You have better things to do than to read about me. So as I value your time, here’s a TL;DR:
- Some experience in e-commerce
- Some experience in overall SaaS marketing and management
- Start company with friends
- Write this page
If you’re interested in the longer version, read along 👇🏼.
I started working at a local e-commerce business, I think I was around 18 at the time. I mostly did some website management, content writing and SEO. After a while, I got some promotion and became responsible for setting up, managing and expanding all the different online market places we sold our products on (bol.com, amazon.com/de/nl/fr/it, fonq.nl, and more)
But around 2019, two of my good friends told me I needed to apply for “marketer” at the SaaS startup they were working at.
(how broad do you want your job title to be)
But how cool is it to work with your friends at a startup? So I applied and immediately got the job. Later I heard that I already had the job before even coming in, not because of my resume, but just because I knew two of the employees.
Good for your ego.
Fast forward a couple of years, 5,5 to be precise, I set up and built out all the marketing channels, did every area of digital marketing, ended up as marketing manager, built the team, coordinated all the third parties we worked with, helped build out our partner network, laid the product marketing foundation, and led a branding and repositioning project.
We grew from 6 to 35 people, doubled every year in revenue and customers. An amazing experience and learning opportunity. But in September 2024 I co-founded the business you’re looking at: bluebarry.
Together with 3 friends. I’m writing this in November, and we’re still friends. So far so good.
Bluebarry is a product advisor for e-commerce businesses. Specifically focused on marketing leaders. It guides orienting visitors to the right product every time. Which increases the likelihood of purchase, while you are able to gather valuable information about their buying journey.
To me, Bluebarry perfectly captures two of the most overlooked aspects of marketing:
- Optimizing for conversions
- Truly understanding your customer
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is often neglected because it requires gathering data for months and investing significant time and effort into strategies that may not guarantee additional conversions. On top of that, people are usually too busy to engage with their customers, to sit down and ask them about their pains, gains, challenges, and obstacles. Bluebarry generates these insights.
I also learned where my interests were. I liked every part of marketing I did. SEM, content writing, branding, all of it. And I believe that’s because one thing in marketing is always the same: the people.
You are always dealing with people. You are writing for people, advertising for people, selling to people. There are always people behind the data you retrieve and analyze. Behind every data point, there’s an individual. That’s what is so interesting to me.
And that’s what I will continue to explore in the content I make and the tools we build: help you understand your buyer and make sure he/she buys from you and not from someone else.
I think that’s everything about me you need to know for now.
If you want, we can continue this conversation on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to connect.
That’s also the place where I explore and share some more insights, tips, ideas, concepts, you name it.
Let’s keep in touch!