PWS#7: The postcard set webshop – to have a card on hand for different occasions FAILED

Another idea that failed! What was the plan? Set up a webshop for postcard sets, selling babycard sets, or non-babycard sets with various designs to people who love sending personal cards a lot, and have trouble finding nice postcards. However, the card business as we know it from the old days is pretty dead. How […]

PWS#6: The kids book that could differentiate itself in the kids book jungle FAILED

The problem March 2019 My sister tells me she’s pregnant! As a first-time aunt, I want my gift to my first nephew to be the coolest gift ever. But what would be a cool present? At this point, I have no clue. I give it a rest and stay in shock for a couple of […]

PWS#5: The social business that would connect Indian sewers to Dutch socially responsible women FAILED

Problem After telling some of my colleagues about my new year resolution of testing one idea a week ( this turned out to be a little too ambitious, it’s rather one idea a month), a colleague from the IT department wanted to talk to me about an idea he had had for a while. He’s […]

PWS#4: The Kids Card Game that will improve your kids’ communication skills FAILED

ProblemIn Tokyo I met a Danish guy at Startup Weekend Tokyo who told me about his friend playing a communication game with his kid. Once a week, he and his family would sit together to discuss the week’s challenges, and give each other tips on how to tackle issues. The parents did this to develop […]

PWS#3: The SmallWorld for Travel that prevents you from having to plan your next holiday ever again FAILED

Problem I hate planning holidays. I will book plane tickets for a 3-week backpacking adventure and a few days before departure realise that I really need to book a hostel for the first night and make sure I have an airport pickup. From the moment that I’ve booked my flight until the moment I leave, […]

Waarom de We Are Public pas m’n beste culturele investering ooit is

Tot een aantal jaar terug zou ik mezelf omschrijven als cultuurbarbaar. Dit was deels gedreven door desinteresse: ik kon emotieloos naar een schilderij of beeldhouwwerk staren en me afvragen wat er aan het werk in kwestie nou zo mooi was. De andere reden was financieel: zodra iets cultureels geld kostte koos ik eieren voor m’n […]

My 10 key takeaways from taking the world’s most popular MOOC: Coursera’s Learning how to Learn

Understanding the way we learn is super handy to learn more effectively in the future. Here are my 10 key learnings from the world’s most popular MOOC: Learning how to learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects. 1. There are two modes of thinking and you need both ways to learn new […]

Suggestions for spending a few days in Tokyo

You’re probably reading this blogpost because you’re planning to visit Japan very soon…exciting!!! What follows is an overview of my learnings and tips after having spent 3 months in the world’s most inspiring city ;-). Start at the top or just straight to: 5 must-do’s when in Tokyo Itineraries through popular neighborhoods Food Common customs […]

PWS#2: The extra-healthy-smoothie that would prevent colleagues from eating too many cookies at work FAILED

Problem At work I eat too many cookies. Around 09:30AM they are placed next to the coffee machine, and every time I get tea I’m confronted with them. What usually happens is that I start with half, and then all of a sudden have eaten five cookies. I end up eating so many that at […]

PWS #1: The premium Marktplaats resell service to help busy people sell their valuable items FAILED

Let’s kick off my Problems Worth Solving challenge with an idea I tested extensively in 2017: ‘the Marktplaats for busy people’. How it all started During a random conversation with one of my friends mid 2017, my friend mentioned that she wanted to sell some of her clothing but didn’t feel like taking the trouble to […]

PWS #0: Reintroducing a hobby I’ve left aside for too long: problem testing!

I once made a product nobody wanted. Physically and mentally drained and lacking another real problem to solve, I decided to get into digital consulting to pay the bills. It didn’t take me long to find out that advising other people what to do wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. I’d rather implement my own […]

The 8 things I’ve learned from my first startup failure

During a university course of the master programme Business Information Management a couple of years ago, me and my teammates had to come up with an idea for an app. What started as a uni assignment turned into a great startup adventure. The pitch: do you hate waiting all alone for your friends to arrive […]

Een abonnement nemen op NRC is een waanzinnig slecht idee

Op een zaterdagochtend een paar maanden terug liepen de rillingen mij over de rug en stopte mijn hart even met kloppen toen ik las dat NRC met Blendle zou stoppen Concurrentie en een gebrek aan online innovatie lagen aan de kern van deze frustratie NRC maakte namelijk al gebruik van linkjes, video’s en andere digitale […]

How to have a great weekend in Paris: a suggestion

Imagine this: you’ve just decided that you feel like spending a weekend in Paris. You pick a date and browse for tickets. You’re super excited and can’t wait for it to arrive. A week before departure it all of a sudden hits you that you haven’t had the time to look into the things you […]

The five startup podcasts that will inspire you to test your idea & launch your own startup

Here’s my top 5 favourite startup podcasts. Inspiration guaranteed! #1 Startup by Gimlet Media – first season on how founders Alex and Matt set up their own podcast company Gimlet Media, then various seasons where Gimlet follows other startups and analyses the rise and fall of various companies #2 How I Built This by NPR […]

Looking for the user experience of a lifetime? Then check out Glossier.com

Buying Glossier’s Phase 2 set was probably the most exciting customer experience I’ve had ever since I started buying things online about a decade ago. Rarely have I been as desperate getting my hands on new products. How did the IntoTheGloss spin-off manage to capture my attention the first time I read about Glossier on IntoTheGloss, […]

My one year Blendle anniversary: three reasons why I’ve grown so fond of the service

Average reading time: 3 minutes Note: Due to the embedded images by Tableau, this article is best viewed on a tablet or laptop. Recently it had been a year since I started using Blendle. Rarely have I been more excited about a news service membership anniversary. In fact, reflecting on the past year with Blendle […]

From skepticism to obsession: how Glossier convinced me to splurge $50 in less than a week

Average reading time 5 minutes. “WHAT?!? Did IntoTheGloss just launch its own make up brand?” is the first thing that crosses my mind when I find out about Glossier on ITG. “Why would anyone try to launch another make-up brand in this saturated market?” To say I am skeptical is an understatement. But my skepticism […]

Why you won’t regret listening to Gimlet Media

Average reading time 3 minutes About 1,5 years ago I was walking down Market Street with a huge grin on my face. I was highly amused listening to an episode of Mystery Show in which pencil sharpener David explained that he was on a mission to find out Jake Gyllenhaal’s true height. Struck by the […]

How me and Blendle became best breakfast buddies

Average reading time 3 minutes. The first time I used Blendle I knew I had discovered something potentially very interesting. It was late September 2015 and I had some time to kill while travelling to Amsterdam Noord. A couple of days earlier I had subscribed to its newsletter after having heard about it on Dutch […]

Open for Business episode 3 quote cost based pricing

“Pick a price that reflects the value you bring to your customers, not just your own production costs” – John Henry, host of startup podcast Open for Business

Justin Jackson Megamaker Startups for the rest of us start small

“If you never actually launch it then you never have to worry about disappointing people <…> So start small and start now” – Justin Jackson, founder of Megamaker, on Startups For the Rest of Us

Beauty blog IntoTheGloss’ founder Emily Weiss launched an online makeup line targeted at the selfie generation

Its 22 dollar facemasks were designed to be photographed. Much more on Ep 5 Skin Is In from Forbes’ Million$ podcast! Source image:Glossier via Forbes

A must-see documentary in which Spencer Seabrooke breaks the world record for the longest solo high wire walk

Highly inspiring.

Source:Vimeo

Next time you’re going to Paris, make sure to watch this video

Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken knows how to prototype rapidly

This is genius!!! Check out their website for more cool stuff.

Source: Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken

Freitag introduces its 100% compostable denim with a great video

Source:Freitag.ch

Rus Khasanov creates beautiful art with oil, soy sauce, ink and soap

Who would have thought soy sauce would ever come in handy when making art. Check out more of Khasanov’s work.

Source: Digg

School of fish • /r/pics

reddit school of fish

Source: Reddit.

A demo on the accessibility to art and culture

Director of Google’s Cultural Institute and Art Project Amit Sood and Google artist in residence Cyral Diagne @TED.

This podcast decodes a 70 year old message from outer space…

…and people who have listened to it have died along the way… You won’t regret listening to The Message!

This French sneaker brand gets you running by offering lovely meals paid for in kilometers

Clever PR, but very French ;-).

Source: Adweek

A compelling story of food delivery startup Bento that is advised to shut down by its investor but manages to save itself just in time

On Gimlet’s Startup show, ofcourse.

Dating Ring lessons learned

“I’m not starting another company without doing a LOT of surveys first, because you think people want something and they’re like “Oh yeah that sounds like a great idea I would love that!”, but then once you make them pay for it it’s so different. Look at the competitors, look at why this doesn’t exist, REALLY think about why this isn’t already there. Because there’s a reason. – Dating Ring cofounders discussing their lessons learned.

Halleluja.

Anish Kapoor creates the most beautiful art

Only Tesla thinks of this

Only needs 30 cm to spread its wings, wherever you go #ModelX pic.twitter.com/5DxDjW9tGs

— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) 11 mei 2016 https://t.co/5DxDjW9tGs

This 3D pen melts and pours colored plastic through the tip!

Futuristic stuff.

Source: Business Insider

Quote Chris Sacca conviction

“The ideas we back…there’s so much inevitablity of success, it’s contagious”

– super angel Chris Sacca on picking ideas to invest in.

Being successful as entrepreneur is all about conviction.

Chris Sacca pitches Gimlet Media to Alex Blumberg the right way

This is how it’s done.

Bypassing a store lock • /r/gifs

This supermarket clearly thought hard on this.

Source: Reddit

Man in a mask • /r/pics

Source: Reddit

On how a college student 3D-printed his own braces for less than $60

What a money saver.

A beautiful documentary on the rise and fall of Gidsy, the Dutch travel community that received $1Mio from i.a. Ashton Kutcher

One of the most insightful documentaries on startup life, told in two parts (first half & second half). In Dutch.

Jared Fliesler quote you have one life

“You’ve got one life, make sure you work on something that you love and believe in”– Jared Fliesler, partner at Matrix Partners, on going from problem to product

The best clip of Zondag with Lubach S4 must be parody of HelloFresh

Brilliant.

In Dutch.

Source: Youtube

This must be one of the most entertaining articles on startup life I’ve ever come across

“My Year in Startup Hell” by Dan Lyons, the guy behind the HBO series Silicon Valley. A must read, in Fortune.

After hearing this clip you’ll know how to carry your trapper keeper the cool way

About a 12 year old asking grown ups for advice. Absolutely adorable.

Graffiti 2.0

For those who’ve always wanted to spray paint graffiti but never dared to: this is it ;-).

Source: Youtube.com

Brad Feld Product Hunt Quote

“So many times people don’t spend the time to make a choice. You default into it, you think it’s required, it just sort of happens <…> Being deliberate about decisions is important.”

– Brad Feld on Product Hunt