Ties Klinkhamer
Associate @ Keen Venture Partners · Builder @ euro-defense.com & euro-procure.com
About
I'm building free, open-access tools for the defense tech ecosystem — giving founders, procurement teams, and investors the data and intelligence they need to move faster. My platforms, euro-defense.com and euro-procure.com, are built to level the playing field between ambitious startups and the established defense industrial base.
As an investor at Keen Venture Partners, I lead €1–8M checks into Europe's most ambitious Seed and Series A companies in the defense and dual-use space.
Outside work, I play professional field hockey for HC Klein Zwitserland.
Get in Touch
Building in defense tech, dual-use, or advanced manufacturing? I want to hear from you — especially if you're a European founder with hardware at the core or a Ukrainian team establishing EU presence. Also happy to connect if you're using euro-defense.com or euro-procure.com and have feedback or feature requests.
[email protected]Projects
Open tools and personal projects — built to explore, learn, and share.
Procurement intelligence and runway planning for defense tech founders — navigating the Valley of Death based on sector focus and technical maturity. Input your startup profile to unlock the Founder Console, Runway Reality Check, Opportunity Triage, and Consortium Matcher.
Europe's most advanced defense production mapping engine — combining geospatial facility tracking with Sovereignty Impact Modeling and VC Deal Flow Intelligence. Currently in private beta for Ministries of Defense, prime contractors, and venture capital firms.
Automated Keen's internal CRM to push real-time market signals and portfolio updates directly into Slack — replacing manual CRM checks with structured alerts that surface when it matters.
Experience
Sourcing and evaluating defense tech, advanced manufacturing, and dual-use companies across Europe from Seed to Series A. IC materials, founder relationship management, and engagement with government bodies including NATO, EDA, and national MoDs.
Competing at the highest domestic level. Elite team dynamics, performance under pressure, and the discipline of maintaining peak output across two high-performance careers simultaneously.
Dutch institutional capital deployment and national development finance. Worked at the intersection of public capital markets and private sector innovation to accelerate strategic Dutch companies.
Represented the Netherlands in youth international competition. Developed the mental framework of competing under national pressure — composure, accountability, and executing when it counts.
Press
Nederland droneland: 125 defensiestartups, een fabriek in Born en orders voor honderden miljoenen
Dutch drone landscape: 125 defense startups, a factory in Born, and hundreds of millions in orders.
"Er zit heel, heel veel potentie in het Nederlandse dronelandschap. Vergis je niet in de cijfers: wij zien 125 Nederlandse startups die actief zijn op het terrein van defensie."
— Ties Klinkhamer, Keen Venture Partners
Amsterdam's Keen Venture Partners announces first close of €150M fund
Featured front-and-center in the header image alongside the founding partners, covering the first close of the European Defence and Security Fund.
Largest Defense-Tech VC Fund Hits €150M First Close
Named as part of the founding leadership trio for Europe's largest defense-tech VC vehicle.