Make Waves: Growth Marketing Agency
Make Waves is een growth marketing agency. Ze specialiseren zich in performance marketing en marketing automation op Hubspot.
The content of this factsheet is in Dutch.
Vanuit Antwerpen werkt Make Waves sinds 2018 als performance- & mediabureau. Het team telt ongeveer 12 medewerkers (VTE). Het aanbod bestrijkt paid media (sea/social/display), data & analytics, crm & marketing automation en webdevelopment. Sectoren waar het bureau vaak werkt: b2b, industrie/bouw, overheid/toerisme en scale-ups. Tot de publiek bekende klanten behoren Frisomat, Knokke-Heist, La Bottega en BDO.
Marketing automation
Make Waves is een growth marketing agency. Ze specialiseren zich in performance marketing en marketing automation op Hubspot.
Dat doen ze op dit moment met 12 VTE’s:
- 3 web/hubspot developers
- 1 UX/UI designer
- 5 growth marketeers
- 1 PM
Wat ze niet doen: SEO, content, social media
Zelf omschrijven ze hun cultuur met volgende trefwoorden: los, jong, luisterend, extra mile
Referentieklanten: KIA, BDO, Plan International, Axxess, Maes Energy
Gepercipieerde concurrenten: iO, Customer Collective, OMCollective, Elixir
Werken graag complementair samen met: MakeOut Studio
Ondernemingsnummer: 0733.952.082
Gemiddelde klantgrootte: 30k
HubSpot PlatinumHow this agency makes money
Revenue, margin and what an hour of work brings in. Everything on the earning side sits together here.
Can the agency take a hit
Buffer, cash position and payment behaviour side by side, so you can see where they disagree.
Signals and strengths
Events from the CBE and the Official Gazette over the past 24 months, plus positive markers derived from the figures.
Continuity
2 red flag(s) (24m)- Zichtbaarheid verschoven · 1 Sep 2026 · Google Autocomplete
- Zichtbaarheid verschoven · 1 Sep 2026 · Google Autocomplete
- Critical buffer · 31 Dec 2025 · NBBEquity covers less than one month of payroll. At an agency that pays out its profit every year this means something different than at one that is losing money. Ask where the reserve sits.
- Negative equity · 31 Dec 2025 · NBBDebts exceed assets. Sometimes a subordinated shareholder loan sits opposite that, sometimes not. Ask how the agency is covering this, and on what timescale.
- Board change · 24 Oct 2025 · StaatsbladAppointments or resignations on the board. Routine during growth, succession or a new partner. Ask about it when several changes follow each other closely.
- Late filing · 26 Aug 2025 · NBBThe annual accounts were filed after the statutory deadline. Over a third of the sector does this, usually because of the accountant's calendar. Rarely a story in itself.
- + 2 older signals within 24m
What this agency does well
- Team grew (+55,0% FTE in the latest year)
- Turnover below the median (16,1%)
All the figures
Reference material, not a starting point. Expand it if you want to read the series yourself.
5 financial years, 2021 to 2025Result, staff and balance sheet
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | |||||
| Gross margin | € 84.376 | € 12.620-85% | € 213.849+1.594,5% | € 10.568-95,1% | € 944.694+8.838,9% |
| EBITDA | € -15.969 | € -97.586 | € 25.464 | € -447.745 | € 119.939 |
| EBITDA margin | -18,9% | - | 11,9% | - | 12,7% |
| Staff | |||||
| FTE | 2,5 | 2,1-16% | 3,4+61,9% | 8,0+135,3% | 12,4+55% |
| Gross margin per FTE | € 33.750 | € 6.010 | € 62.897 | € 1.321 | € 76.185 |
| Payroll cost per FTE | € 39.788 | € 52.123 | € 54.894 | € 56.699 | € 66.256 |
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Equity | € -74.182 | € -188.726 | € -186.353 | € -660.801 | € -583.899 |
| Cash | € 10.220 | € 5.304 | € 17.667 | € 20.733 | € 47.354 |
| Liquidity ratio | 0,51 | 0,32 | 0,57 | 0,35 | 0,59 |
Payroll cost per FTE comes from the social report where available, otherwise from the Remuneration line. Both are gross costs including employer contributions.
What this factsheet does not know
- How good the work is. Figures do not measure creativity, strategy or chemistry.
- How the client portfolio is spread. Concentration is not in the accounts.
- Freelancers and subcontractors are not in the FTE figures. An agency with 40 staff may in practice run with 70 people.
- The figures cover financial year 2025, filed on 28/07/2026. At a fast-moving agency reality today may differ.
Based on publicly filed annual accounts (NBB) and official records (CBE, Belgian Official Gazette). An indication, not financial advice. Sector medians calculated on 14 Sep 2026. Sector medians based on financial year 2024: the last year for which nearly all accounts have been filed.
What the agency actually does 13 services
Sector focus
Publicly known clients
Based on IKAg research and public sources. Incomplete or outdated? Let us know.
People 19 people mapped
Digital marketing is the engine: 9 of 19 profiles sit there. Within that core, Analytics, Content Marketing and SEA stand out. Notably, no declared strategists in sight — this agency would rather make than philosophise.
Based on public profiles. Something wrong? Let us know.
Seniors or juniors?
Payroll cost per FTE is the best public proxy for a team's experience level. Higher is not automatically better, but it says something about who sits at the table.
- 41% women
- 59% men
Will your team stay?
Inflow and outflow from the social report. This series only counts people on the payroll: freelancers who invoice do not appear in it. A low figure therefore means two very different things, a stable permanent team or a small core with heavy outsourcing. A high figure usually points to short contracts. Compare only within the same type of agency.
Source: annual accounts and social reports (NBB), collected by IKAg. Financial year 2025. Calculations by IKAg; an indication, not financial advice. Sector medians based on financial year 2024: the last year for which nearly all accounts have been filed.
Official partnerships 1 badge(s)
As published in the platforms' official partner directories, collected by IKAg.
Frequently asked questions about Make Waves
- When was Make Waves founded?
- In 2018.
- Where is Make Waves located?
- In Antwerpen, Belgium.
- What is Make Waves specialised in?
- Campaign concepts & big ideas, Campaign execution, Search advertising (SEA), Organic social content, Social strategy & platform mix, Conversion rate optimisation.
- How big is Make Waves?
- Around 12 full-time equivalents (financial year 2025).
- Which sectors does Make Waves work for?
- Construction & real estate, Hospitality & tourism, Industry & manufacturing, Public sector & non-profit.
- Who are the clients of Make Waves?
- Among others KIA, BDO, Plan International, Axxess, Maes Energy.
Figures from the annual accounts up to financial year 2025. Company details checked against the CBE register on 2026-09-12.