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fter Hotelschool The Hague, Jurriën Theuvenet started as an Operations and Marketing Manager for a small start-up called Surgytec, a platform for medical specialists, who shared their knowledge through videos and slide shows. Not a traditional hotel or restaurant business, but still a company with a strong sense of hospitality, which you need if you want to welcome people onto your platform and make them feel comfortable and appreciated. He stayed there for about two and a half years and learned a lot about the challenges and problems that start-ups have. To develop a new product and to market it with a very limited budget was a great learning experience for him.
Jurriën Theuvenet
Owner/Founder ClickTight (2008)
“Introducing an innovation to the market can indeed be challenging, which I also found out when I started my own company: ClickTight. You come up with an idea, which brings a solution to a problem you are experiencing, but you are not sure if you represent a wider audience. At the start, I was lucky to work with the leading Dutch research institute TNO, and to make it to the finals of the two biggest innovation competitions in The Netherlands. Very important for ClickTight was the help of Hans Koeleman, a two time Olympian champion and long distance runner, with a long career at Nike. He not only endorsed the product, but also gave us a lot of information and helped us develop the product and the brand further. More and more athletes use ClickTight, with a highlight being Wilson Kipsang, the winner of the NYC, London and Berlin Marathon (World Record 2013). He stated on his website that “in preparation for a marathon you need to hydrate, focus and keep your laces together with ClickTight”. We are focusing on selling the ClickTights through retail, online platforms and events. Especially for events we customise our ClickTights to the design wishes of our clients. ClickTight is the perfect tool for brand activation as you wear it on your shoes at all times and show the logo of the event and its sponsor. KLM was the first to order a batch for the Curaçao Marathon, and other races have followed since. ClickTights are always visible, unlike T-Shirts or other items, which might be covered up during winter months. I don’t think I was ever really made for the Hospitality Industry, at least not as clearly as others were. Neither did I as a kid dream of inventing a 1-click solution to fastening and loosening shoelaces. You keep your eyes open and jump into adventures that feel exciting and challenging. The Hotelschool is a gateway to the world and its treasures. The key hospitality element that I learned at the Hotelschool was how to exceed expectations. I continuously use this attitude in my day-to-day business life and I am still very grateful for that.
“Entrepreneurs often have a similar mind set. Our semester, as it turned out, had many successful entrepreneurs.” 56
I have a vivid memory of Mr Lam. He embodied hospitality and represented the high standards of the Hotelschool at all times. He gave me a very good understanding of what real hospitality is. If there are people who are truly born for hospitality, he is definitely one of them. My entire time at the Hotelschool was amazing. Solid friendships were formed. Skotel was a lot of fun, and the buzz of freedom and ambition was contagious. I especially enjoyed the practical courses. I gained a lot of inspiration from the classes as well as from the other students, especially those who had an energetic vibe and who also started their own businesses. Entrepreneurs often have a similar mind set. Our semester, as it turned out, had many successful entrepreneurs. Hotelschool has proven to be a great school for entrepreneurs, because we all learned to think in terms of solutions. “Be creative and always try to find a way to comply with the various requests of a quest” was a much-repeated mantra during my time at Hotelschool The Hague. Nothing is impossible. My outlook on life in general is pretty positive and I really want to create and learn new things.”
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