JITSE GROEN
Founded Just Eat Takeaway, Europe's largest online food delivery platform.
Jitse Groen built Takeaway.com from his dorm room in the Netherlands, merged it with Just Eat to create Europe's largest food delivery platform, then watched the stock lose 90% of its value. He acquired Grubhub for $7.3 billion at the absolute top of the market and spent two years trying to sell it. The lesson: winning the European food delivery wars means nothing if you overpay for the American one.
Net Worth
$1.5 billion
Nationality
Dutch
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
7 / 10
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Born in 1978 in Enschede, Netherlands. Built Takeaway.com as a student project in 2000 — a website where Dutch people could order food online.
This was four years before Grubhub existed and thirteen years before Uber Eats. He grew it slowly across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Takeaway.com went public on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 2016. In 2020, Takeaway merged with UK-based Just Eat to form Just Eat Takeaway.com, creating Europe's largest food delivery platform.
Then he acquired Grubhub for $7.3 billion in 2021 — right at the pandemic-inflated peak. The Grubhub deal became a disaster.
By 2023, Just Eat Takeaway was trying to sell Grubhub at a fraction of the purchase price. Groen stepped down as CEO in late 2024.
COMPANIES & ROLES
Founded Takeaway.com (2000). Merged with Just Eat (2020).
Acquired Grubhub for $7.3 billion (2021). Led Europe's largest food delivery platform across 20+ countries.
Stepped down as CEO 2024.
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Long-term operator-builder. Groen is not a financial investor — he is a founder who built one company for 24 years.
His approach was organic growth combined with strategic M&A across European markets.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
High at the company level. He merged two major companies and acquired a third in quick succession.
The Grubhub acquisition was one of the biggest bets in food delivery history — and it went badly wrong.
Money Habits
Lives in the Netherlands. Known for being hands-on and frugal — early Takeaway.com was run on a shoestring.
Despite the billions, maintains a relatively low-key Dutch lifestyle.
BIGGEST WIN
Building Takeaway.com from a student project into Europe's largest food delivery platform. The merger with Just Eat created a company operating in 20+ countries with billions in annual order value.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Build for dominance, not exits. Groen spent 24 years building a single food delivery platform.
His philosophy was that scale wins in delivery, and the company that covers the most restaurants in the most cities will eventually win.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Dutch. Lives in the Netherlands.
Private about personal life.
EDUCATION
University of Twente (Business and IT). Built Takeaway.com as a student project while still at university.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
Building enduring companies
The Amazon scaling story
The restaurant industry from inside
As an Amazon Associate, Netfigo earns from qualifying purchases. Book links above may be affiliate links.
QUOTES (5)
Paying $7.3 billion for Grubhub at the pandemic peak was the most expensive lesson of my career.
I built Takeaway.com as a student project in 2000. Online food ordering before smartphones, before Uber, before everything.
I spent 24 years building one company. Most founders move on after five. I still believe in the mission.
The Netherlands is a small market. But building there first taught me discipline that American startups never learn.
NETFIGO SCORE
Proprietary 5-dimension investor rating
Risk Appetite
Contrarian Index
Track Record
Accessibility
Time Horizon
Related Profiles
Companies
Head-to-Head
Compare Jitse Groen vs another investor.