I build ventures — from scratch to scale.

Role: Head of Product & Innovation — led end-to-end delivery from product strategy to execution, including design, tooling, manufacturing, logistics, and customer delivery. Also played a key role in securing a major international health fund partnership and shaping go-to-market strategy with pricing for retail launch.

Challenge: Transforming a strong initial concept into a manufacturable, scalable product — bridging the gap between early-stage design and real-world execution in the oral care space. The journey began under pandemic restrictions, making supplier coordination, deal-making, and team momentum significantly more difficult.

Approach: Led the transition from prototype to production. Oversaw industrial design for manufacturability, tooling, supplier onboarding, and sustainable material sourcing. Navigated COVID-related constraints by fostering close remote collaboration, securing key partnerships under pressure, and keeping the team focused and connected. Coordinated logistics and implemented a subscription model to support recurring use and reduce waste.

Results: Successfully launched a refillable oral care system, cutting down on single-use plastics while improving user engagement. The product won several design awards — including a Good Design Award — where I was credited as Production Lead. The real achievement was turning a great idea into a working, scalable solution.

Challenge: Transforming a strong initial concept into a manufacturable, scalable, and truly sustainable product — bridging the gap between early-stage design and real-world execution in the oral care space. The journey began under pandemic restrictions, complicating supplier coordination, deal-making, and team momentum. On top of that, we had to go beyond surface-level sustainability and build something that genuinely reduced waste, supported inclusion, and could be proudly trialed at scale.

Approach: Took a highly hands-on role from prototype through production. Worked closely with local suppliers to ensure full visibility over materials and methods — including repurposing prototype floss dispensers into reusable mouthwash bottle caps to avoid waste. Prioritised sustainable packaging that was either reusable or biodegradable. Partnered with social enterprises backed by the NDIS to include people with different abilities in quality control — a critical move, as team members with visual or auditory impairments were especially skilled at spotting subtle faults in early prototypes. This was vital, as we needed several thousand kits for clinical and marketing trials — and even as prototypes, they had to embody the quality and values of the brand.

Context: I arrived in Korea in 2007 with no network and no capital, during a time of deep global recession. Luxury brands were collapsing or retreating, especially across Europe — but demand for visible wealth in Korea was rising. I saw both the contrast and the gap.

Insight: While brands like BMW and Mercedes were already common in Korea, true high-end luxury vehicles were practically unavailable. At the same time, in countries like Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, highly customised prestige vehicles were being offloaded — often canceled or defaulted orders from wealthy Europeans. Many were nearly new, left-hand drive, and fully spec’d — a perfect fit for Korea’s market and infrastructure.

Approach: I began sourcing premium vehicles directly from German-speaking regions — leveraging my language skills to build trust with dealers looking to quietly move high-value stock. I focused on young used or delivery-cancelled cars that had bespoke features Korean buyers couldn’t access locally. These weren’t base-model imports — they were top-trim configurations, often better than what the official Ferrari or Lamborghini dealerships could offer at the time.

Moat: Because I could reliably source almost any vehicle configuration — down to interior stitching and rare paint — I established a unique market position. My clients included high-net-worth individuals who were willing to pay a significant premium for something truly exclusive. At the time, official local dealers might offer just red, black, or yellow. I could deliver the exact car they imagined.

Results: This venture became a self-sustaining business. I closed deals without needing inventory, and built a resilient cross-border network. It taught me how to operate independently, recognise global arbitrage, and deliver to elite customers under real pressure. Korea's evolving status culture met Europe’s supply glut — and I positioned myself squarely at that intersection.

Context: Around 2010, a new wave began to form in Korea — a generation of builders breaking away from conservative corporate norms. I was lucky to witness this up close. Creativity was finally being taken seriously — not just in design, but in product, branding, tech, and new ways of working.

My Role: I helped several non-Korean founders and companies enter the Korean market — something notoriously difficult due to regulatory and cultural complexity. Korea can be tough to penetrate, but I’d already shown that anything could be built there with the right approach and persistence.

Reflection: This was more than a phase — it was a shift in mindset. From risk aversion to bold experimentation. From rigid hierarchy to collaborative building. I met great people, and truly enjoyed contributing to an ecosystem where energy and creativity finally found a voice.

Context: As a multilingual speaker, I’ve always been intrigued by structure. Dutch is my native language, but due to early international life and career choices, I rarely used it professionally — leading to a strange linguistic gap where I speak like my younger self. It made me deeply aware of how language acquisition isn’t just about vocabulary.

Problem: In Korea, the English education industry is worth billions — but much of it is performative. Children would memorise entire TED Talks, yet struggle to confidently construct their own sentences. I found it hard to watch — not because they lacked vocabulary, but because they lacked sentence logic.

Solution: I created a visual teaching system called SHAPEit. The idea was simple: use visual forms to represent sentence structure. For example, “shark eats fish” and “fish eats shark” are grammatically equal, but only one makes sense. SHAPEit helped kids shape logic, not just memorize lines. I tested it directly in schools by teaching it myself — and saw kids gain real confidence in building their own sentences from core elements.

Now: I’m currently reshaping the system to use AI — because its visual nature is ideally suited to dynamic, responsive teaching. Keep an eye out. The next version will be smarter, sharper, and even more intuitive for learners around the world.

Context: I was helping a Germany-based startup enter the Korean market with beautifully made, single-origin chocolate and coffee — sourced directly from small farmers in Togo. These weren’t just premium products; they were ethically grounded and traceable to the source — better than fair trade, in practice and intent.

Challenge: The founder wanted to spotlight Togo as the product’s identity — celebrating its farmers, stories, and origin. But Korean consumers at the time weren’t drawn to African sourcing stories. Instead, trust, quality, and luxury were associated with European manufacturing — especially when paired with clean visuals and minimalist branding. It was a branding mismatch.

Approach: I helped reposition the product: rather than lead with origin, we leaned into sleek photography, a sharp German aesthetic, and packaging that highlighted "Made in Germany" — which resonated more with Korean perceptions of quality. We didn’t erase the sourcing story, but we re-sequenced it: origin came second, behind design and trust.

Reflection: If I were doing this today, in 2025, I’d take a very different path. Awareness around ethical sourcing, sustainability, and direct-from-origin authenticity has grown. People now care about impact, not just image. But back then, understanding your audience — and leading with what they trust — was the only way forward.