The Dutch Republic has no precursor. The area has been subject to changes in population and even landscape before the formation of a more cohesive political entity. What you can do is look at the high and late middle ages to find out about the developments that lead to the formation of the Dutch Republic. The early middle ages Lowlands area was characterized by Frisian, Saxon and Frankish influence but there was no resemblance to any form of state or country. What we see as Friesland during the early middle ages (an area stretching from Denmark to Northern France along the coast), even though it had a king, cannot be considered a state or country but more of a very loose, unofficial confederation of people that shared certain customs. The formation of the Holy Roman Empire saw to the emergence of dozens of counties in the Lowlands area, which in turn consisted of herrschafts. The area as a whole was characterized by the relative political strength of burghers and relative weakness of noble families in terms of centralized power. The counties were fairly autonomous (free of strong direct dynastic rule) before the emergence of the Bourgogne family as the most important dynastic power in the area. The Bourgogne family actively pursued centralization politics and sought to unite the Lowlands area under their dynasty. They were quite successful in their endeavours and contributed a lot to the eventual formation of a more united political entity in the Lowlands area.

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If you want to point towards an exact date of the forming of anything that resembles the current country of The Netherlands you are going to end up at either 1579 or 1581. In 1579 the Union of Utrecht and the Union of Arras were conceived and signed. It resulted (which was not clear at that point, it is in hindsight) in a decisive political separation between the Northern and Southern Netherlands. There are indicators that have pointed towards an eventual separation between the North and the South before the Eighty Years War but 1579 has proven to be a turning point in that development. The year 1581 is important because in that year the 'Acte van Verlatinghe' was signed, a declaration of independence from the rule of the Spanish Habsburg monarch Phillip II. Whether you want to choose 1579 or 1581 depends on what you deem more important, the geographical origin or the origin of a politically independent state. I do not think the two can be seen as separate either way, so choosing an exact date will always be a debate without a definitive answer.

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Keep in mind that up until arguably the Peace of Westphalia (I should say the Peace of Munster actually) in 1648 it was never clear and obvious that The Netherlands would end up to become a country and even after that the area has been highly disputed by France in particular.

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Sources: James C. Kennedy, a concise History of The Netherlands

Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic, its Rise, Greatness and Fall 1477-1806

Personal opinions and insights based on lectures and discussions at the University of Groningen

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Some have been rather straight-forward

Have they? I would expect that for nearly any country you can go back far enough that things become awfully ambiguous. What counts as a 'precursor'? Some people living in the same area? ancestors of the people living there now? People who identify with a nationality? With what level of organization? (Is a tribe with a similar name enough? city? kingdom?)

Most likely for your question to have an unambiguous answer you will need to very carefully define what you are looking for.