks that won them customers.
➤ Then, we share those insights with you.
Turning a Vision Into Reality
Turning a Vision Into Reality
With his formal education in Advertising and Brand Management from the UK under his belt, Christiaan got his feet wet in the real world by starting the Cartils Agency in London. Under his leadership, the agency became a leading name in branding, working with some of the world’s largest companies. But as he scaled the agency, Christiaan noticed a troubling trend—clients’ budgets were shrinking, and this was bound to shake up the agency model as a whole.
Instead of getting caught up in the status quo, Christiaan saw this as an opportunity. He realized that the traditional agency model had to evolve, and automation was the key to maintaining quality while keeping costs down.
That’s when the idea for DesignBro was born.
(Screenshot of DesignBro's landing page)
With his formal education in Advertising and Brand Management from the UK under his belt, Christiaan got his feet wet in the real world by starting the Cartils Agency in London. Under his leadership, the agency became a leading name in branding, working with some of the world’s largest companies. But as he scaled the agency, Christiaan noticed a troubling trend—clients’ budgets were shrinking, and this was bound to shake up the agency model as a whole.
Instead of getting caught up in the status quo, Christiaan saw this as an opportunity. He realized that the traditional agency model had to evolve, and automation was the key to maintaining quality while keeping costs down.
That’s when the idea for DesignBro was born.
(Screenshot of DesignBro's landing page)
Building DesignBro from the Ground Up
Building DesignBro from the Ground Up
DesignBro didn’t just happen overnight. Christiaan and his co-founder, Pieter-Jan Hoogendijk (his brother-in-law, by the way), started small—literally working from Christiaan’s living room in Amsterdam. They weren’t interested in the usual MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach. With competitors already in the market, they knew they had to come out swinging with a polished, fully functional product.
This led to months of planning, wireframing, and post-it notes. Seriously, at one point, their living room looked like a scene out of A Beautiful Mind with colored post-its covering every inch of the walls. But all that effort paid off when they finally mapped out the exact process to bring DesignBro to life.
DesignBro didn’t just happen overnight. Christiaan and his co-founder, Pieter-Jan Hoogendijk (his brother-in-law, by the way), started small—literally working from Christiaan’s living room in Amsterdam. They weren’t interested in the usual MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach. With competitors already in the market, they knew they had to come out swinging with a polished, fully functional product.
This led to months of planning, wireframing, and post-it notes. Seriously, at one point, their living room looked like a scene out of A Beautiful Mind with colored post-its covering every inch of the walls. But all that effort paid off when they finally mapped out the exact process to bring DesignBro to life.
Overcoming Early Hurdles
Overcoming Early Hurdles
Building the platform was only half the battle. Christiaan and Pieter-Jan knew they had to get the right designers on board first before attracting clients. After recruiting their first designers, including Mike, their Head of Design, they shifted focus to customer acquisition.
SEO became their best friend. It turns out organic traffic was a game-changer for DesignBro, driving high-quality leads to the platform. Despite having a limited budget, they kept refining their approach, slowly but surely growing their customer base.
(Designbro's organic search makes up 52% of the site's traffic)
But balancing a growing business with family life wasn’t easy. Christiaan became a father of two during this time, jokingly calling DesignBro his third child. Like any good parent, Christiaan and Pieter-Jan nurtured the business, tweaking and optimizing it as they figured out their marketing strategies.
Building the platform was only half the battle. Christiaan and Pieter-Jan knew they had to get the right designers on board first before attracting clients. After recruiting their first designers, including Mike, their Head of Design, they shifted focus to customer acquisition.
SEO became their best friend. It turns out organic traffic was a game-changer for DesignBro, driving high-quality leads to the platform. Despite having a limited budget, they kept refining their approach, slowly but surely growing their customer base.
(Designbro's organic search makes up 52% of the site's traffic)
But balancing a growing business with family life wasn’t easy. Christiaan became a father of two during this time, jokingly calling DesignBro his third child. Like any good parent, Christiaan and Pieter-Jan nurtured the business, tweaking and optimizing it as they figured out their marketing strategies.
Securing Funding and Scaling Up
Securing Funding and Scaling Up
As COVID-19 swept across the globe, many businesses struggled, but DesignBro saw an opportunity. With a solid product in place, they raised a €400k seed round, allowing them to bring on more staff and scale up operations.
The funding came at a pivotal time, helping DesignBro grow by over 300% in just 12 months. And they’re not slowing down anytime soon. Christiaan’s got his eyes set on 400% growth in the coming year, with plans to localize the platform to accommodate different languages and currencies, making it a truly global solution.
As COVID-19 swept across the globe, many businesses struggled, but DesignBro saw an opportunity. With a solid product in place, they raised a €400k seed round, allowing them to bring on more staff and scale up operations.
The funding came at a pivotal time, helping DesignBro grow by over 300% in just 12 months. And they’re not slowing down anytime soon. Christiaan’s got his eyes set on 400% growth in the coming year, with plans to localize the platform to accommodate different languages and currencies, making it a truly global solution.
What’s Next for DesignBro?
What’s Next for DesignBro?
DesignBro has proven it can be profitable, but Christiaan knows that staying in growth mode is more important. A big part of the future involves their professional services, where they offer account management and personalized advice to clients without losing the scalability of the platform.
The team is also gearing up for another round of funding to fuel further expansion. Christiaan is confident that DesignBro’s core message—that they deliver agency-quality work—will continue to resonate with businesses looking for top-tier design at an affordable price.
DesignBro has proven it can be profitable, but Christiaan knows that staying in growth mode is more important. A big part of the future involves their professional services, where they offer account management and personalized advice to clients without losing the scalability of the platform.
The team is also gearing up for another round of funding to fuel further expansion. Christiaan is confident that DesignBro’s core message—that they deliver agency-quality work—will continue to resonate with businesses looking for top-tier design at an affordable price.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
Lessons Learned Along the Way
For Christiaan, every day is a learning opportunity. One of the biggest lessons? It’s okay to fail—as long as you learn from it quickly. Not every experiment or marketing strategy is going to work, but recognizing a failure early on and pivoting is crucial.
Looking back, one thing Christiaan wishes he had done differently is raising a launch investment earlier. It could have saved them a year (or maybe even 18 months) of bootstrapping.
But if there’s one decision Christiaan is most proud of, it’s the people he’s surrounded himself with. The team at DesignBro is small but mighty, and they’ve been a key factor in the company’s success.
For Christiaan, every day is a learning opportunity. One of the biggest lessons? It’s okay to fail—as long as you learn from it quickly. Not every experiment or marketing strategy is going to work, but recognizing a failure early on and pivoting is crucial.
Looking back, one thing Christiaan wishes he had done differently is raising a launch investment earlier. It could have saved them a year (or maybe even 18 months) of bootstrapping.
But if there’s one decision Christiaan is most proud of, it’s the people he’s surrounded himself with. The team at DesignBro is small but mighty, and they’ve been a key factor in the company’s success.
Tools and Resources
Tools and Resources
When it comes to the technical side of things, DesignBro runs on a fully custom-built platform using Ruby and React. The public pages are built on HTML/CSS/PHP, and they use a variety of other tools to keep things running smoothly.
On the personal development front, Christiaan found inspiration and guidance from The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. He also attended the Web Summit in Lisbon, which was a game-changing experience that opened his eyes to the possibilities of the startup world.
When it comes to the technical side of things, DesignBro runs on a fully custom-built platform using Ruby and React. The public pages are built on HTML/CSS/PHP, and they use a variety of other tools to keep things running smoothly.
On the personal development front, Christiaan found inspiration and guidance from The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. He also attended the Web Summit in Lisbon, which was a game-changing experience that opened his eyes to the possibilities of the startup world.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
If you’re thinking about starting your own business, Christiaan has a few key pieces of advice:
Be an expert in your field. It helps to have deep knowledge in your area of focus to avoid unnecessary pitfalls.
Get a go-to-market strategy in place. Don’t just create a product and expect customers to magically find you.
Find the right co-founder. If you’re not technically savvy, partner with someone who is. It’s a game-changer.
And above all, stay open to learning. Entrepreneurship is a constant journey of trial and error, and the key is to stay nimble, adapt when needed, and never lose sight of the bigger picture.
If you’re thinking about starting your own business, Christiaan has a few key pieces of advice:
Be an expert in your field. It helps to have deep knowledge in your area of focus to avoid unnecessary pitfalls.
Get a go-to-market strategy in place. Don’t just create a product and expect customers to magically find you.
Find the right co-founder. If you’re not technically savvy, partner with someone who is. It’s a game-changer.
And above all, stay open to learning. Entrepreneurship is a constant journey of trial and error, and the key is to stay nimble, adapt when needed, and never lose sight of the bigger picture.
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If you're interested in more stories like this, here's more for you 🙂
I share more of these case studies + interviews in my newsletter and I'd love for you to join here 😊
Do me a favor and pass this on to a friend or share on X/reddit? It'll take just 20 seconds—this one took me about 7 hours to research and write 🫠
Shoot me a DM if you want to share your story or visit this page to submit your information 💌
h/t (starter story, craft, daily scanner)
