# Haje Jan Kamps

> Haje Jan Kamps is a Dutch-born journalist, serial founder, and pitch coach who turned a decade covering startups for TechCrunch into an AI-powered pitch deck review service. Best known for his long-running 'Pitch Deck Teardown' series analyzing real decks from companies that raised $125K to $500M, he now runs Pitch Guide - an AI tool that reviews startup pitch decks against 250+ criteria. A former hardware founder (Triggertrap), VC portfolio director (Bolt), and prolific author of 8+ books, he brings rare operator-journalist-investor perspective to early-stage startup fundraising.

- **Role:** Head of AI at Pitch Guide / Early-Stage Startup Advisor
- **Organizations:** Pitch Guide, TechCrunch, Bolt VC, Triggertrap, ScreenCloud, Konf, LifeFolder
- **From:** Leiderdorp, Netherlands
- **Nationality:** Dutch
- **Education:** BA (Hons) in International Journalism, Liverpool John Moores University
- **Known for:** Published 8+ books on photography and entrepreneurship, TechCrunch 'Pitch Deck Teardown' series - analyzed 100+ decks representing $2.3B in total funds raised, Founded Triggertrap - shipped ~190,000 camera trigger units to 90+ countries over 7 years

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Founded digitalkamera.no, a Norwegian digital photography review site, at age ~16
- **2002** — Founded Photocritic.org, a photography education blog that became one of the web's most-read photography resources
- **2003** — Graduated from Liverpool John Moores University; began career at Future Publishing as web editor
- **2005** — Photocritic.org went viral after Slashdot feature; Pringles-can macro extension tube tutorial became an internet phenomenon
- **2007** — Published first book: Macro Photography Photo Workshop (John Wiley & Sons)
- **2007** — Joined Channel 5 (UK TV) as Senior Producer, overseeing the FiveFWD website
- **2010** — Became a Metropolitan Police Special Constable (volunteer, served 2010-2013)
- **2011** — Founded Triggertrap - a hardware/software universal camera trigger; first Kickstarter raised $77,262 (3x goal); shipped ~190,000 units to 90+ countries
- **2014** — Triggertrap's second Kickstarter (Ada) raised £290,386 (~$500K) but failed to deliver; company ultimately closed
- **2016** — Co-founded ScreenCloud, a digital signage SaaS platform
- **2017** — Co-founded LifeFolder (AI chatbot for end-of-life planning); also published Accelerated Startup with Vitaly Golomb
- **2018** — Joined Bolt VC as Director of Portfolio, mentoring ~70 hardware-focused startups
- **2019** — Co-founded Konf, a virtual conferences and events platform
- **2020** — Published Pitch Perfect: Raising Capital for Your Startup (Apress/Springer)
- **2021** — Rejoined TechCrunch as Staff Writer; launched the 'Pitch Deck Teardown' series analyzing 100+ real decks
- **2022** — Built Pitch Guide AI tool using a library of ~3,000 pitch decks; reviews against 250+ criteria with 37-page reports
- **2024** — Became Head of AI at Pitch Guide; continued early-stage startup advisory work
- **2025** — Launched Startup Riders / 'Startup fundraises under $20m' Substack newsletter (pitchguide.substack.com)

## Achievements

- Published 8+ books on photography and entrepreneurship
- TechCrunch 'Pitch Deck Teardown' series - analyzed 100+ decks representing $2.3B in total funds raised
- Founded Triggertrap - shipped ~190,000 camera trigger units to 90+ countries over 7 years
- Wrote candid Triggertrap failure post-mortem widely cited in startup circles for its honesty
- Built Pitch Guide AI tool reviewing decks against 250+ criteria with 37-page reports
- Director of Portfolio at Bolt VC, overseeing ~70 hardware-focused portfolio companies
- Photocritic.org grew into one of the most-read photography education blogs globally
- Guest lecturer at UCL School of Management on entrepreneurship
- Co-founded ScreenCloud, which grew into a successful digital signage SaaS
- Pioneer of Norwegian internet - started digitalkamera.no at age 16-17 in the late 1990s

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Launched 'Startup fundraises under $20m' Substack newsletter at pitchguide.substack.com
- **2024-01** — Became Head of AI at Pitch Guide, expanding AI-powered pitch deck analysis tools
- **2023-01** — Continued TechCrunch Pitch Deck Teardown series and early-stage startup advisory work

## Links

- Website: https://kamps.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hjkamps
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/Haje
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dipsolect/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hajejan
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchguide

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/haje-jan-kamps
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-27