The art of the Pivot: 19 Lean Startups in Amsterdam

Last weekend I attended Lean Startup Machine as a mentor and judge. It was by far one of the most inspiring events in a long time. The key reason ? It opened my eyes to a public secret about failure & success among startups: that entrepreneurs push their solutions without validating their customer’s problems first. Equally important: LSM helps you do this in 3 ...

If you want peace, organize a hackathon.

Richard Branson recently harnessed the power of 15 business tycoons to try and bring peace to the Ukraine, highlighting common business sense as a key argument to resolve the conflict. It got me thinking. Despite his great instinct for guerilla marketing, I doubt he is doing that solely to promote his airline. Is he then simply using his public persona pressure to move the world in ...

Warning. Great reviews are killing brand loyalty.

Yesterday I got home from work and expected to hear a welcoming shout from my wife. Instead I found an isolated piece of paper on the kitchen table and a house that was eerily empty. “Honey, I have decided to leave you. I have found someone else that is simply a better match. I love you and you have made me ...

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Clients

I want to congratulate you on the great presentation and insights you gave us. To be frank I was very skeptical because I attended many marketing and advertising workshops, but none of them touched the topics you did and the way you did. Julian Baxan, attendant ECE Day@Campus, Rotterdam
I totally loved the hackaton. With Willem’s probing and pushing, we came to a new and much clearer understanding of the customer experience we need to create. And we generated some really cool ideas on how to deliver it. Max Maendler, Founder & CEO of Lehrerkolleg
Willem is an out-of-the-box thinker helping organisations regain focus and purpose in their businesses. The way he changes perspective has great impact Frank Wagner, Founder & CEO of Konsument.de
Willem has the unique ability to position a product in such a way that it is very clear and contageous. Buzzable ! It’s a capability that really inspires ! Chris Groot, Marketing Manager Enza Seeds
As a jury member of the Philips Innovation Award 2014, Willem gave us critical remarks on our business plan. This was the moment we realised that he could get us to a higher level. Willem opened our eyes to some important questions that every businessman should ask himself. He is a driven entrepreneur who’s help we would recommend to any startup team. We are looking forward to our sessions! Marcel Westerveld and Peter Horst, Co-founders of DILLYS
Willem understood our business-concept in seconds; we had a sharp, focused, and in-depth discussion about how to improve on and be more effective in our marketing efforts. This strategic approach gave us new insights on how we could harvest the potential for our application by looking at it from a ‘helicopter point of view’. Bas Janssen & Bart Jochems, Co Founders of Declaree