He was fuelled by military rigor. Driven by forward thinking. And I think that really shaped me. “Controlled risk taking” became the words that I lived by. That defined me. 

So when I needed to learn, I left everything to go to London, to learn with the best. And when I needed to start something of my own, I came back.

 I tried a few things. I failed a lot. But in the end, I created Shilling.

Here, I’m proud to say that I had the chance to be a board member at revolutionary marketplaces like Uniplaces and Bizay right from the start. I have a soft spot for marketplace business models: they fit my skills, match my background, and genuinely interest me. 

Another area that I’ve got an eye on is Proptech. It’s such a huge market. And it’s untapped!

Of course, I’ve got skin on the game there: I started my own business in the area, U.hub. I set out in 2014, with another partner and very little capital, to create the first student housing brand in the country. Five years later we were selling our portfolio to an institutional investor for €130m.

It might have been my truest success story. 

If you’re looking to build your own, what do I recommend? Network. Network like crazy. Invest in your network, build it, keep it in shape. 

That’s why it’s so important for me that Shilling uses its network to help the founders we’ve invested in. It has always been one of our strongest assets here.
And our network will be your network if you decide to partner with Shilling.