Hears
The boring product, reimagined as a hype brand.
$7M in year one (Forbes) · Saint Laurent & Pacha collabs
The boring product, made iconic.
Hears is the high-tech hearing-protection brand of Forbes 30 Under 30 founders Bob Verlaat and Nick Nijhof: designer earplugs that solve the two reasons people avoid them, unappealing design and distorted sound. Launched in 2024, it generated $7M in revenue in its first year, according to Forbes, with collaborations from Saint Laurent Rive Droite to Pacha Ibiza.
From breakout to staying power.
As Hears and its sister brand Dore & Rose scale together, a brand this hot needs leaders who can keep pace: growth built to compound and finance built to hold. Hype is easy to spark and hard to steward; the founders came to The Quantum Club for the bench to do both.
A Head of Growth and a CFO.
The Quantum Club placed a Head of Growth and a CFO for the group: the leadership to carry Hears through its most crucial phase of scale, matched to a brand moving at the speed of culture.
Hype, engineered to last.
$7M in its first year (per Forbes), a Saint Laurent collaboration, the official earplug of Pacha Ibiza, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 nod: Hears turned a 'boring' product into a hype brand. The Quantum Club placed the bench to make the next chapter bigger.
The engagement
The full brief.
Hears is the high-tech earplug brand of Forbes 30 Under 30 founders Bob Verlaat and Nick Nijhof: $7M in revenue in its first year, per Forbes, with collaborations from Saint Laurent to Pacha Ibiza. As they scaled it and sister brand Dore & Rose together, The Quantum Club placed a Head of Growth and a CFO to lead the group through its most crucial phase.
The mandate
- Functions
- Growth & finance leadership
- Seniority
- Executive / C-level
- Geographies
- Amsterdam · Global
- Engaged
- 2025
Roles placed
- Head of Growth
- CFO
The approach
A discreet executive search for two founders scaling fast: growth and finance leaders matched to a Forbes 30 Under 30 brand group.
Verified outcomes
- $7M revenue in its first year Forbes
- Saint Laurent + Pacha flagship collaborations
- Head of Growth + CFO placed to lead the group's scale-up
The vault
The full breakdown is reserved.
The exact roles, the search process, the compensation context, and the unreleased footage from Hears live inside the Club: the rooms the open market never lists.
Verified members only
The houses our members move between
Frequently asked
What is Hears?
Hears is a high-tech hearing-protection brand: designer earplugs engineered to solve the two reasons people avoid them, unappealing design and distorted sound. Founded in 2024 by Bob Verlaat and Nick Nijhof, it generated $7M in revenue in its first year, according to Forbes.
Who founded Hears?
Hears was founded by Bob Verlaat and Nick Nijhof, named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe (Retail & Ecommerce). They also founded the sleep-wellness brand Dore & Rose.
What brands has Hears collaborated with?
Hears has collaborated with Saint Laurent Rive Droite on limited-edition designer earplugs bearing the Cassandre logo, and is the official hearing-protection partner of Pacha Ibiza for the 2025 season, with earplugs carrying the iconic Pacha cherry logo.
How did The Quantum Club help Hears?
The Quantum Club placed a Head of Growth and a CFO for the founders' group (Hears and sister brand Dore & Rose), the executive bench to lead the most crucial phase of scaling the two brands.
