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postcard webshop

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

Failure, Lessons Learned, Problems Worth Solving, Uncategorized

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

header image social business

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

Failure, Lessons Learned, Problems Worth Solving, Uncategorized

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

Mushy Kids Card Game

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

Articles, Failure, Lessons Learned, Problems Worth Solving, Uncategorized

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

MyTravelSecrets advertisement

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

Articles, Failure, Lessons Learned, Startup

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, …

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

We Are Public header image

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

Art, Articles, Uncategorized

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 …

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

Header image Learning How to Learn

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

Articles, Lessons Learned, Uncategorized

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 …

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

Failure, Lessons Learned, Problems Worth Solving, Uncategorized

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

header marktplaats

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

Articles, Failure, Lessons Learned, Problems Worth Solving, Startup, Uncategorized

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

flowers-by-night

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

Articles, Failure, Problems Worth Solving, Startup, Uncategorized

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 …

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

Image Failures Whever

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

Articles, Failure, Growth Hacking, Lessons Learned, Uncategorized, User Experience, Whever

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 …

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

Articles, Gimlet Media, Media, Podcasts, ThisWeekInStartups

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 …

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

glossier header

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

Articles, Glossier, Growth Hacking, User Experience

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, …

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

blendle anniversary

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

Articles, Blendle, Growth Hacking, Media, User Experience

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 …

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glossier header

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

Articles, Glossier, Uncategorized, User Experience

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 …

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