In 1990, I took my first step into the world of entrepreneurship by starting a one-person marketing research company while still a university student. This venture specialized in customer satisfaction studies and niche target group activation campaigns, employing fellow students to conduct research. It was the perfect complement to my studies, and soon I landed major clients like ABN Bank, Hewlett-Packard, and a national newspaper. The HP way; a good education

My experience with Hewlett-Packard proved to be a pivotal moment in my career. Joining them during the dawn of the personal computer era and the rise of Windows, I was introduced to agile methodologies before they were widely known. HP's famous "HP Way" was infused with Japanese Kaizen thinking, utilizing tools like Hoshin Kanri. The matrix organization and KPI-driven approach, combined with the freedom to market products, felt like entrepreneurship within a structured environment.

Starting with emerging products in a department with minimal marketing budget forced me to be creative. I sought partnerships to build solutions, listened closely to early adopters, and developed guerrilla marketing tactics. This experience at HP became an invaluable learning ground for my future endeavors. Even Life is a Concept

As I grew within the company, I felt the constraints of corporate culture tightening. Just before the dot-com boom, I decided to take a leap back into entrepreneurship. This led to the creation of two companies: Eliace ("Even Life Is A Concept"), a creative agency, and Barabas , a strategy boutique named after a famous professor in the Suske en Wiske comic books.

Strategic Creativity & Creative Strategies

With the slogans "Strategic Creativity" and "Creative Strategies," these companies aimed to bridge the gap between strategy and creativity – two disciplines that were like oil and water at the time. This period also marked the beginning of my collaboration with Jörgen on our first vision document, a documentary called "Powerplay - Who Determines Your Near Future." FreedomLab Future Studies

Barabas eventually evolved into FreedomLab Future Studies, a boutique with a 3000m2 campus, focused on guiding people through specific approaches to tackle major social problems. It became a Living Lab where we conducted daily experiments in problem-solving, agile organization, and social entrepreneurship. This attracted a community of nearly 150 participants, leading to numerous global adventures and learning experiences.

Throughout this journey, Eliace remained my personal "pod" for initiating and funding research. Together with my partner Jörgen, i conducted over 150 interviews with leaders and change experts worldwide, experimenting with new software and methodologies. I documented my learnings daily or weekly, turning Eliace into a personal super journal of sorts, powered by Evernote and numerous folders of notes, notes and notes.

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