Ricardo Solano
founder, and a working sign installer in The Hague
- Founded
- 2025
- Built for the Netherlands
- NL
- Deep, not broad
- 1 trade
- Focus on sign installers
- 100%
The industry runs on word of mouth. We’re changing that.
Signborn started with a personal frustration. Good sign installers miss out because nobody knows them. There’s nothing wrong with their work.
I was good at my job. But if they didn’t know me, I didn’t exist.
I worked as a self-employed sign installer. Vehicle wraps, lettering, facade signage. I enjoyed it and did good work. Even so, I depended on who knew me.
Agencies had their regulars. Not always the best, but the familiar names. You could call, email, send your portfolio. But if they didn’t know your name, the job was gone before you heard back.
That’s the reality of the sign industry. Talent doesn’t always count when the network is closed.
Word of mouth. That’s not a system. That’s a wall.
Have you ever tried to get work from an advertising agency you didn’t know? Then you know how that feels.
You call. You email. You send your portfolio. And you wait. Meanwhile the job goes to someone who is ‘known’. That’s often not the best candidate.
Clients rely on recommendations. Recommendations follow networks. And networks are closed circuits. If you’re not in, it’s hard to get in.
“You could knock on the door. But if they didn’t recognise your name, you didn’t exist.”
Why does this problem still exist?
We live in a time when you can book a taxi in 30 seconds and a holiday home in 5 minutes. But finding a good sign installer? That still depended on word of mouth.
I was looking for a platform that looked fairly at craftsmanship, certificates and availability, not at who you know. It didn’t exist.
So I decided to build it.
The platform I needed myself.
Signborn is built for both sides of the trade. An agency posts a job and suitable sign installers respond. The agency chooses, with its own regular sign installers at the top. Is that regular crew fully booked? Then you find the right new sign installer on craftsmanship, not on who you happen to know.
- Post your job
- Installers respond
- You choose
- Do the work and hand over
- Invoice
For agencies: start with your own sign installers, always free. Finding new sign installers opens region by region, with the official launch in spring 2027. You see the cost upfront.
For self-employed sign installers: you’re found on your trade and work at your own rate. You never pay Signborn anything.
Our mission
Good work deserves more opportunities.
Agencies keep the sign installers they already work with, and find the right new ones when their own crew is fully booked. Self-employed sign installers are found on their trade, their certificates and their availability, and work at their own rate. Job, job sheet, handover and invoice are all in one place, so everyone knows what was agreed.
Our vision
The sign industry still largely runs on word of mouth. An agency calls and messages until someone is free. A good sign installer nobody knows doesn’t get a look in. That works as long as you know the right people, but it shuts out tradespeople nobody knows.
We think the trade deserves a shared foundation: one place where craftsmanship is visible, agreements are on record and the invoice adds up. Signborn doesn’t stand between an agency and its people. It’s the tool they use together. The job and the money go directly between agency and sign installer.
Sign installer and vehicle wrapper are different trades, just like installer and stand builder. That’s why Signborn matches on the trade and certificates a job needs, not on a catch-all label.
What we stand for
Craftsmanship first
You keep your regulars. Anyone new is found on craftsmanship, certificates and availability, not on who you know.
Transparency in everything
Clear rates, no hidden costs, open communication. Fair to the self-employed professional and to the client.
Infrastructure for the trade
From job to invoice, everything is in one place. So you can focus on the work you’re good at.
Safe and reliable
- The agency pays the sign installer directly. No money runs through Signborn
- KvK number required to post a job
- Certificates shown on the profile, as listed by the installer
Ready to build this with us?
Signborn is for sign installers who want to be found for their craft, and for agencies that want to manage their regular crew in one place.