Startup Spotlight #5 - Duna (Automating business onboarding processes)

Startup Spotlight - By Bob Deforce

Hi everyone!

This is ‘Startup Spotlight’ #5, and this week’s startup is Duna. Founded just last year, Duna hasn't released much information online about its specific product and USPs. (That is the reason why I will briefly highlight the problem, solution (product), and business model under the same title, and why today’s blog is a bit shorter.) However, Duna is still worth highlighting mainly because of the team that is backing it. I hope to revisit this Startup Spotlight after gathering more information through online resources or, ideally, by speaking with one of the founders—enjoy reading!

General Company Overview

• Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Remote

• Number of Employees: 15

• Founding Date: 2023

• Funding: ? (Not Disclosed)

• Website: https://duna.io/

Problem, Solution (Product) & Business Model

Duna’s Website

Based on the information available online, it appears that Duna will likely provide an application for the following solutions: simplifying compliance with relevant regulations during onboarding processes, increasing conversion rates by streamlining the onboarding experience, and automating re-verifications of business identities over time to maintain up-to-date records. The overview of their exact product will be added later when more info is available.

Market (Trends & Relevancy)

Looking at the Client and Employee onboarding market we see a big increase in terms of size and popularity. Software tools and applications that are solving these onboarding inefficiencies are mainly driven by some changes in the recent ‘online business landscape’. Two of those changes are: Remote and Hybrid Work and Shorter Employee Tenures. We have seen an increase in Remote working accelerated by the 2020 pandemic, based on a recent McKinsey rapport In remote and hybrid work settings, seamless knowledge transfer is essential for sustaining productivity and collaboration. In terms of shorter employee tenures, which could lead to more demand for effective onboarding. The modern workforce, changing jobs twelve times on average, with shorter tenures, reshapes knowledge retention and transfer dynamics in organizations.

Looking at the market size for both segments, based on a recent rapport from Verified Market Rapports, the Employee Onboarding Software Market size was valued at USD 1.4 Billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 4.1 Billion by the end of 2030 with a CAGR of 11.3% During the Forecast Period 2024-2030. Based on an other recent rapport from Verified Market Rapports, the current market size for Digital Customer Onboarding Software was valued at USD 1.42 billion in 2023. It is projected to grow significantly, reaching USD 6.81 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.79% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2030.

Competition

Since we don’t have a clear understanding of Duna’s exact value proposition yet, I will just highlight some overall big names in the onboarding space. Some relevant names are Workday, Atlassian, Eloomi, Personio etc.

Team

Now highlighting the team behind Duna, and the main reason why I think Duna will be a company to keep an eye on. The team building Duna has a ton of ‘company building experience,’ with members having great backgrounds in building other big companies like Stripe, Mollie, Spotify, Adyen, Airbnb, etc. Not the smallest names if we look at the companies the Duna team has previously worked at.

The founding team at Duna consists out of ‘tech entrepreneur, columnist and investor celebrity’, Duco van Lanschot and Product veteran at Stripe and Trade Republic, David Schreiber. Some of the other great team members, who have Sales, Engineering and Product experience at Stripe, Mollie, Adyen etc are: Michael Binning, Frank de Jonge, and Balázs Pete.

Coming back to the founding team, which I think will be the main reason for driving Duna’s initial success. Let’s first highlight Duco van Lanschot. Duco is a game-changer for Duna's founding team. His extensive career includes leadership roles like Chief Commercial Officer at Fourthline and Head of Benelux at Stripe, where he played key roles in driving growth and market expansion. Duco’s strategic insights from his time at McKinsey, together with his experience in the tech and fintech sectors, make him more than qualified to steer Duna towards success. As an angel investor in high-profile startups such as Mollie, Insify, and Ticketswap, Duco has built a strong and influential network. This network is a goldmine for Duna, providing access to potential customers, strategic partnerships, and investment opportunities. His ability to connect with other tech companies, startups, and investors is invaluable, ensuring that Duna can leverage these relationships for rapid growth and market penetration.

David Schreiber is a great addition to Duna's founding team, bringing top-tier experience in product management. With a background in product at Stripe and Trade Republic, David is well-positioned to scale Duna’s operations and drive product innovation. His network and industry knowledge also provide Duna with valuable connections and strategic opportunities.

Traction

The main traction Duna is experiencing so far is the fact that some great employees from other well-established companies are joining Duna, especially people with backgrounds at Stripe. This signals the level of quality the founding team presents when hiring those first employees for Duna from well-established companies. There have not been any major press releases in terms of product launch, investment, or customer acquisition yet. Hopefully, one of those announcements will be made in the near future.

Overall Thoughts

Duna’s team is top-notch, consisting of experienced tech entrepreneurs who have the ability to steer Duna in the right direction. The founding team can leverage their prior experience and network to land those first customers, partnerships, and investors in favor of Duna. I will keep paying close attention to Duna, and hopefully, I can revisit this Startup Spotlight soon with more and newer information related to Duna.