As part of our ongoing quest to get you meaningful and powerful stories from around the world, we invited yet seasoned entrepreneur Jan van der Spoel for an exclusive interview with BrilliantRead Media. He is a Leader, Mentor, Keynote Speaker, Design Strategist, Consultant, Coach and Founder of Grip on Trust. Let’s learn more about his incredible journey, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Jan van der Spoel:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. That’s why I learn every day.”
I have used this sentence for over 30 years now and somehow it describes an aspect of my spot on. Looking back exactly this aspect of me has led me to where I am now.
As a young student, I have switched a lot between different bachelor programs. In the end, I took the hard road: Only when I landed a job as an in-house graphic designer at a wholesale trading company I studied graphic design.
For 3 years I went to school at the weekends and did all assignments during the evenings. But that was not enough: a couple of years later I managed to enrol into the prestigious Design Academy in Eindhoven. Again the part-time curriculum. Next to a full-time job I went to school in the evenings and studied at the weekends for 5 years. Got married and had a family of 2 babies in the meantime. Suffice to say, that it was a busy time.”
I even started my first company during those years. As an in-company graphic designer, my portfolio was limited to 1 client and design companies don’t hire you when you can’t show your versatility. So I had to force something to take the next step.
I was able to join a creative collective and have my own design studio. The work came in through the collective, but there were also challenges with technology and software that were new to me. I remember I took on the design of a large magazine but one of the requirements said It had to be made with a specific software program. At that time I only knew vaguely how it worked. I used to work with a different program.
I ended up having to figure out everything on my own and working crazy long hours to meet the deadline. But at the same time, I figured out the software and became a master of the tool. Pressure-cooker projects like that are the actual breakthrough moments that define who you are as an entrepreneur.”
Later I started working for design companies and became an Art Director and Creative Director. The work I did at my first own design company was crucial to get job interviews at design companies.
At one of those companies, I studied marketing communications learn to understand structure and strategy, but most important to speak the same language of my customers: Marketing managers of large companies. Since then I have always been the bridge between company needs and creative strategy.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur. I am much more an inventor or an artist. It’s much more an urge to listen to my own inner voice than not wanting to be part of a company. Having said that, I am very much an individualist. I want to do things my way.”
I don’t care about company rules, regulations or hierarchy. I actually even don’t care about money either. I do care about solving problems at the root cause. Truly fix issues and not going through the motions, just because some manager says so. So entrepreneurship with me has everything to do with freedom.
‘Grip on Trust’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving with the help of your startup?
All my life I have been curious about why do people do what they do. Understanding human behaviour, behavioural psychology and neuroscience. In my days as Creative Director and strategist, this was a vital part of my job.
The better we understand customer behaviour, the better we can come up with ways to communicate, be relevant and make meaningful connections with them. In 2015 I started a company by the name of Persona Academy: we design customer profiles with deep insights into customer motivation.
When I was working on the methodology I came across a sentence that I have used a lot since then:
“We say what we think, but we do what we feel”.
This says a lot about the discrepancy between our words and our actions. But what it really meant I only discovered recently.
This year (2020), I have worked with a speaking coach to help me with the development of a keynote. I have given speeches about customer understanding and persona development before, but being forced to make it agreeable in an online version I figured I could use some help. When we were working with the sentence: “We say what we think, but we do what we feel”, he asked me what it really meant. He pushed me to make it my own.
And right then and there it clicked and the deeper meaning surfaced: In the space between our words and our actions there lives trust. And trust is the most important factor in every relationship we have. The strange reality is that, when asked, people admit that trust is important, but nobody actually knows how it works. Nobody knows how to create trust, or restore it.”
Understanding how trust works improve the quality of relationships. We tend to take the quality of relationships for a given fact. We think that with some people we have a better “click” than with others, that trust is simply there or not. But this is not true. When you can create high trust relationships, especially within companies trust is a huge factor for success or failure.
I have evolved from understanding human behaviour to understanding relationships. Our wellbeing or happiness comes for a huge part of the relationships we have. When we have unpleasant managers, we simply are less happy with our life than when we have a nice person as a manager. Trust works as a lubricant between people. In high trust relationships, everything runs smoother with less friction. Things get done with less effort, with better results, in less time and more energy.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
I have taken the time to develop Grip on trust.
When the topic of trust emerged I have registered the web domain: gripontrust.com. I have written and designed a new website and developed 2 courses:
a) Grip on trust Lifesaver program for leaders. This program focusses on how a leader can become aware of self-trust and their trustworthiness.
b) Grip on trust Tailwind program for (HR) leaders. This program focusses on how trust can be incorporated into organizations.
To explain more details how the programs work and to accommodate the readers of this fabulous magazine I have set up a free – bite-size – webinar: “Grip on trust for entrepreneurs”.
1) Improve relationships in your company
2) Improve business relationships
3) 3 principles of trust
4) Practical tools & steps
5) AMA (ask me anything)
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I love to run in nature. I do this 2x weekly. It keeps me in shape and running is perfect for meditation, creative thinking and problem-solving.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
The most important traits of leaders are to understand how to create high trust relationships between colleagues, business relations and customers. In the age of data and algorithms trust will become the most important factor of any company and any brand.
In your opinion – what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
Good ideas are worth nothing when they are not executed. A team or network is crucial for success.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
This is my purpose. Everything I did before has led me here.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
(I) Success always has to do with people, not with technology or data or systems.
(II) Look for people that you want to work with to help you further.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
![Speaker Jan van der Spoel[1] (1)](https://www.brilliantread.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Speaker-Jan-van-der-Spoel1-1-500x280.png)
